Thorpeness by Maggie Boswell

​Thorpeness by Maggie Boswell.
My family have had connections with Thorpeness for a hundred years. My grandparents bought a house in the Benthills in 1923. The house has stayed in the family and is now owned by my daughter and her family. In the old days the houses were all owned by the Ogilvie’s, the houses in the Haven and the Dunes were rented by members of the Colonial Service, who had 6 months leave every 3 years, but no house to come home to. After Stuart Ogilvie’s death a lot of Thorpeness properties had to be sold off to pay death duties, but over the years owners, including my mother were able to buy the free holds.
At the beginning of the war most of the beach was mined, but there was a small path where people could go to safely get on it. I remember well sitting with my mother, my friend Fiona Gimson and her mother having great fun. The house in the Clouds was a water tower and the story goes that when it was bombed the water came down on 3 old ladies who had to be rescued.
This village was a great attraction to holiday makers with the Meare and the Country Club, the latter having various events such as Bingo, Quizzes, 2 dances a week and tennis tournaments. Every August the Regatta was held on the Meare. There was 2 days of racing with decorated floats in the evening and ending with a magnificent display of fireworks. The club season was very short, from mid July to mid December. After this the club closed and Thorpeness became very quiet.
Most of the houses were holiday lets but over the years many have started to be lived in permanently. The Dolphin Inn has had several owners but since David James took over the lease it has been full of activity, indeed the hub of the village. At one stage the Country Club was threatened with closure, several people tried to take it over with no success and all the activities ended. Then along came Brian and Alison Bell who bought it from the Estate and took 3 years to renovate it. It opened up once again to members and their families and several people took out debentures to help the finance and all the activities returned once again.
One sadness was the closure of the Church where Services were held in the holiday season. It was owned by the Margaret Ogilvie Trust and there was no money for essential repairs. The last service was taken by the Reverend Christine Brooks who found it so difficult as that was the day that Princess Diana died - a double sadness.
There have been many changes in Thorpeness over the years and many houses are now permanently occupied, giving the village a vibrant feel. A recent major change has been the Heritage Centre which many people have worked so hard to install. Visitors can read for themselves the history of Thorpeness.
When Glencairn Stuart Ogilvie had the vision of creating a holiday village her could never have foreseen what a wonderful unique place it would turn out to be, enjoyed by so many residents and holiday makers alike.
How pleased he would be.