Rosebank Caravan Park Clacton

Hi Kevin, yes I remember it. My mum was a widow with 4 young girls. She hired a small caravan in Rose bank and we came down from London for the long holidays. Had so much fun there spending hours on the beach, digging in the sand,swimming, collecting mussels late at night and cooking them in the beach hut. We would regularly enter the fancy dress competitions and won one year as the von trap family-ha ha. My mum frequented the robin hood for sure as she was always the life and soul and made a lot of friends there. So did we. We always envied the caravaners tho in the Highlands caravan park nearby where the caravans seemed so big and the nightlife much more exciting! Thanks for your post it has brought back happy memories :-) Hilary

Hi Hilary thank you for replying and your memories as well. I agree highland caravan park did seem more upscale and the entertainment was a lot better I think, not sure if its still there. iam going back to England this week for a visit, hoping to get to Clacton although iam sure it wont be the same, once again thank you. kevin

hi guys,i loved rosebank,my nan and grandad had a caravan on their for my entire youth,we were from the midlands but my grandparents were from london,my whole childhood was spent on that caravan park,i remember the swiming pool from the green mesh fence around it and then it went posh and had a cool wall around it.i also remember you could get bikes from outside the clubhouse that sat 4 people in it........the shower block was very cold back in the day, as the years went by my nan and grandad upgraded caravans and we had a shower in the van(posh) lol.
i loved the clubhouse spent most of my time in the arcade,i remember 1 game you had to drive a little beetle car on a pole around a road....very very old games but great fun in the early 80's.we also spent alot of time trying to sneek into highlands haha..the pool had a big 10m diving board and a zip wire in the play area lol. also loved the pier,christ i loved the pier....the dolphins and the killer whale and then the roller coaster.amazing memories,any pictures of rosebank would be amazing if anybody has any.

Hi Went on holiday to Rose Bank caravan Park in 1959 and my father made inquiries about purchasing a caravan, he was offered the one we were staying in but he declined and ordered a new one, £500 a lot of money then. Had many great holidays, the site was then sold and went commercial. Although the club house was already there they added the swimming pool etc. Became very noisy with mods and rockers turning up from London. Site fees went through the roof and we pulled off the site, we all missed it so much. Years later we had a look and bungalows had been built on the site. Highfields caravan park was still there across the road.

Hi linda thanks for replying, our caravan was right next to the swimming pool, (no fence or wall back then) it was a pain listening to the pump going all night long plus the big light they had on, dad had to put up an old blanket across the windows to stop the light coming in. I think that's why mum and dad got rid of the caravan because of the fees getting to much plus the owners told them they had to either get a new caravan or fix up the one they had.

Hi my nan & grandad had a caravan there i spent a lot of time there even had a friend called sonia web her nan & grandad had a caravan by the pool with her brother & i remember a boy called Mark who's family had a caravan near the pool he went out with a girl called nikkei whos family had the on site shop love to get in touch again

Hi my mum and dad had a caravan no h28 for about 4 year's in the 80s until development of house's I remember in the clubhouse there was a door which lead you to the arcades and a penny mashine with a handle to the left grate times I learned to swim in the pool and a man called robbie Robinson who I think was some kind of caretaker he used to draw in a blue book

Which I still have every summer there was swimming contestants with robbie on the megaphone and I recall a girl called Sonia who could hand stand in the water for simed like a long time.

Hi there just seen this. 57 years old and living in Oz. In the 60's our whole family had caravans there and Higlands over the road (the flashier mob). Oh what memories you made return. I remember the kids singing and dancing competitions. I remember singing on stage at the Club and doing the twist with the nannas. We were able to play outside in the playground (pool with NO pool fence and I cannot recall going near it through fear of a smack from elders) with a bottle of coke and a bag of crisps and then helping nannas play bingo and then on the way home around midnight a stop off at the burger van. Do you remember all the wonderful prizes stacked on the shelves around the club house? Such delights. Oh joy for the late night chips. I recall a friend having an asthma attack and losing her life in that park. That was sad. The pool was always freezing cold. I remember walking from the park to Clacton itself stopping in on the Robin with all the nannas and gramps's. I recall having to go out at night to the loo block and the huge, no giant, moths in there. Frightened the life out of me but you dont see them anymore sadly. I recall that the roads were re tarred one time and I managed to get gooey tar all over my feet and nan had to clean it off using butter. We had a pea bucket which I never realised until much later was actually a pee bucket. Oh lordy. We had some brilliant stays. Gas lighting. We had aunts and uncles, nans and grandads in a number of caravans mostly to the left of the site up from the pool. Lovely. Thank you so much.

hI, YES I REMEMBER THE PEE BUCKETS LOL, AND WALKING TO THE LOOS IN THE RAIN. I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT BURGER VAN, BUT NOW I REMEMBER THE WONDERFUL SMELL OF FRIED ONIONS COMING FROM IT LATE AT NIGHT

Hi yes i remember going to the outside loos especially in the rain and the pee bucket. I had forgotten about that burger van, but now i remember the wonderful smell of fried onions coming from it late at night, such wonderful memorties so sad its no longer there .

