"Work on The Spinney began in September 2013 and the new scheme incorporates an event space and pedestrian priority area towards the High Street. The event space is partially surrounded by a curving feature wall, which includes photograph tiles and letter engraving. A feature balustrade is fitted to the top of the wall. New street furniture, trees and lighting have been installed to punctuate the landscaping, providing places to pause. Works to the High Street included resurfacing of carriage way and pedestrian crossing points, de-cluttering of street furniture and new feature planters.
Cllr Elizabeth Watson, Andrew Searle, Paul Searle are delighted to see The Spinney seating & public area openCllr Alistair Beales, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: “The focus of this project has been the involvement of the public and key stakeholders. The Hunstanton Regeneration Project Team has been pivotal in this work and I would like to express my thanks to them.
“The scheme is a big improvement, and now there is a clear pedestrian link into the High Street. We’ve also created a small performance area, where events can be held to encourage more people into the town centre.”
The tiled walled, a most attractive feature within the scheme, has been developed using photos submitted by members of the public and beautifully illustrates the halcyon days of the Victoria seaside upon which Hunstanton was built.
Cllr Elizabeth Watson, Borough Councillor and Chair of the Hunstanton Regeneration Project Team, said: “We received an array of photographs, from which we selected 25 to feature in the wall. These tiles tell the story of Hunstanton and in particular give an indication of what the town was like during its Victorian heyday.”
“We are grateful to everyone involved in creating this wall, from those providing the photos to those selecting the ones to use. We are now producing an explanatory leaflet to help visitors to the area to understand more about this beautiful resort.”
Also featured in the wall are two carved dedications: One to Richard Searle MBE for his services to the Round Table and one to Henry and Hamon Le Strange – visionaries, in recognition of establishing Hunstanton as a classic Victorian seaside resort. The wording is picked out in the wall using stone.
Gary Waddison, Chairman, Hunstanton and District Round Table, said: “Richard credited many of his achievements to what he learned in his early years spent in Round Table.
“We are delighted to be able to pay tribute to Richard’s outstanding service to the local community through his years spent in Hunstanton and District Round Table.
“We are especially pleased to have Richard remembered here as this is the kind of project I’m sure he would have been delighted to see happen.” "
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Richard Searle was a leasure resort owner [Searles Leasure Resort (
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" History of Searles
1954 – 2009
Back in 1910, William and Alice Searle moved from Whittlesey, near Peterborough and set up a boarding house in Hunstanton. Whilst Alice kept guests returning year after year for her excellent cooking, William invested in a plot of land and bought some donkeys, offering rides along the South Beach during the summer. Winter time he supplemented the family income by setting up as a produce merchant.
William's son Geoffrey fell in love with Hunstanton along with the sea and animals that these shorelines brought and by 1929 he surprised his father by commissioning the building of a motar boat so he could start offering pleasure boat trips to the holiday makers. This was an instant hit.
By summer 1934, after the sad loss of his father, Geoffrey took full charge of the operations, offering sites for tents and caravans on the donkey field as well as his boat trips and donkey rides.
Flying trips were a new attraction, when two famous airwomen, Pauline Gower, the pilot and Dorothy Spicer, her mechanic, brought their Spartan biplane to Hunstanton. From Geoffrey's field they ran flights whilst staying in a genuine old gypsy caravan for the season.
They were joined by stunt man, Bruce Williams, whose parachute jumps entertained many. To add humour to these trips, air passengers could enjoy flour bombing others in a car driven by Bruce or the speedboat below.
This is how Geoffrey met his wife Margaret. Whilst rather nervous of the sea, Margaret went for a ride in the speedboat and a flour bomb scored a direct hit on her navy blue suit covering her with flour. Despite this, she was willing to go back out with Geoffrey who replaced her outfit and married her!
In 1944 Richard, a son to Geoffrey & Margaret was born. Already destined to play a large part in the Searles Resort future, along with Richard's brother William and three sisters, June, Pauline, and Rosemary.
When peace returned after the war, Geoffrey set about reviving his leisure business.
Offering holiday makers a chance to enjoy the sea trips, camping area and not forgetting the donkeys! This soon became extremely popular and quite quickly there were some 50 caravans on site. The summer charge for this was £5 per caravan and £1 for tents!
This success later led to the forming of the private limited company, 'Searles Camping Ground Ltd' in 1954 and the popularity of tourism for both Hunstanton and Searles continued to grow.
In 1981, Geoffrey Searle passed away at the age of 81. A well liked man who never had a bad word to say about anyone.
In 1984 Richard Searle was to become the new Managing Director and with his astute knowledge in tourism, was also elected President of the West Norfolk Chamber of Trade. In 2001, Richard was honoured by the Queen with an MBE for his services to the Holiday Parks Industry.
All of the Searle family has worked together to continue their grand father and fathers dreams. William ( famously known as Captain Willie) and his wife Elizabeth continues to delight holiday makers with wonderful coastal sea tours enjoying views of the Hunstanton cliffs and trips to Seal Island. His famous amphibious carrier, the 'Wash Monster' can be seen regularly along the shoreline along with the pre war DUKW.
Richard and his wife Linda along with Richard's sisters, June, Pauline and Rosemary have continued to build their grandfathers donkey field into a popular family holiday resort set in a scenic memorable location of Hunstanton. Involved in all aspects of the business, the family together have helped to shape this resort to how you see it today. Rosemary and her family continue her grandfather's tradition, delighting the children with her pony rides on the beach and yes, they still have the donkeys!
Richard's eldest son Paul, took over as Managing Director in 2006 and as a keen golfer, has added the unique facility of a 9 hole golf course to the resort. Paul and his wife Victoria has two children, Eleanor and Oliver.
Andrew, second son to Richard and daughter Joanna, both have essential working roles within the present Searles organisation, along with William's three daughters, Aimee, Laura and Rachel.
With future family generations already working alongside their forefathers, the family hope to see the continued history of Searles expand for many years to come.
Richard Searle sadly passed away in March 2011."
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