Hemsby is a village, seaside resort and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England. It is situated some north of the town of

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map OL40 - The Broads''. . In the 2001 census Hemsby had a population of 2,973 in 1,221 households; the population increased in the 2011 census to 3,275. Hemsby borders the villages of

Winterton-on-Sea Winterton-on-Sea is a village and civil parish on the North Sea coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Great Yarmouth and east of Norwich.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The civil parish h ...

and Scratby. For the purpose of local government, the parish is in the district of

.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. Coastal erosion has destroyed a number of homes 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 villages name means 'Hemer's farm/settlement'. Hemsby, along with much of the Norfolk coast, was targeted by the Vikings, who initially raided the area in search of precious materials and

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. The village was founded at some point during this time. The settlement grew steadily and is listed in the Domesday Book under the name of ''Haimesbei'' with a description of "a hamlet covering 43 meadow acres with 50 households, 3 slaves, 2 salt pans and 160 sheep."

The village

Beaches

The beaches were one of the major tourist draws in the village, with miles of sandy coastline. Large

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

form a natural barrier between the beach and the village behind it. One of the more unusual features of the beach is a scattering of anti-tank blocks across the beach, and a concrete bunker, left over from the World War II coastline defences. These were cast by the Royal Engineers as tank defences, the platoon sergeant was Owen (Tom) Hanbury who settled in Hemsby. Erosion is a major problem in the surrounding villages of

and

Caister Caister-on-Sea, also known colloquially as Caister, is a large village and seaside resort in Norfolk, England. It is close to the large town of Great Yarmouth. At the 2001 census it had a population of 8,756 and 3,970 households, the populati ...

where sandy cliffs are being destroyed by the forces of the sea. Hemsby's dunes are also being eroded; previously the wide beach had made the effect less noticeable, but the rate of erosion has increased significantly in the past two years, threatening homes, the local lifeboat station and the village's tourist industry. In 2013 a campaign was started to save Hemsby Beach: 'DIY'

sea defences The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

are being built to try to stem the erosion.

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 Co-op shop, hairdressers and a Chinese restaurant. This is also the main location for buses into

and

Martham Martham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some north-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and north-east of the city of Norwich. The villages name means 'marten homestead/village' or 'weasel/marten he ...

. St Mary the Virgin Church was built in the 12th century and is a landmark in the village. The Scroby Sands wind farm was built in 2003 and is clearly visible from the village and the beach. The

Blood Hill wind farm Blood Hill is a wind farm near Hemsby in Norfolk, England. It is the smallest windfarm owned by E.ON; taking up 3 hectares. It has a nameplate capacity of 2.25Megawatt, MW which is enough to power 1000 homes at peak. There were 10 Vestas V27-225& ...

is also near the village in Winterton. The

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...

operated the Hemsby meteorological station (WMO ID: 03496) from 1948 to 2001. The site hosted a suite of surface and upper observations (including radiosonde), and an Upper Air Training School during this period.

Hemsby Beach

The tourist-based part of the village lies along Beach Road and is commonly known as Hemsby Beach. It features funfairs, crazy golf courses and children's rides. The beach end of the road has cafes, shops and

amusement arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as cl ...

s, while at the upper end are houses and accommodation parks, consisting mainly of chalets and

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

s. Herbert Potter purchased land in Hemsby; this was the original site of the first permanent and mixed-use holiday camp in the United Kingdom,

Potters Resort Potters Resort is a modern five star holiday village in Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk near the border with Suffolk. Potters was the first permanent holiday camp in the United Kingdom, opening its doors for the first time in 1920. Over a century on a ...

. The holiday camp opened in 1920 with wooden huts as standard. The camp was moved down the coast to Hopton-on-Sea in 1924, and the original site was sold. The largest of the accommodation parks was a branch of Pontins, but this closed in 2009.

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 Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

camp to developer Northern Trust, it has been subject to multiple development proposals in the period since, none of which have progressed to planning.

December 2013 storm

Seven cliff-top homes were destroyed when cliffs collapsed in a

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

caused by

Cyclone Bodil Cyclone Xaver (or Storm Xaver), also known as the North Sea flood or tidal surge of 2013, was a winter storm that affected northern Europe. Force 12 winds and heavy snowfall were predicted along the storm's path, and there were warnings of a s ...

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. The Viking theme was continued with the announcement of Norfolk's first Viking Festival held in June. 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 got 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. The project, designed to be environmentally friendly, will provide revolutionary 'open air' camping all-year-round inside giant geodesic domes.

Gallery

Image:HemsbyBeach.jpg, The beach at Hemsby Image:Seacroft Holiday Park, Hemsby.jpg, Seacroft Holiday Park, Beach Road Image:Hemsby Beach.jpg, The beach at Hemsby

Transport

Hemsby was once served by

Hemsby railway station Hemsby railway station was a station in Hemsby, Norfolk. It was on the line between Melton Constable and Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centr ...

which was located on the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway between Great Yarmouth (Beach) and Melton Constable. It was operational from 1878 - 1959.Yarmouth Beach Railway Station
The LMS Ivatt Class 4 (2-6-0)steam locomotive was predominantly used on this route. Currently Hemsby is served by two

First Norfolk & Suffolk First Eastern Counties is a bus operator providing services in Norfolk and Suffolk in eastern England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. It has seven depots which are part of five operating areas spread out across East Anglia. The five operatin ...

bus services, the 1 1a and 1b. The 1b serves Hemsby Beach and the 1 and 1a serves the village. all stop at the Kingsway bus stop.

Institutions

Charities

Hemsby is home to the

Hemsby Inshore Rescue Service Hemsby is a village, seaside resort and civil parish in the county of Norfolk, England. It is situated some north of the town of Great Yarmouth.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map OL40 - The Broads''. . In the 2001 census Hemsby had a ...

(better known as Hemsby Lifeboat), an independent and voluntary lifeboat service that operates within the nearby coastal areas and the broads. The institution is independent of the

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

, relying entirely upon public donations in order to operate. Each year two fund-raising days are held, Hemsby Lifeboat Day and Hemsby Herring Festival, they are held on the beach, with a variety of stalls and booths to attract visitors.

Churches

Church of St Mary the Virgin, Hemsby - geograph

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. Built in 1879 with a regular Sunday service at 1100 The Congregationalist Church was founded in 1862 and located on Yarmouth Rd 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

http://kepn.nottingham.ac.uk/map/place/Norfolk/Hemsby

External links

.
Information from Genuki Norfolk
on Hemsby.
Hemsby Parish Council websiteHemsby Inshore Rescue Service websiteHemsby Amusements
{{authority control Villages in Norfolk Populated coastal places in Norfolk Civil parishes in Norfolk Seaside resorts in England Beaches of Norfolk Borough of Great Yarmouth