Potters Resorts Hopton-on-Sea
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Potters Resorts Hopton-on-Sea is a five-star, all-inclusive holiday resort in Norfolk, England. It is owned and operated by Potters Resorts.
The resort is open all year round and offers short breaks predominantly for adults, except during the school holidays when the resort is open to families.
Having first opened in nearby Hemsby in 1920, 'Potters' is widely recognised as the first permanent and mixed use holiday camp in the UK, which then featured timber huts for accommodation and permanent main buildings.
Every January, the resort hosts the annual World Indoor Bowls Championships and in 2023, hosted the event for the 25th time.[1]
Location[edit]
Hopton-on-Sea is a small coastal village off the A47 between the towns of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
History[edit]
In 1913, solicitors' clerk Herbert Potter won £500 in a Sunday Chronicle newspaper competition.[2] He was called up to serve in World War I and after surviving the trenches and the Battle of the Somme, he returned and purchased land in Hemsby where he and his brother, Arthur, opened in 1920 with wooden huts as standard. It was called 'Potters'.
Upon moving a few miles down the road to bare land in Hopton-on-Sea in 1924, the original Hemsby site was sold. Proceeds were split and Arthur moved to Cornwall, himself establishing Duporth Holiday Camp. Potters remained in its new location by the railway line in Hopton-on-Sea for 10 years, run by Herbert and his wife, Edith.
In 1934, Herbert opened 'Potters Beach Camp' and for a while, Potters promoted two sites before the original camp located by the railway line was renamed 'Grooms'. The seaside camp, operated by Herbert and son, Hector, is where Potters Resorts Hopton-on-Sea remains to this day.
During World War II, many holiday camps along the Norfolk and Suffolk coast were requisitioned by the army[3] and the buildings and huts at Potters were mostly dismantled for firewood to keep soldiers warm in the winter. Following the war, Herbert, along with son Hector and his wife, Vera, set about rebuilding Potters. Their son Brian was a small child at the time, born in 1940. Potters once again became a thriving holiday camp having re-invested in its facilities, including building one of the first outdoor swimming pools on the east coast.
During the rise of overseas package holidays in the 1960s, Hector and Vera, alongside their son Brian and his wife Judy, continued to invest, this time in more indoor facilities to meet the challenges of the British weather. Fourth generation Jane and John were born to Brian and Judy in 1967 and 1969 respectively.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Potters enjoyed a successful period, led by Brian and Judy Potter that saw the resort move from a seasonal, family holiday camp to a unique leisure resort with shows and cabaret style entertainment, inclusive meals, daytime activities and a range of sports and leisure facilities.
The sport of bowls became an integral part of Potters' year round success, with thousands or retired holidaymakers enjoying the combination of a social sport while holidaying in the typically quieter seasons. By 1999, Potters was hosting the World Indoor Bowls Championships[4] having moved from its long-standing home in Preston. The event remains at Potters Resorts Hopton-on-Sea to this day and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023.[5]
In 2003, 'Potters Leisure Resort' became the UK's first five-star holiday village, as awarded by the English Tourist Board.
While reinvestment continued, this period of growth was not without its challenges as the Bowlers Bar flooded in 2007 following record rainfall and the laundry and maintenance workshop was destroyed by a fire in 2008.[6]
In 2013, Brian Potter was awarded with an MBE[7] for his long service in the tourism industry. He passed away[8][9] in November 2014 and in his memory, the Potter Family formed the Potters Friends Foundation to help local worthy causes, continuing his legacy and charitable efforts.
In March 2020, the Resort was forced to close its doors[10] due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New all-inclusive breaks were developed allowing guests to enjoy holidays without additional expenses.
In December 2021, Potters Resort announced the acquisition of a second venue[11] at Five Lakes in Maldon, Essex, with the company changing its name to Potters Resorts in the process. Potters Resort would in turn become Potters Resorts Hopton-on-Sea.
Its new sister location, Potters Resorts Five Lakes, opened in May 2022.
References[edit]
- ↑ "World Bowls at Potters: 'There's nowhere else I'd rather be'". BBC News. 2023-01-13. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
- ↑ "Potters Resort on the hunt for early visitors from 1920s to 1960s". Great British Life. 2019-09-30. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
- ↑ "World-War-Two-military-camp-at-Hemsby-Holiday-Centre - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
- ↑ "Bowls history at Potters Resort". 2010-01-05. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
- ↑ "Promotion: World Indoor Bowls Championships returns to Norfolk coast". Eastern Daily Press. 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
- ↑ "Fire engulfs building at Potters holiday resort". Great Yarmouth Mercury. 2008-11-04. Retrieved 2023-06-14.
- ↑ "Royal honour for Hopton tourism champ". Norwich Evening News. 2013-02-14. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
- ↑ "Holiday resort boss Brian Potter dies aged 73". BBC News. 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
- ↑ "Brian Potter, of Potters Resort in Hopton, dies at the age of 73". Eastern Daily Press. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
- ↑ "Coronavirus: Potters Holiday Resort in Norfolk closes". BBC News. 2020-03-17. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
- ↑ "Potters Resort expands into Essex after acquiring new site". Eastern Daily Press. 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2023-06-08.
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