"and focused his efforts back in Europe. In the late 1940s Butlin had successfully opened hotels outside the Skegness and Ayr camps, so he now saw his opportunity to expand into this market. Butlin began acquiring hotels in Saltdean, Blackpool and Cliftonville. In the 1960s Butlin began to create a series of new camps at Bognor Regis (opened 1960), Minehead (1962) and Barry Island (1966). Barry Island remained part of the Butlin's empire until the 1980s, while Bognor and Minehead remain part of the company today. On 2 July 1960 Butlin planned to open his holiday camp at Bognor, but"
"facilities, such as dance halls and sports fields. During World War II, the camp was subject to a short military occupation when it served as a Naval training base, reverting to being a holiday camp in 1946. Over the past 75 years the camp has seen continuous use and development, in the mid-1980s and again in the late 1990s being subject to substantial investment and redevelopment. In the late 1990s the site was re-branded as a holiday resort, and remains open today as one of three remaining Butlins resorts. In 1914, Billy Butlin was living in Toronto with his mother"
"Butlins Bognor Regis Butlins Bognor Regis is a holiday camp in the seaside resort of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England. It lies south southwest of London. Butlin's presence in the town began in 1932 with the opening of an amusement park; their operation soon expanded to take in a zoo as well. In 1960, Billy Butlin opened his first post-war mainland holiday camp, moving both the amusement park and zoo into the new camp. The camp survived a series of cuts in the early 1980s, attracting further investment and again in the late 1990s when it was retained as one"
"Butlin's Ayr Butlin's Ayr was a holiday camp located near Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland. When originally opened in 1946, it was named Butlin's Ayr, but in 1987 was renamed Wonderwest World. It closed in 1998 and re-opened in 1999 under the management of Haven Holidays who renamed it Craig Tara. During the Second World War the Admiralty, who had already taken over his camp at Filey, asked Billy Butlin to construct two new camps; one in North Wales and the other in Scotland. Butlin found on the coast neighbouring the Heads of Ayr. In 1946 after the war had"
"Butlin's Clacton Butlin's Clacton was a holiday camp located on Clacton-on-Sea in England. It opened in 1938 and closed in 1983. Clacton-on-Sea is the largest town on the Tendring Peninsula in Essex and was founded in 1871. It is a seaside resort that attracted many tourists in the summer months between the 1950s and 1970s, but like many other British seaside resorts went into decline as a holiday destination since holidays abroad became more affordable. In 1936 Billy Butlin made moves to create a new holiday camp there, by buying and refurbishing the West Clacton Estate, an amusement park to"
"2010/11 TV adverts), in 2013 the new Splash Waterworld opened adding a new £16 million state of the art pool area to the resort and plans have recently been submitted to modernise the resort once again with further investment into new restaurants and stores. Butlins Barry Island was the last of Billy Butlin's holiday camps. The camp opened in 1966 and was sold to Majestic Holidays in 1987. Butlins Ayr was built by Billy Butlin as a naval training camp in 1940. The camp opened to the public in 1946. In 1948 Butlin also opened a hotel on the site"
"awarded a Green Flag and includes various sections with formal gardens, memorials and places to sit and rest away from the hustle bustle of the beach. In 1936, Billy Butlin bought and refurbished the West Clacton Estate, an amusement park to the west of the town. He opened a new amusement park on the site in 1937 and then, a year later on 11 June 1938, opened the second of his holiday camps. This location remained open until 1983 when, due to changing holiday tastes, Butlins decided to close the facility. It was then purchased by former managers of the"
"Butlins Butlins (also Butlin's) is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and one in the Bahamas. In the 1970s and 1980s, Butlins also operated numerous large hotels, including one in Spain, a number of smaller holiday parks in England and France, and a revolving restaurant in the Post Office Tower in London. Tough competition from overseas package holiday operators, rising operational costs, and rapidly changing demand, forced many of the"
"and a boating lake."" However Butlin hired the architect Harold Ridley Hooper, to draw up the formal plans for the camp buildings. In the camp's landscaped grounds, there were to be tennis courts, bowling and putting greens and cricket pitches. The total cost of the project was £100,000 (2011:£) and despite having suffered a financial shortfall during construction, the camp opened on schedule in 1936. One of the original 1936 chalet accommodation units is still present and is now a grade II listed building, recognising its historical significance. He opened his camp on 11 April 1936 (Easter Even). It was"
