Mosney

[minehead forever]

just been looking for information about mosney,found this site with an 8 minute clip of footage of mosney as an asylum site with shots in the camp and some old butlins clips.warning it opens as a small real player window so not the best of clips to view.
http://www.rte.ie/news/2001/0314/nationwide.html

just click on the diarmuid peavoy has been to mosney

[Pushbutton]

For anyone new to the forum who has just found this thread, the site of the former Butlins Holiday Camp in Mosney is the last remaining Butlins holiday camp still in near enough original condition as Sir Billy Butin designed it.

If you wish to see the site preserved and protected from any future redevelopment please take a look at my online petition.

If enough people sign it, there is a group of us here at Butlins Memories who intend to use it to help persuade the relevant authorities to ensure the site is preserved for the future and that the original Butlins buildings will be protected against any future demolition.

35 people signed this petition on the first day it was online, so if that's anything to go by there is a lot of support out there for protecting and preserving this special place.

Please read the petition here, and sign it if you agree.

Thank you!

[Smileysal]

That looks great. enjoyed seeing the mosney camp, (just took me a while to work out real player

Its a shame that the pool isn't open for the refugees, and maybe a bar and films in the theatre. even if it was only open a few times a week, at least it would relieve the boredom i guess.

was still nice to see the chalets and the buildings still there. and the pool of course. thanks for the link.

Sal

[aussietrekker]

I went to Mosney 1958, 59 and 61.

[KAF2]

Thanks - that was interesting! Funny thing to hear the complaints about not being given enough money and that they don't like being told what to eat and when etc. etc.

I have to say that lost my job, after paying in for 10 years, and I had to write numerous pleading letters to get just ?70 a week *without* food and board. And even those payments completely stopped after 6 months!

Didn't know so many of the chalets were stood empty. And that the fun-pool turned around the camp's fortunes. Or that staffing had become a problem.

Seems to me that if they want to work, like they say, Phelim McCloskey could staff & run it just like Butlins does today. Probably less effort to keep things the way they are, for the money!

Sadly, can't see it ever opening again as a holiday centre, after having the image of being refugee camp. All the funfair rides were sold off or given away free for collection.

KAF

[aussietrekker]

That is so sad.
Now I'm more than ever grateful for my hard-drive memory of things of long ago.

[Pushbutton]

If anyone wants to help with this project, one way would be to compile a list of all the reasons (ones that would be given serious official consideration) why the site is worthy of heritage listing.

Most of the guidelines I have seen so far on the above mentioned heritage organisations sites state that buildings built in more recent times are a lot less likely to be listed than very old ones, so we have to come up with other sold reasons.

It's a shame Mosney wasn't used as an army base during WWII like some of the other camps because that would surely be almost enough on its own.

Therefore I think the sort of reasons we need to come up with will have to be based on evidence of the social and cultural historic importance of the site.
Anyone with ideas please list them here, or on the facebook discussion at http://www.facebook.com/photo_search...772&topic=8095

[Pushbutton]

Deelieta just came up with another great idea. A petition would no doubt be a good way to add some extra weight to our claim for heritage listing.

There's apparently over 4000 members on BM so if everyone signed a petition that would go a long way. Then we could promote it through facebook and other means to get additional signatures.


I'll start one up as soon as I can get all the necessary information together and I'll post another message in this thread when I do.

[deelieta]

I am totally with you on this Pushbutton. I really think something has to be done, and I honestly think we have a very good chance of getting it.
Butlins is, was, a very important concept historically speaking. It was grand, innovative, and Billy Butlin was a classic example of a highly successful entreprenour, who wasn't just out to become rich, but totally believed in making people happy. He gave huge sums of money to charity and was recognised for his work by being knighted. His camps were phenomenal! The buildings are of historical interest for social reasons, economic reasons and definitely cultural reasons. Sir Billy Butlin was aiming his holidays at the working class - making sure they were affordable for a week's pay. He invented the redcoat and the whole idea of giving people something for nothing, which is still a recognised priniciple of successful businesses today.
Not only that, the camps were like dream worlds. There has never been anything else like them since and they played a huge part in the history of Great Britain.

I think when we make our case, we need to focus on the social aspect historically, the cultural aspect and the actual buildings.

let's get a recognised (famous) person on our side too, like Prince Charles, who is renowned for his work saving buildings.

Dee

[Pushbutton]

Yet another great idea from Deelieta (she has been sending me them by pm) is to see if the BBC would be interested in covering it somehow (or I suppose failing that any channel in any suitable program, or as a documentary in its own right).

I suppose another similar thing on a smaller scale would be for one of us to make a youtube video mini-documentary about it. Anyone willing to have a crack at that?

So we already have quite a list of things we as a group can do, but Deelieta and I can't do them all. Please let us know if you are interested in helping with any of the ideas listed so far on this thread, or if you have any more ideas to add.