Located near Heysham, approximately 5 miles south of Morecambe, Middleton Tower Holiday Camp opened in June 1939. The 65-acre full-board camp was established by Shohimon “Harry” Kamiya, a Japanese businessman and amusement concessionaire based in Blackpool. The camp, which cost £52,000 to build, was officially inaugurated by Lady Bridget Poulett, who cut a 200-pound cake crafted in the style of the old 17th-century towers. At its opening, the camp featured 600 chalets, with weekly rates set at £3 per person. Leslie Salts, who later acquired Gwrych Castle in North Wales, was also involved as a director.
The camp contained numerous relics from a couple of old ocean liners and a team of workers spent weeks stripping out the parts in Jarrow and moving them all back to Heysham.
The ballroom and palm Lounge from RMS Leviathan were faithfully rebuilt inside the new Leviathan Building “right to the last wall panel and wall light”.
In the nearby Berengaria Building the dining room, smoking room and cocktail bar from RMS Berengaria were reconstructed which included four 15ft x 12ft paintings. Before opening, workmen placed small ship relics in every chalet to maintain the camp’s nautical theme.
Wartime Requisition and Post-War Reopening
The site was requisitioned for wartime use just 6 weeks after opening, but it reopened again in June 1946. John Lennon’s dad spent the 1950 season working here as a dishwasher. Harry Kamiya died in 1951 and operation of the camp was taken over by his wife Nellie and daughter Jean.
Fires at Middleton Tower
The camp had a string of bad luck when it came to fires. In 1948 the Berengaria building was completely destroyed in a huge blaze which gutted the whole thing in just 30 minutes, destroying all the priceless ship relics inside.
It was rebuilt the following year with “fire proof materials” and was reopened by the Bishop of Lancaster. The exterior now resembled an ocean liner complete with portholes, funnel and exterior decks. The new interior now contained a 2000-seat theatre and the dining room was moved to a new building nearby.
But in 1955 it all burned down yet again causing the roof to collapse although the exterior survived. It was soon rebuilt yet again. So the Berengaria Building that was standing during the Pontins era was actually the third version and, despite what many thought, the original ship relics were all long gone by the time Pontins took over.
In January 1959 it was the turn of the Leviathan Building to burn to the ground taking with it all the relics reclaimed from that ship. It too was rebuilt, at a cost of 100,000, and was reopened in June of that year by comedian Al Read.
Pontins Takes Over: Expansion and Modernization
In September 1960 the 14th annual Middleton Beauty Contest was held in the Berengaria with George Formby and Bill Grundy as judges. A few months later the camp was sold to Pontins, the first time they’d ventured “up north”. The following year they also bought the Blackpool camp.
The camp retained its full-board concept, and over the next four years Pontins invested heavily in renovations, including enclosing the outdoor pool and fountain in 1962.
Between 1963 and 1964, an additional £300,000 was spent building 250 new chalets and a new dining hall—the largest in Europe at the time. The dining hall could serve 3,000 guests in one sitting with its state-of-the-art kitchen, which included rotary ovens capable of cooking 400 chickens at once. Beneath the dining hall, a small ballroom and bar were constructed.
The old 1940s dining hall became an infants centre and games room but in 1976 it too burned down. And was later rebuilt.
Being a full board camp the chalets were motel-style which basically meant a bedroom and bathroom. Most of them were built in single-storey blocks but some two storey blocks were built along the north to try and block the view of the nearby ICI factory.
Eric Bennett, previously in charge at Butlins Filey, was lured away to manage the new camp. Bennett later went on to run the Blackpool camp so he had the distinction of managing three of the largest holiday camps in the country before retiring in 1985.
In 1975 the theatre inside the Berengaria Building was transformed into a nightclub with tables and chairs replacing the old tiered seating, supposedly as a way to increase alcohol sales. The following year the venue hosted the Miss Great Britain finale which went out live on national TV and was won by Dinah May.
Bradley Walsh worked at Middleton Tower, spending three months as a Bluecoat in 1982. However, from the 1980s onward, the camp saw a decline in bookings, and maintenance became less frequent. Tragic incidents occurred, including the drowning of an 8-year-old boy in 1987 and a fire that killed 19-year-old employee Billy Howard in 1991. The camp eventually closed in October 1994.
Post-Closure and Redevelopment Efforts
The following summer plans were announced to film a movie at the camp called Raving Beauties starring Steve Coogan as a sexist holiday camp owner. It was later scrapped.
At Easter 1996 a London-based company leased part of the camp to hold a rave dance festival which over 3000 people attended. After the event they skipped town owing around £60,000 to local businesses.
In December 1996 plans were announced to turn the site into a Category C prison but this was abandoned after strong local opposition.
In Sep 1999 the site was sold to a company who announced plans to redevelop the land into the UKs largest reitrement community. But it would be another 6 years before any demolition took place and then it all collapsed into bankrupcy after only 50 homes had been built. After a long pause, permission was regranted in 2023 to build another 50.
Middleton Tower Today: Historic Remnants and Luxury Rentals
The only things remaining from the holiday camp era are the Grade II listed 17th Century farmhouse and adjoining barn. During the holiday camp era the farmhouse was used as a popular pub (Ye Olde Farm House) and the barn saw various uses including the ‘Tudor Bar’, a nightclub and a staff-only bar. These buildings have since been converted into a large 5-bedroom holiday home complete with indoor pool, games room and sauna which can be rented out by the day or week. At the time of writing the old circular fish pond that used to stand in front of the Berngaria also remains.