"use of Butlins camps continued, with resorts at Ayr, Filey, and Pwllheli being completed and opened as military camps. This camp was later renamed ""Wonderwest World"", and is now owned and run by Haven, part of Bourne Leisure, who own both brands. In 1945, with the war over, Filey was re-opened as a holiday camp. The camps at Skegness & Clacton opened in 1946, Ayr and Pwllheli in 1947 and Mosney on the east coast of Ireland in 1948. Butlins became popular in post-war Britain, with family entertainment and activities available for the equivalent of a week's pay. In 1948"
"refurbishment also included further updates to the chalet accommodation, a redesign for the Redcoat uniform and the provision of a resort police constable to improve security. The camp was relaunched by pop star Ronan Keating in May 1999. At the same time, the company dropped its use of the possessive apostrophe, changing from Butlin's to Butlins; after the refurbishment, the resort was renamed as Butlins Resort Bognor Regis, as it remains to date. Today the resort caters for over 385,000 visitors per year with 300,000 being resident and 85,000 visiting for the day. The resort is one of the largest"
"Free,"" an autobiographical song on the Clash's second album, ""Give 'Em Enough Rope"". Butlins Butlins (also Butlin's) is a chain of large seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one in Ireland and one in the Bahamas. In the 1970s and 1980s, Butlins also operated numerous large hotels, including one in Spain, a number of smaller holiday parks in England and France, and a revolving restaurant in the Post Office Tower in London. Tough competition from overseas package"
"Butlin's Minehead Butlins Resort Minehead is a holiday camp operated by Butlins, located in Minehead in Somerset, England. It opened in 1962 and remains in use today. It was known as Butlin's Minehead until 1987, and as Somerwest World from then until 1999, when it reopened as Butlins Minehead Resort. In the winter of 1961, Billy Butlin began work on creating his camp in Minehead. The site was selected because of its flatness, good rail links, and proximity to the town and sea. The site was not without its problems, however, including flooding. In order to solve this, a trench"
"in 1965. Billy Butlin took out a 99-year lease on the headland at Nell's Point in 1966. Building work began there in the winter and the gates opened to campers on 18 June 1966. Barry Island holiday camp contained all the tried and tested Butlins ingredients: the famous Butlins Redcoats, funfair, early morning wake up with Radio Butlin, dining hall, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, ballroom; boating lake, tennis courts, sports field (for the three legged and egg and spoon races and the donkey derby), table tennis and snooker tables, amusement arcade, medical centre, theatre, arcades of shops and the"
"a miniature railway was added in 1964, chairlifts in 1965, and a monorail in 1967. Butlin's inspiration for his holiday empire had come from a holiday to Barry Island in his twenties, when he had been locked out of his B&B all day by his landlady. He finally decided to build the last and smallest of the camps there in 1965. Butlin took out a 99-year lease on the headland at Nell's Point, Barry Island, in 1966. Building work began there in the winter and the gates opened to campers on 18 June 1966. Butlin retired in 1969 and the"
"The camp later became known as Southcoast World until 1998 and is now known as Butlin's Bognor Regis Resort. In 1999 Butlin's erected a large indoor leisure park, the buildings construction sharing aspects similar with the Millennium Dome in London. In 2005, a new £10m hotel, called <nowiki>""The Shoreline""</nowiki> was unveiled at the Bognor Regis resort. A second hotel ""The Ocean"" opened on the site in Summer 2009 and general landscaping and upgrading has also taken place, with a third hotel ""Wave"" opened Summer 2012. Postcards featuring the Butlins' Reception Hall and Sun Lounge were reprinted in the book ""Boring"
"camp opened. Recollections of the refugees suggest that by December 1938 the camp was being run by Harry Warner, whose company Butlin was on the board of. At around the same time Butlin's advertised Dovercourt as ""associated with Butlin's"" and into the early 1940s Butlin was putting on rail packages with the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) to the Dovercourt camp. Butlin proposed a new holiday camp at Clacton-on-Sea in Essex in 1936. Both the council and the local association of hotels were against the idea, as were the boarding house keepers. To persuade them, Butlin took the members"
