Gallopers
 |
|
| Location | Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 52°35′37″N 1°44′10″E / 52.593742°N 1.736076°ECoordinates: 52°35′37″N 1°44′10″E / 52.593742°N 1.736076°E |
| Owner | Pleasure & Leisure Corporation PLC |
| Opened | March 1909 |
| Previous names | Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach |
| Operating season | March–October |
| Rides | |
| Total | 27 |
| Roller coasters | 4 |
| Water rides | 1 |
| Website | www.pleasure-beach.co.uk |
The Pleasure Beach Great Yarmouth is a historic free entry pleasure park located in the seaside resort town of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, on the English east coast. The park first opened in 1909 and has been operating ever since.
The largest and most popular ride at the park is the Roller Coaster which was built there in 1932. There are also around thirty other large rides at the park, as well as children's entertainment, amusement arcades, catering facilities, sweet shops and ice cream parlours.
The first amusement ride to be built in Great Yarmouth arrived in 1887. It was a classic American LaMarcus Thompson Switchback Railway and was erected on the sands adjacent to Euston Road. The ride was so successful that the operators received the entire annual ground rent on the August Bank Holiday weekend of 1887. This ride was dismantled toward the end of the nineteenth century and relocated to Honley Pleasure Beach in Huddersfield.
In 1909 Charles B. Cochran persuaded the local council to lease him an area of sand dunes so that he could develop an amusement site. The council agreed to this, and leased him an area of sand dunes on the south denes beach of just 600 feet long and 120 feet wide. The entire rent for the year was £650.
The first ride constructed there was a scenic railway designed by William Napier. This ride was typical of scenic railways in that it was largely clad in plaster styled as mountainous terrain. The ride featured two lift hill sections. The only other ride constructed at the site was a haunted attraction called the Katzen Jammer Castle. The River Caves were added the following year. And in 1911, the Katzen Jammer Castle was replaced by the Joy Wheel. The park kept operating at this modest level until the outbreak of World War I.
When the park opened again in April 1919, a fire destroyed the scenic railway; leaving the park without a major attraction. The scenic was quickly rebuilt though by its operators and the ride was re-opened in August of the same year. During the 20s the park was steadily expanded and in 1925 a huge water-chute by Messrs. Morgan & Company was erected at the site. This water-chute was at the park until 1928 when it was dismantled. Also in 1928, the scenic railway came to the end of its lease and was removed. It was purchased by Aberdeen Beach Amusement Park and re-sited there in 1929. Other rides of the 20s included a Creasta Run (a slide ride), Jack and Jill (a toboggan-style slide ride) and Noah's Ark.
...
Wikipedia