Hemsby
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2017) |
Hemsby | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | GREAT YARMOUTH | |
Postcode district | NR29 | |
Police | Norfolk | |
Fire | Norfolk | |
Ambulance | East of England | |
UK Parliament | ||
Hemsby is a village, seaside resort and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England. It is situated some 8 mi (13 km) north of the town of Great Yarmouth.[1] In the
Coastal erosion is destroying a number of homes[4] and others are threatened. A Norfolk county map dated around 1610 shows a headland, called Winterton Ness, extending into the sea north-east of Hemsby. This headland has now almost entirely disappeared through erosion.
The village's name means 'Hemer's farm/settlement'.
Hemsby, along with much of the Norfolk coast, was targeted by the
The village
Beaches
In late February 2023, the beaches experienced another bout of severe erosion. Access has become so limited that as of 27 February, the lifeboat cannot launch. The
Hemsby Village
Hemsby is split into two parts: Hemsby Village and Hemsby Beach. Hemsby Village is mainly the residential area, about a mile inland. Kingsway is an area of the village which includes a
Hemsby Beach
The tourist-based part of the village lies along Beach Road and is commonly known as Hemsby Beach. It features
Herbert Potter purchased land in Hemsby; this was the original site of the first permanent and mixed-use holiday camp in the United Kingdom,
The largest of the accommodation parks was a branch of Pontins, but this closed in 2009.[7]
Former Pontins holiday camp
For many years, there were two holiday camps, Seacroft holiday camp on the north side of Beach Road and Maddisons Camp on the south side of Beach Road. There was friendly rivalry and football matches held and overall brought prosperity to the village. Both were bought by Fred Pontin.
The original 9 acre holiday camp was opened in 1920 by Harry Maddison, and run by his family until 1971. Pontins replaced the wooden chalets with new apartment-style pre-cast concrete accommodation blocks. At its peak, the camp of 22 acres had four single-storey chalet blocks and 44 two-storey chalet blocks, providing 512 individual chalets in three grades that could accommodate up to 2,440 holidaymakers and 50 onsite staff beds. The 50 onsite buildings provided: reception and information centre; amusement arcade; fast food outlet; a play area; an entertainment hall seating 1,700; smaller hall accommodating 800 and a shop; an indoor swimming pool; a pub; and snooker rooms. Outside facilities included tennis courts, an adventure playground and go-karting track. In January 2009, following five years of declining bookings and after a review from Pontins' new owners Ocean Parks, Pontins gave staff 48 hours notice of closure of the site. Sold together with the Blackpool camp to developer Northern Trust, it has been subject to multiple development proposals in the period since, none of which have progressed to planning.[8]
December 2013 storm
Seven cliff-top homes were destroyed when cliffs collapsed in a
The future
Following Pontins' closure in 2009, Hemsby's traders started a fight-back to prosperity by engaging brand expert Simon Middleton, known as "the Brand Strategy Guru", to re-invigorate the resort's image. Focusing on the village's Viking origins, Middleton proposed a new strapline for the resort, "1200 years of seaside fun", with an accompanying logo showing a laughing Viking brandishing a bucket and spade.[9] The Viking theme was continued with the announcement of Norfolk's first Viking Festival held in June[which year?]. The festival included a Viking encampment and re-enactments of battles, as well as a Scandinavian market and music. Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA, was invited to perform at the festival, and to judge an ABBA tribute band competition.
Hemsby received further attention from the media and from politicians when plans were announced for an "Eden of the East" project involving an eco-tourism park based on the old Pontins' site.[10] The project, designed to be environmentally friendly, will provide revolutionary 'open air' camping all-year-round inside giant geodesic domes.
Gallery
-
The beach at Hemsby
-
Seacroft Holiday Park, Beach Road
-
The beach at Hemsby
Transport
Hemsby was once served by Hemsby railway station which was located on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway between Great Yarmouth (Beach) and Melton Constable. It was operational from 1878 to 1959.[11] The LMS Ivatt Class 4 (2-6-0)steam locomotive was predominantly used on this route. Currently Hemsby is served by two
Institutions
Charities
Hemsby is home to the
Churches
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Church_of_St_Mary_the_Virgin%2C_Hemsby_-_geograph.org.uk_-_771779.jpg/290px-Church_of_St_Mary_the_Virgin%2C_Hemsby_-_geograph.org.uk_-_771779.jpg)
The Grade II listed church of St Mary the Virgin dates from the early 14th century. The (Primitive) Methodist Church is located at 6 Waters Lane. It was built in 1879, and has a regular Sunday service at 11.00am. The Congregationalist Church was founded in 1862 and is located on Yarmouth Rd. It was quietly sold off, but the graveyard is still accessible to the public.
Schools
Hemsby's only school is Hemsby Primary School, a mixed-sex school for pupils aged 4 to 12. The school buildings date back to 1904. Due to the nature of Hemsby and the seasonal work that is offered, the turnover of pupils from the school is relatively high, as families move into or out of the area.
References
- ISBN 0-319-23769-9.
- ^ "Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ Office for National Statistics & Norfolk County Council (2001). Census population and household counts for unparished urban areas and all parishes. Web.archive.org, Retrieved 2 December 2005.
- ^ a b "Norfolk floods: Seven Hemsby homes destroyed by sea". BBC News. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
- ^ Hemsby Archived 20 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Leading Gas and Electricity Supplier - E.ON". Eonenergy.com. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ "Pontin's to close holiday centre". BBC News. 5 January 2009.
- ^ Ryan, George. "What is happening to the old Pontins in Hemsby?". Great Yarmouth Mercury. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ "Hemsby and Newport, 1200 Years Of Seaside Fun". Edp24.co.uk. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ "Hemsby witnesses new Eden vision". News.bbc.co.uk. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ Yarmouth Beach Railway Station Archived 19 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)