Pontins Hemsby began life as the 9-acre Hemsby Holiday Camp, opened in 1920 by Hector Potter. A few years later, another camp appeared across the road: Seacroft, created by 19-year-old Jack Bishop.
In 1922, Potter sold the Hemsby camp to Harry Maddieson for £8,000. Potter would later go on to establish the Potters Resort in Hopton, which continues to thrive today. Maddieson quickly replaced the original tents with permanent buildings, and for this reason Hemsby is often credited as Britain’s first true holiday camp.
For the next 46 years, the Maddieson family steadily operated and expanded the site. Guests enjoyed full-board accommodation, with meals served in a large communal dining hall. The chalets were initially very basic, usually containing just a bed, while communal toilet blocks were dotted around the grounds. These were later improved during the 1960s. Maddieson later expanded his holiday empire, opening a second camp at Littlestone in 1930, another at Camber Sands in 1958, and at least two further sites in Kent.
In January 1950, a large fire destroyed the main entertainment building. The names and addresses of 10,000 people who had booked to stay at the camp were lost. Fortunately, a new, larger structure was completed in time for the summer season.
Pontins Hemsby
In 1970, Fred Pontin arrived in Hemsby and purchased both the Maddieson and Seacroft camps. While Seacroft remained largely unchanged, Pontin dramatically changed the Maddieson site. He acquired additional land to the south, expanding the camp to 22 acres, and filled it with new two-storey blocks of chalets. The newer Maddieson chalets were kept, while the old ones were tore down. The rebuilt camp would now be run entirely on a self-catering basis, with every chalet equipped with its own kitchen and bathroom.
Although the redevelopment gave the site a more modern appearance, it also stripped away much of its original charm and character, leaving it more with the feel of a council estate. Most of the old Maddieson buildings were also retained, including the main entertainment hall, the clubhouse and the swimming pool, which was enclosed inside a new building.
The redeveloped camp reopened on 17 July 1971, although construction was still far from complete. Frustrated by the unfinished facilities, many guests walked out and demanded refunds, and these problems persisted throughout the first season. The official opening did not take place until May 1972, once all building work had been completed. With the early teething troubles behind it, the camp soon settled into a period of successful and steady operation.
Each of the 512 chalets had a kitchen, bathroom, lounge and one or two bedrooms. Electricity and heating was supplied via a coin meter and even the early TVs required a coin to operate. The showers had a button that had to be pressed every few seconds to keep the water flowing.
All of the new chalets followed Pontins’ standard A5 design, a 20ft by 20ft (6m x 6m) layout that could sleep up to six people. Each included a kitchen, lounge, bathroom, and two bedrooms each with two beds, while a sofa bed in the lounge provided two more sleeping spaces. A smaller number of one-bedroom chalets were available for four guests.
Facilities at the camp included a boating lake, ballroom, several bars, an outdoor playground, a children’s nursery with a resident nanny, games room, launderette, hairdresser, and a first aid surgery staffed by a registered nurse. The boating lake was later filled in.
By the 1990s, the Hemsby camp, like many of the remaining Pontins sites, was looking a bit rundown. In 1996, Pontins launched a £55 million refurbishment program, though the investment was spread across eight camps. Several new facilities were added including a ‘Queen Vic’ pub, along with a junior driving school, quad bikes and abseiling wall.
A number of chalets were refurbished which included new windows, furniture and bathrooms. These were listed as Club apartments and attracted a premium price – they also featured free electricity, satellite TV, free towels and early check-in. The older chalets were listed as either Classic or Basic.
In early 2008 Pontins changed hand for £46 million to a company called Ocean Parcs, a consortium led by Graham Parr, a former Pontins executive. At the time, the Pontins empire still consisted of eight camps, but the deal covered only five of them. The remaining three sites (Blackpool, Hemsby and Wall Park) were retained by the previous owner (Trevor Hemmings) and leased back to Ocean Parcs.
In January 2009, it was announced that Hemsby would close with immediate effect, with the company citing low bookings as the reason. Many suspected that the camp had been deliberately allowed to fall into disrepair to justify its closure and the eventual sale of the land for housing, and there appears to be some truth to this.
The site remained abandoned and derelict for the next 11 years, with various planning applications to redevelop it for housing being rejected. In 2018, a huge fire destroyed the main entertainment building, which dated back to the old Maddiesons era.
In February 2019, the site was sold for £4 million, with plans announced to retain most of the chalets while converting them into 279 private apartments. The old Pontins entertainment buildings were demolished, although the indoor pool was retained. Work began on stripping out interiors, knocking down walls, and adding pitched roofs to the existing chalet blocks. Approximately 75% of the chalets were preserved and refurbished, and the completed results are quite impressive.
After starting work the developers later collapsed into administration. In July 2022 the site was sold to new owners for £7 million who announced they’d be continuing with the previous redevelopment. The first family moved in the following year.
To read more about Sir Fred Pontin and the history of Pontins Holiday Camps read our blog post here. We’ve also covered the history of several other Pontin camps which can be seen in our A-Z blog index.
We’d love to hear your memories and stories of Pontins Hemsby. Please feel free to leave a comment below.
