Hopton-on-Sea

Hopton-on-Sea should not be confused with the village of Hopton which is in Suffolk but near to the Norfolk town of Diss. There is also a Haven Caravan Park, named Hopton Holiday Village, and a Hopton near Wirksworth in Derbyshire

Hopton-on-Sea
Hopton beach
Hopton-on-Sea  Hopton-on-Sea shown within Norfolk
Area	5.63 km2 (2.17 sq mi)
Population	2,706
– density	481/km2 (1,250/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TM5399
District	Great Yarmouth
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	GREAT YARMOUTH
Postcode district	NR31
Dialling code	01502
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
UK Parliament	Great Yarmouth
List of places UK England Norfolk

Coordinates: 52°32′02″N 1°44′17″E / 52.534°N 1.738°E / 52.534; 1.738

Hopton-on-Sea is a village, civil parish and seaside resort on the coast of eastern England in the county of Norfolk. It is located some 8 km south of the town of Great Yarmouth and very close to the UK's most easterly point, Lowestoft Ness.^[1]

History

The original church of St Margaret's burnt down in 1865 to be replaced the following year by a new church of the same name designed by Samuel Sanders Teulon. It is in the Victorian neo-Norman style and contains stained glass by William Morris and Burne-Jones. The old church ruins are being restored to form a cultural centre for the village.

Governance

The civil parish was, until 1974, in the county of East Suffolk. It has an area of 5.63 km² and in the 2001 census had a population of 2,706 in 1,166 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of Great Yarmouth.^[2]

Present

The village maintains a post office, two local convenience stores, a village primary school, and several amusement arcades, a bookmakers, a hair salon, take-away food venues and a chip shop.

It has a regular, if infrequent bus service to Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. It once had its own station Hopton railway station, linking it to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, but this has now closed.

Notable former residents include comedians Joe Pasquale and Eddie Large, children's presenter Dave Benson Phillips, oil magnate Simon Martin and footballers Mark Noble and Laurie Sivell. Not forgetting ginger Simon.

Potters Leisure Resort

In 1914 solicitors clerk Herbert Potter won £500 in a newspaper competition. Called up to serve in World War I, on his return in 1919 he bought a 65 acres (26 ha) plot of land in Hopton-on-Sea. From 1920 he started developing a holiday camp by laying out rows of surplus former British Army Nissen huts.^[3]

In the 1980s after cheap package holidays and consistent sunshine became available to all, Herbert's grandson Brian Potter began to redevelop the resort as a luxury leisure complex, marketed at families looking for a second holiday or luxury short break. This included full service, with food and theatre-style entertainment in specially created facilities as part of the package, providing year-round attractions for a variety of up to 700 residential visitors. As a result, in 2002 the English Tourist Council classed Potters as Britain’s first five-star holiday village.^[3]

As part of its marketing, Potters sponsors and hosts the World Indoor Bowls Championship. Former politician David Blunkett was a keen regular, however he could not play bowls, as he is blind.

Potters Theatre School graduates include West End theatre stars Kerry Ellis and Lee Mead.^[4] Prior to winning the first series of The Voice UK,^[5] singer Leanne Mitchell had graduated from Potters Theatre School age 15, eventually working full-time as part of Potters Theatre Company.^[6]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hopton-on-Sea.