20-447: The Pontins Professional was an invitational professional non- ranking snooker tournament which ran from 1974 until 2000. Top snooker professionals had regularly supplemented their income from professional events by playing exhibition matches on the holiday camp circuit, with Pontins being a regular venue for entertaining holiday-makers. Beginning in 1974, a tournament involving eight professional players began at Pontins and became
40-805: A five-year multi-million investment plan for the remaining five parks. Refurbishment work completed in 2010 included a new half-board restaurant and ice skating rink at the Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park, and a new roller skating rink at the Brean Sands Holiday Park. Proposals of rebuilding the Camber Sands and Southport Holiday Parks and doubling the capacity of the Pakefield Holiday Park were also made. In November 2010, Pontins entered administrative receivership and in January 2011,
60-467: A regular point in the snooker calendar, usually occurring in the summer after the World Snooker Championship . This ran in conjunction with an Open tournament, in which many young amateur players took part, and provided a springboard for future stars such as Paul Hunter and Judd Trump . There were also juniors, seniors, and ladies events. While top professional players regularly entered in
80-655: Is a list of some former Pontins resorts in the UK and Ireland that have either closed or been sold: Eccleston, Lancashire Eccleston is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley in Lancashire , England. It is beside the River Yarrow , and was formerly an agricultural and later a weaving settlement. Its name came from the Celtic word "eglēs" meaning a church, and
100-512: Is excluded from the scheduled monument protection, but it is Grade II listed. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011 , the parish has a population of 4,263. Since 2010, Eccleston has been in the constituency of South Ribble for elections for Westminster. Before this, the village was in the constituency of Chorley . Local government consists of councils at county , district and parish level. At district level, Eccleston
120-775: Is now being used as an antique, collectable and nostalgia retail space called "Bygone Times". The "New Mill" was converted into a small village shopping centre which was demolished entirely in 2015 and a new smaller shopping centre built with houses being built on the extra space. Consequently, the village has developed a more suburban role than some of its neighbours. The town is served by an hourly bus service to Wigan , Preston , Croston and Chorley (daytimes only) with more infrequent daytime services available to Southport and Ormskirk. The nearest railway stations are at Croston and Euxton Balshaw Lane . The village has two schools, Eccleston St. Mary's Church of England Primary School and Eccleston Primary School. There are three churches in
140-450: Is part of the three member Eccleston, Heskin and Charnock Richard ward of Chorley Council, created in 2021 it was previously part of a 3 member ward with Mawdesley From 2002 - 2021 and before that was combined with Heskin. In agrarian times the local speciality was fruit from orchards, few of which now remain. The more recent weaving industry has also passed, as the two local textile mills are now closed. The "Old Mill" building
160-487: Is usually in the form of chalets (which Pontins calls "apartments"). In 2022, it was rated the worst British holiday park chain out of a field of 19 in a survey by consumer association Which? As of April 2024 , two of the remaining Pontins resorts (Brean Sands and Pakefield) were closed to the public for a temporary but extended period due to serving as accommmodation for construction workers on nearby projects. Fred Pontin opened his first holiday camp in 1946 on
180-652: The Old English word "tūn" meaning a farmstead or settlement, i.e. a settlement by a Romano-British church . Evidence of the settlement dates back hundreds of years; St. Mary's Church dates back to the 14th century AD. The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, the book ordered by William the Conqueror , to detail all settlements and farms in England for the purpose of tax collection. Ingrave Farm, located on
200-490: The Bluecoats were Stu Francis , Shane Richie , Bobby Davro , Bradley Walsh , Nick Wilton , Lee Mack and Carol Lee Scott (who later played " Grotbags "). In 1978, the company was sold to Coral for £56 million. In 1980, Coral (including Pontins) was taken over by Bass Brewing , who sold Pontins in 1987 to a management buyout team led by Trevor Hemmings . It was sold again in 1989, to Scottish & Newcastle . Over
