[1] The parish was predominately agricultural and sparsely populated and the village small until the 1960s when industrialisation of the south Humber bank took place throughout area north-west of Grimsby – within the parish of South Killingholme the Humber Oil Refinery was built in the late 1960s.

The parish of South Killingholme extends from the Humber Estuary foreshore roughly southwest through the village of South Killingholme to a boundary near Ulceby railway station; the parish is roughly 3.7 miles (6 km) long (north-west to south-east) and 1.2 miles (2 km) wide.

The northwestern boundary is entirely with the parish of North Killingholme, running southeast–northwest; from the southern part along the West Mere Middle Road, then bisecting the Lindsey Oil Refinery, and exiting the bank of the Humber Estuary halfway between north and south Killingholme havens.

[2][3] The parish is low lying rising from less than 5 metres (16 ft) above sea level near the Humber bank, to a peak of 17 metres (56 ft) above sea level in the southwest part of the parish, south of the village.

Half of the parish is in agricultural use, primarily farming but including some plantations, the land is drained by man made ditches.

Three lighthouses, all constructed in the 19th century, are located on the Humber bank near to the oil storage terminal.

[8] Also in use on the Humber banks at the beginning of the 20th century were brick works northwest of South Killingholme Haven.

[10][11] It is thought there was once a moated manor at South Killingholme, north of the modern village, dating to the Norman period or earlier, no remnants of the site remain.

A remnant of the early village is "The Nook", a timber-framed house dating to the 17th century or earlier, close to the church.

[24][25] By 1930 a fish meal and oil works had been built between the lights and brickworks,[map 11] with its own jetty onto the Humber.

The road improvement scheme was intended to convert the A160 from single to dual carriage way, with new junctions onto the A180 and A1173; as part of the scheme access from one side of South Killingholme to the other across the A160 was to be ended and replaced with a road bridge on Town Street over the dual carriageway.

[34][35] In August 2024, plans were announced for three major data centres and a neighbouring glasshouse on a site adjacent to the A160 in South Killingholme.