"and a railway station serving the camp. In 1987 a refurbishment saw the camp re-branded ""Wonderwest World"" and the creation of a new indoor fun-pool along with modernised accommodation. The site was re-branded to sister company Haven Holidays in 1999 and renamed ""Craig Tara"", since then, the focus has moved to replacing the original chalets with static caravans. Butlins Pwllheli was built by Billy Butlin as a naval training camp in 1940. After the war, the camp opened to the public in 1947. In 1987 a refurbishment saw the camp renamed ""Starcoast World"" and the creation of a new indoor"
"undergone further aesthetic upgrades. However, most of the original buildings remain, including almost all the original chalets. As such Minehead is now the last remaining Butlins camp that is still largely as Sir Billy designed it. Minehead is the largest resort out of the three remaining open parks, and can hold up to 10,000 guests. Mosney was the first Butlins camp outside the UK. The camp opened in 1948, occupying some 200 acres (0.81 km2) of a former country estate. In 1982, Butlins sold the camp, which was renamed ""Mosney Holiday Centre"". The camp continued without substantive changes, however the"
"thought up on a trip to The Bahamas in 1946. Seeing potential for a camp in warmer climes, he formed a company under the chairmanship of Sir Bede Edmund Hugh Clifford and bought land in Grand Bahama. Butlin also purchased the Princess Hotel in Bermuda and the Fort Montagu beach hotel in Nassau. The camp was intended to be complete and open on New Years Day of 1950. After an investment of US$5 million (2011:£) the camp opened, still only partially complete, in the winter of 1949. To celebrate its opening, Butlin ran a mystery flight, where guests, who had"
"the bungalows. There was an amusement arcade with bingo and a summertime supermarket. The first caravans on Ingoldale Park each had their own toilet at the rear of the van, a small wooden outhouse. By the 1970s a modern toilet block had been built with washing, showering and toilet facilities. The Beach Club grew and expanded throughout the late 1970s and 80s until it was finally closed in 2003 to make way for modern wheelchair-accessible accommodation. Billy Butlin opened the UK's first holiday camp at Ingoldmells in 1936, which today is major employer in the area and attracts numerous tourists."
"of only three camps still bearing the Butlin name. The camp has since seen a raft of new construction as the company moves from chalet towards hotel-based accommodation. In 1914, Billy Butlin was living in Toronto with his mother and stepfather, when he left school and went to work for Eatons department store. One of the best aspects of working for the company was that he was able to visit their summer camp, which gave him his first taste of a real holiday, indeed a taste of what was to become a very big part of his life. The onset"
"to how Stephen was able to walk so far by himself and whether he may have been transported by some unknown third party) remain. Butlin's Ayr Butlin's Ayr was a holiday camp located near Ayr in South Ayrshire, Scotland. When originally opened in 1946, it was named Butlin's Ayr, but in 1987 was renamed Wonderwest World. It closed in 1998 and re-opened in 1999 under the management of Haven Holidays who renamed it Craig Tara. During the Second World War the Admiralty, who had already taken over his camp at Filey, asked Billy Butlin to construct two new camps; one"
"It moved to Hopton-on-Sea in 1925 and to another site within that village in 1933. In the 1930s, camps took on a larger scale with the establishment of large chains. The first of these was Warners, founded by Harry Warner who opened his first site on Hayling Island in 1931, with another three opening before the outbreak of World War II. During the early 1930s, Warner asked funfair entrepreneur Billy Butlin to join the board of his company and in 1935 Butlin observed the construction of Warner's holiday camp in Seaton, Devon. Butlin learned from the experience of Warner, and"
"holiday camp, but it differed from the definition (above), especially as accommodation was still in tents. Cunningham's was still open by the time Billy Butlin opened his first camp in 1936 (and still averaged 60,000 campers on a good year). By the start of the 20th century, camps were beginning to be built with hut-based accommodation. Opened in 1906 by John Fletcher Dodd, Caister Camp in Caister-on-Sea, Norfolk was one of the first and later advertised itself as ""The Oldest Established Camp"". Inspired by visits to Caister Camp, 'Pa' Potter opened a similar camp in Hemsby, Norfolk called Potters Camp."
