Hemsby is a village,

seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germa ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

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

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

.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 Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwar ...

has destroyed a number of homes and others are threatened. A Norfolk county map dated around 1610 shows a headland, called

Winterton Ness Winterton Ness is an area of foreland on the North Norfolk coast of England. Winterton Ness is located to the north of the village of Winterton-on-Sea between in the north to to its south. Technically it is a narrow cuspate foreland with a h ...

, 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 Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

, 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 Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

under the name of ''Haimesbei'' with a description of "a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

covering 43 meadow

acres The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...

with 50 households, 3 slaves, 2 salt pans and 160 sheep."

The village

Beaches

The

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc s ...

es 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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

coastline defences. These were cast by the Royal Engineers as tank defences, the platoon sergeant was Owen (Tom) Hanbury who settled in Hemsby.

Erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

is a major problem in the surrounding villages of Winterton-on-Sea 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 A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

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

and Martham. 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 2.25 MW which is enough to power 1000 homes at peak. There were 10 Vestas V27-225 kW ...

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 Penelop ...

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

funfair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

crazy golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

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 ...

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

chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-suppo ...

s 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 ...

. 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 Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK, founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin. Since 2011, it has been owned by Britannia Hotels. Pontins specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays featuring entertainment ...

, 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 Sir Frederick William Pontin (24 October 1906 – 30 September 2000) was the founder of Pontins holiday camps and one of the two main entrepreneurs in the British holiday camp business in the 30 years after World War II, alongside Billy Butlin. ...

. 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 northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre rivers, and is ...

camp to developer

Northern Trust Northern Trust Corporation is a financial services company headquartered in Chicago that caters to corporations, institutional investors, and ultra high net worth individuals. Northern Trust is one of the largest banking institutions in the Un ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

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

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

n market and music.

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma M ...

, formerly of

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

, 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 dome A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a geodesic polyhedron. The triangular elements of the dome are structurally rigid and distribute the structural stress throughout the structure, making geodesic do ...

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 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 ...

which was located on the

Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) was a railway network in England, in the area connecting southern Lincolnshire, the Isle of Ely and north Norfolk. It developed from several local independent concerns and was incorporated ...

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 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 (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