Mill Rythe
| Mill Rythe Holiday Village | |
|---|---|
| Location | Hayling Island, Hampshire, UK |
| Subsequent Name Changes | The Sunshine Holiday Camp (1938–1979) Mill Rythe Holiday Village (since 1980) |
| Holiday Camp chain | Away Resorts |
| Coordinates | 50°48′02″N 0°58′27″W / 50.800581°N 0.9741163°W |
| Opening date | 1938 |
| Other Facilities | Bowling green, swimming pool |
Mill Rythe Holiday Village is a holiday camp in Hayling Island, Hampshire, England. Originally called Sunshine Holiday Camp, it opened its doors to the public in the early 1940's and had also been used by the Marines during the war and for holidays with their families after World War II.
Sunshine Holiday Camp was owned by a local management team, Freshfields and was eventually bought out by Pontins in the 1960's. It was later bought by Warners in the 1980's and became known as Mill Rythe Holiday Village. After a few years, Warners decided to merge with Haven with the ownership of Mill Rythe Holiday Village. During the 1990's the ownership of the holiday camp changed a few times. It was close to administration and closing down in 2008.
In September 2010, newly formed holiday park operator, Away Resorts bought the park and have made several investments and improvements throughout it's ownership.
Mill Rythe history
The Sunshine Camp was originally a farmhouse, Hudson’s, with some land and modest surroundings. Building of the holiday camp started in 1938 but was not finished due to the outbreak of World War II and holidays were put on hold.[web 1]
Hayling Island played a major role in many aspects of the Allied war effort during WWll and had been in the forefront of the pre-war holiday camp boom and created ideal accommodation for the many thousands of service personnel drafted in to train on the Island.
Sunshine Holiday Camp was taken over by the Royal Marines and was the location of the HMS Northney dockyard facility for landing craft repair and maintenance. Hayling Island was chosen as the location for D-Day rehearsal Fabius 2 to prepare for the D-Day and the invasion of mainland Europe.[web 2]
From the end of the war, through the 1950s and into the early 1960s the holiday camp industry thrived and Hayling Island became a popular destination for holiday makers.[1] The camp was eventually bought out by Pontins in the 1960's from local management operator Freshfields.
However, by the 1970s the popularity of holiday camps began to decline as people began to holiday abroad taking advantage of the new, cheap package holidays.[2] The holiday camp was eventually bought by Warners in the 1980's and changed the name of the camp from The Sunshine Holiday Camp to Mill Rythe Holiday Village.
After a few years, Warners merged with Haven and became part of Rank Group Holidays Division. In the 1990s and after nearly a decade of ownership, the village changed hands a few times to minor companies and was close to going into administration in 2008.
In September 2010, Mill Rythe was bought by holiday park operator Away Resorts.[web 3] Since the acquisition, Away Resorts have invested over £2.5 million into the holiday camp with continuous plans for further renovations and improvements.[web 4]
Entertainment
Mill Rythe hosts a variety of entertainment weekends with breaks targeted for both adults and families. The facilities include a ballroom, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a sports field, table tennis and snooker tables, amusement arcades, restaurant and shops.[web 4]
Influence
In 1977, Mill Rythe was the setting for the British comedy film Confessions from a Holiday Camp starring Robin Askwith and directed by Norman Cohen. The popular BBC sit-com Hi-de-Hi! used Mill Rythe for establishing shots and other exterior scenes.
More recently, Eastenders shot scenes at the holiday village in 2014.[web 4]
Bibliography
- Roebuck, Janet (1982). The making of modern English society from 1850. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7100-0415-4. Retrieved December 21, 2011.
- Ward, Colin; Hardy, Dennis (1987). Goodnight campers!: the history of the British holiday camp. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-7201-1835-3. Retrieved December 18, 2011.
Bibliographic notes
References
- ↑ Roebuck 1982, p. 174.
- ↑ Ward, Hardy 1987, p. 171.
Websites
- ↑ "Hayling at War" (PDF). Copp Heroes. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- ↑ "A history of Hayling Island holiday camps". Karen Walker. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ↑ "Holiday camp entrepreneur woos rich and poor". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- 1 2 3 "One of Haying Island original holiday camps gets makeover". Hayling Islander. Retrieved 15 September 2016.