"service, modern bistro restaurant and cocktail bar, in addition to the regular Butlin's facilities. The success of the Shoreline saw another hotel opening in the autumn of 2009. Costing £20 million to construct, the hotel was named the ""Ocean Hotel"". In July 2012, Butlins' latest hotel opened; named the ""Wave Hotel"", it is the first Butlins' hotel to feature self-catering apartments. A further three hotels are being planned as part of Bognor Regis Regeneration. In 1963 the camp was the location for a scene in the film ""The Beauty Jungle"" starring Janette Scott and Ian Hendry. The film was produced"
"Butlins operations to close in the 1980s and 1990s. Three of the original camps remain open under the Butlins brand in Bognor Regis, Minehead, and Skegness. They are now owned and run by Butlins Skyline Ltd, a subsidiary company of Bourne Leisure Ltd, which also operates other leisure brands in the British Isles, including Warner Leisure Hotels and Haven Holidays. Butlins runs a variety of ""family fun activities"" and entertainments, many of which are included in the price of a holiday. Redcoats provide entertainment, organise activities, and act as hosts. Billy Butlin's inspiration for his holiday camp empire came from"
"Billy Butlin Sir William Heygate Edmund Colborne ""Billy"" Butlin (29 September 1899 – 12 June 1980) was a South African-born British entrepreneur whose name is synonymous with the British holiday camp. Although holiday camps such as Warner's existed in one form or another before Butlin opened his first in 1936, it was Butlin who turned holiday camps into a multimillion-pound industry and an important aspect of British culture. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, to William and Bertha Butlin, Butlin had a turbulent childhood. His parents separated before he was seven, and he returned to England with his mother. He"
"to operate until the 1970s when it was closed and demolished. On 17 May 1947 a railway station was opened for the use of the camp and the nearby hotel, shortly before nationalisation and the formation of British Rail. It was closed again on 16 September 1968. In 1999 the camp became part of Haven Holidays along with the Pwllheli camp as part of an internal reorganisation within Bourne Leisure who owned both Butlins and Haven. Since being taken over by Haven Holidays it has been renamed ""Craig Tara"" and the focus of operations has been transformed from predominantly chalet"
"number of complaints appeared in the ""Catholic Standard"", warning that holiday camps were an English idea that was not desirable in Catholic Ireland. Like the other camps, Mosney was designed to have a church and reassurances were given that it would be a Catholic chapel with a resident priest. Reassurances were also given that Irish nationals would have priority over British tourists in booking holidays. In July 1948 the camp was finally opened by William Norton, the Minister for Social Welfare, and it operated successfully as a Butlin's camp until the early 1980s. A more ambitious plan by Butlin was"
"hotel, now the Holiday Inn Elstree. Film stars known to have visited the hotel include Bette Davis. In 1927, the Thatched Barn was commissioned by a Mrs Merrick and opened in 1934 as a ""roadhouse"", and a place where film stars could meet a lady. In 1939, Billy Butlin purchased the Thatched Barn as his first hotel; however, like his camps, it was requisitioned (this time by the SOE) before he could develop it further. In June 1942, the Inter Services Research Bureau part of the Special Operations Executive moved its Camouflage Section and main workshops to the Thatched Barn,"
"coastline. It has been claimed that Hotham and his new resort are portrayed in Jane Austen's unfinished novel ""Sanditon"". The resort grew slowly in the first half of the 19th century but grew rapidly following the coming of the railway in 1864. In 1929 the area was chosen by advisors to King George V which led to its regal suffix, by royal consent. Butlin's has been present in the town since the early 1930s when an amusement park and zoo were opened. A holiday camp followed in 1960 and this has more recently moved towards hotel accommodation with modern amenities."
"renewed periodically since 2005, with a fluctuating contracted capacity. Butlin's Mosney Mosney Accommodation Centre (formerly ""Butlin's Mosney"" and ""Mosney Holiday Centre"") is located in Mosney, County Meath, Ireland and is situated approximately from Dublin. It is probably best known as the site of a Butlin's holiday camp in the second half of the 20th century and as the site for the national finals of the Community Games. By the early 21st-century, this had been converted into an accommodation centre for asylum-seekers. The centre was served by Mosney railway station, which closed down in 2000. Mosney was the first Butlin's camp"