Warners Holidays: A brief history

Captain Harry Warner, a retired army officer, moved to Hayling Island in 1928 and took over the Grotto Cafe on the seafront, just east of the Royal Hotel.

The Grotto Cafe in the foreground with the Royal Hotel behind. The Royal still exists but the cafe has been demolished, and is now flats.

During his daily walks along the beach he encountered “the usual assortment of tent dwellers, railway carriage and beach-hut lodgers who packed the foreshore every summer.” He watched these people “trying to cook on oil stoves, improvising beach games out of nothing and trying to get to know each other and enjoy a communal holiday.” By talking to these people he became aware that “most of them were not enduring this kind of holiday because they couldn’t afford anything better, they just didn’t want to stay in the overcrowded and blighted boarding houses”. Why not, he thought, provide them “with the best features of a camping holiday – open air and freedom – but remove such irksome necessities such as cooking, bed making and finding one’s own entertainment”.

A couple of holiday camps already existed on Hayling Island. The Rotary Boys camp, later known as the Portsmouth Brotherhood, had existed for a few years, a place where “bad boys learned how to be good boys”. The Civil Service camp had opened in 1930, but was only available to government employees. Warner had heard many negative stories about the civil service camp from unhappy campers who visited his Cafe, and knew he could do better. In 1931 he opened his own camp at Northney, in the north of the island, to instant success.

Billy Butlin had become fascinated by the holiday camp business and paid a visit to the island where he struck up a close friendship with Warner. The two decided to go into business together and Butlin acquired 50% of the Warners company. He later leased some land adjacent to the Grotto Cafe and set up an amusement park (which still exists today).

In 1934 the partnership of Warner and Butlin opened their first camp at Seaton, followed by Dovercourt in 1937 and Puckpool in 1939. During this time Butlin also set up two of his own camps at Skegness (1936) and Clacton (1938). Warner was involved with the design of both Butlin camps.

The Warners company went public in 1939 and the share issue raised £145,000, and was oversubscribed in just 5 minutes. Butlin was Chairman though he said that Warner was running the company and that he was purely “acting in an advisory capacity”. At the same time Butlin sold his personal shares in Warners to Butlins Ltd as he felt “it was undesirable to retain such a substantial personal interest in other holiday camp companies”. He said the two companies will continue to work closely together as it will result in “substantial savings in advertising and printing, economics in the purchase of supplies and constructional costs and a reduction in administration costs”.

In 1946 Warners was able to buy the Civil Service camp, along with its sister camp in Corton. The Hayling camp was renamed Southleigh. Later than year Butlin stepped down as Chairman to focus on his own growing empire. Over the years Butlins Ltd sold off most of their Warner shares, but retained a 10% stake.

In 1952 Captain Warner stepped back from the day-to-day running and handed control to his three sons. Alen Warner was just 22 when he became managing director.

Warner Holidays Timeline post-1955

1955 – Minster opens

1959 – Sinah Warren is acquired

1960 – Coronation is acquired (later renamed Lakeside)

1963 – Woodside Bay opens

1964 – Capt Warner dies aged 75

1966 – Bembridge and Norton Grange are acquired from the Yelland family.

1968 – St Mary’s Bay Holiday Motel in Brixham is acquired and becomes the only self-catering site

1970 – Kontiki Hotel in Majorca is acquired

1977 – Butlins sell their amusement park in Hayling Island which Billy Butlin had opened back in the 1930s. It’s still open today as Funland

1980 – Minster closes due to low bookings

1981 – Warners is sold to Grand Metropolitan for 10 million. Northney closes

1982 – Woodside Bay closes.

1984 – Kontiki Hotel sold (still open as Hotel Allsun Kontiki)

1986 – Grand Metropolitan spins off its leisure interests into a new company known as Mecca Leisure. £5 million is invested in the camps. Southleigh closes.

1987 – Mecca Leisure buys Ladbroke Holidays for £55 million. The 17 Ladbroke holiday parks are all rebranded under the Warners name. Seaton is merged with the adjacent Ladbroke Blue Waters caravan park and renamed Lyme Bay

1988 – Gunton Hall is acquired

1990 – Rank buys Mecca Leisure and some of the camps are rebranded as Haven. Dovercourt closes.

1992 – Puckpool & St Clare are merged together and renamed Harcourt Sands

1994 – Warners becomes an over-50s company and starts focusing on hotels converted from large country estates.

1999 – Three full-board Warner camps – Harcourt Sands, Mill Rythe & Lyme Bay – are sold to Renowned Holidays

2000 – Rank sells its holiday division to Bourne Leisure.

2006 – Harcourt Sands is closed

2008 – Lyme Bay is closed and land sold to Tesco for new supermarket

The Warners company still exists and is now a major operator of adults-only holidays with 16 locations around the country. Most of their accommodation is now in large country manor houses which have been converted into hotels. However they still own 6 former holiday camps, although they’ve all been much rebuilt and modernised over the years.

Corton – opened 1924 and one of two civil service camps acquired by Warners in 1946. Still contains chalet accommodation.

Sinah Warren – opened 1958, acquired by Warners in 1959. All accommodation is now in hotel rooms.

Lakeside – previously known as the Coronation camp which opened in 1936. Acquired by Warners in 1960 and later renamed Lakeside. Still contains chalet accommodation.

Norton Grange – opened in the 1930s and acquired by Warners in 1966. Still contains chalet accommodation.

Bembridge – opened in the 1930s and acquired by Warners in 1966. All accommodation is now in hotel rooms

Gunton Hall – opened in the 1930s and acquired by Warners in 1988. Still contains chalet accommodation.