Hopton-on-Sea

Coordinates: 52°32′20″N 1°43′48″E / 52.539°N 1.730°E / 52.539; 1.730
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Hopton, Suffolk.

Hopton-on-Sea
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townGREAT YARMOUTH
Postcode districtNR31
Dialling code01502
PoliceNorfolk
FireNorfolk
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Norfolk
52°32′20″N 1°43′48″E / 52.539°N 1.730°E / 52.539; 1.730

Hopton-on-Sea is a village,

civil parish and seaside resort on the coast of East Anglia in the county of Norfolk. The village is 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Great Yarmouth, 5 miles (8.0 km) north-west of Lowestoft
.

The village has many amenities for tourists with

amusement arcades and food outlets. It is also home to Potters Resorts, the UK’s only All Inclusive Holiday Resort, founded in 1920.[1]
This employs approximately 560 permanent staff making it the largest private sector employer in the area.

Every January, Hopton-on-Sea hosts the World Indoor Bowls Championships at Potters Resorts with players, spectators, the BBC and many others staying in the village for what is regarded as the biggest event in the bowls calendar.[2]

History

The ruined church of St Margaret destroyed by fire in 1865
The 1866 St Margaret's church

The villages name means 'Farm/settlement in enclosed spot'. Here perhaps it's referring to the promontory jutting into marsh.

The earliest human activity in the parish dates to the

flint tools. There have also been artefacts found from the Bronze Age and Roman era in the area.[3]

The oldest building in the parish is the ruins of

Early English style on a new site,[3] which is still in use today. Designed by Samuel Sanders Teulon, it contains stained glass by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones
.

During World War II a dense network of military defences were built in the area due to Hopton's close proximity to Great Yarmouth. These included anti-tank defences, pillboxes,

air-raid shelters and a coastal battery. Constructed in 1940 this battery had a pair of large gun houses, for six-inch guns, and search-lights. The site was armed during and after the war, until August 1947, due to its prime location for an invasion.[5]

Geography

The village is on the East Anglia coast, on the

groynes with ones made of rock and the construction of a seawall. These defences are estimated to protect the area for up to a century.[7]

The

Great Yarmouth
.

Transport

The village has a regular, if infrequent, bus service to Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.[10]

It once had its own train station, Hopton-on-Sea railway station, linking it to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, but this closed in 1970 due to the Beeching cuts.

Notable former residents

References

  1. ^ History of Potter's Resort
  2. ^ "World Indoor Bowls Championships: How a village came to host a global event". BBC Sport. 26 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Parish Summary: Hopton on Sea". Norfolk Heritage Exploror. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  4. ^ "'Yoda' stone head found at Hopton church, Norfolk". BBC News. 4 June 2015.
  5. ^ World War Two Emergency Coastal Battery at Gorleston Golf Links
  6. ^ "Hopton-on-Sea Beach". Great Yarmouth Borough Council. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Hopton sea defences plan by Potters Resort". BBC News. 9 February 2016.
  8. ^ "Area: Hopton-on-Sea (Parish): Accommodation Type - People, 2011". Office for National Statistics.
  9. ^ "Area: Hopton-on-Sea (Parish): Accommodation Type - Households, 2011". Office for National Statistics.
  10. ^ Hopton-on-Sea bus times, bustimes.org

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Suffolk/Hopton

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hopton on Sea.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hopton-on-Sea&oldid=1188608713"