220-490: The company was bought out of receivership by Britannia Hotels . In 2014, the former Pontins resort at Sand Bay was purchased by the group and it became the sixth resort to be operated under the new Pontins brand. On 30 November 2023, Britannia Hotels, owners of Pontins, suddenly closed the parks at Prestatyn and Camber Sands with immediate effect, affecting people who had made bookings for the Christmas period. On 3 January 2024
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#1732898628533240-502: The larger moat by a still waterlogged channel. Bradley Hall Farm on the eastern side of the village is also on a moated site of an earlier building, thought to be of similar age. Although partially infilled, the moat survives best on the south-east and north-east sides where its width is between 10 and 15 metres (33 and 49 ft) and depth of up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). Around the moat there are also three fishponds that were connected to it by water channels. The present farmhouse
260-599: The next ten years, the company closed or sold off multiple sites. In a three-year programme in the mid-1990s, the remaining camps were modernised. By 2000, the company was operating only eight camps, and was sold back to Hemmings. In 2008, the company was sold to Ocean Parcs for £46 million. Wall Park holiday centre was not included in the sale. In January 2009, Pontins announced the closure of its Hemsby holiday centre. Pontins Blackpool in Squires Gate closed in October 2009 and
280-462: The northern side of the River Yarrow, is built on a moated site of an earlier building thought to date from the medieval period . The partly waterlogged moat about is 15 metres (49 ft) wide and 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) deep in places. About 100 metres (330 ft) to the west is a smaller site about 25 metres (82 ft) square, the moat of which has since been infilled. It was linked to
300-569: The park at Southport was suddenly closed following flooding in Storm Henk . In March 2021 a whistleblower provided the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) with an internal Pontins document listing what were considered to be common Irish surnames, deeming people so named to be "undesirable guests" whose booking was to be refused. This was done to be able to refuse bookings from Romani and Irish Travellers based on their name; discrimination
320-629: The site of a former U.S. army base (built during World War II ), at Brean Sands near Weston-super-Mare in Somerset at a cost of £23,000. Pontin formed a syndicate, in which he held 50% control, to own the camp. Within a year he had six camps. Over the years he bought more camps and personally ran them for a year, before selling them to the syndicate. He gradually expanded his empire to thirty sites. The camps were smaller and less expensive than Butlin's holiday camps. Pontins had Bluecoats to entertain their guests, as opposed to Butlins Redcoats . Among
340-546: The tournament's early years, the increase in the number of events on the snooker tour led to the biggest stars choosing not to enter in later years, and the professional tournament was last held in 2000. Pontins Pontins is a British company operating holiday parks in the UK , founded in 1946 by Fred Pontin . It was acquired by Britannia Hotels in 2011. Pontins specialises in offering half-board and self-catering holidays featuring entertainment at resorts, or "holiday parks", as they have branded them. Accommodation
360-531: The village, the 14th Century St Mary the Virgin Church of England Church to the north of the village (until the reformation this was formerly the Catholic Church), constructed from distinctive Liverpool sandstone, similar to Euxton Parish Church, Eccleston Methodist Church and St Agnes Roman Catholic Church to the south. The village public house scene has consolidated in recent years. The Original Farmer's Arms
380-519: Was also by accent. The practice was investigated by the EHRC, which found Pontins was "directly discriminating on the basis of race", breaching the Equality Act 2010 . The Britannia Hotel Group , which owns Pontins, made a legal agreement with the EHRC to investigate and end the practice, and change its policies and systems accordingly. As of January 2024 Pontins operated the following resorts: This
400-577: Was subsequently demolished after being acquired by property developer Persimmon , leaving only five parks still operating under the Pontins brand. Pontins headquarters were relocated to the Southport Holiday Park, Ainsdale in Southport . From the original Hemmings buy-out until then, the headquarters were at Sagar House in the village of Eccleston, Lancashire . In September 2009, Pontins announced
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