Hi

Hi, this is Roger Bramwell. My parents owned Rosebank from 1955 until 1964. For those of you that came during that period my Dad may have picked you up from the railway station and as a young boy I would have taken you and your luggage to your caravan and showed you how to work the gas etc. I also helped my Dad run the bingo in the Club and looked after the slot machines in the converted garage. My mum worked in the Camp shop and with my Dad in the Club bar in the evenings. Happy Days. There were 3 camps on the road into Clacton. Firstly Highfields on the left, then Castle Hill Camp on the left then Rosebank on the right. Highlands was in Thorpe Road.

My grandparents must have owned it just before your mum and Dad - unless there were 2 camps of the same name in Clacton
I know my mum grew up on it in around the early 60s

My Grandparents were Bill and Joan Nicholson if anyone remembers them

I remember happy times at Rosebank caravan park, I can remember a house to the left as you went in and the other side of the park I remember a old gypsy caravan. Have you got any photos of the park?

Rosebank caravan park was my wife's parents Alfred and Ivy Wilson in the late 40s and early 50s They purchased the bungalow and field and started up the site . They built the shop and bucket loos and they built caravans for the site and for sale. They had to sell when the council said they had to build flushing loos

I remember Rosebank holiday Camp and the happy days we spent there. The manager was a very friendly man who gave us a lift between the campsite and Clacton sea front. I cannot remember his name but I do remember his magic tricks he did for us. Although the memories are distant I know that they were very happy days , thank you mum and the Rosebank Camp manager.

Hi Mr Bramwell, was your father a tall man who drove an estate type car, and liked to do magic tricks - if so he was a very nice man and helped to make our holidays very very happy.

Are there any photographs of the manager etc.....

I was at Rosebank with my parents and brothers for a few years in the mid-late 80s - Bill, Marlene, Billy, David, Steven (me) and Richard.
I'm 40 now, but was around 7-8 years old when the site closed, but can still remember a fair bit.

Catching sticklebacks in the little brook that run down the back of the clubhouse. The place next door was Brook Farm, I think!
I remember us driving past Highfields in my dad's green transit van and always being jealous seeing their water chutes!!

I remember there was a one way system around a small grass area by the smaller (derelict) outside paddling pool and playground, with a small booth near the front.

Robbie was the entertainer at the swimming pool - a muscly guy, really tanned, think he wore glasses too. Used to have swimming contests, fancy dress there. Remember the wall around the swimming pool, the heat off the concrete, and the millions of tiny red baby spiders on the walls!

I remember an older girl called Natasha who had a caravan by the swimming pool. I always had a crush on her and to me, at that age, she was like an angel! haha
I cannot remember our plot site but we were by the large water tanks and outdoor toilets down the side. We had an old 28ft Rio Vista caravan!

I remember walking through the back of the caravan site through the small woods (probably where Tesco is now) and to an Orchid where we used to nick the Apples and Plums! At 7-8 years old it seemed like such a huge adventure!

I remember the artex walls of the clubhouse. Through the entrance and right to the clubhouse and left to the amusements. There were 2 songs more than any other that take me back to Rosebank and that's 'Into the Groove' by Madonna which always reminds me of those scorching hot days, and 'I want to Wake up with you' by Boris Gardiner which always seemed to be played at the end of the night in the clubhouse.

Mark and Sonia (Webb) were friends at the time, as were the Edneys, Windsors and Hanningtons - all of us moved to Great Bentley Country Park once Rosebank closed down. It was ok there for a while, but as I grew up it was just never the same.

By the way, that Gypsy Caravan also came to Great Bentley. I could be wrong, but I have the name 'Colin' in my mind as to who ran Rosebank and possibly Great Bentley after, but I cannot be sure.

I'm 100% sure we have plenty of photos at my parents' house. Hopefully these memories are read with fondness and if others are interested, please let me know and I will try to dig some of them out.

I was only young, but I remember a lot and I absolutely loved that place.

Thank you for your memories o Rosebank, yes please post photos of caravan park if you can, re the apple /plum trees i dont remember seeing them, but it was a long time ago so it could be just old age lol

My aunt and uncle had a caravan there in the 1980's and I used to visit with my cousin. I can't remember the number but it was set back from the action in a corner by the brook. I loved the clubhouse and arcade and on the odd occasion it was warm enough we'd splash around in the outdoor pool. I also holidayed at Highfields and went back there for a short visit a couple of years ago. I wish I hadn't as it spoiled my childhood memories! I was gutted when Rosebank closed but still talk of it fondly if I meet with my aunt and uncle or cousin. I'd love to see pictures if any are availble.