Noel Edmonds’ World of Crinkley Bottom

Forgotten Places · 1994

Published

Noel Edmonds’ World of Crinkley Bottom was a paid-admission attraction installed in part of Happy Mount Park, Morecambe, in 1994. A joint venture between Lancaster City Council and Noel Edmonds’ commercial organisation, Unique Group Ltd., it brought the fictional setting of BBC One’s Noel’s House Party into a municipal park. Mr Blobby was its principal character and public draw. The attraction opened in summer 1994, with branded access, themed features, print material, retail items and staff clothing. It closed after about 12–13 weeks.

Why It Mattered

Its significance lies in the unusual conversion of part of a free municipal park into a ticketed television-branded attraction. The project became inseparable from the dispute, litigation and public-finance scrutiny that followed its rapid closure. The investigation dragged on for years. By 2003/04, audit records said the work was finally complete, allowing the accounts from 1994/95 to 2000/01 to be closed. Happy Mount Park is still free to visit today, but Crinkley Bottom is long gone.

Park and Partnership

- Installed within part of Happy Mount Park, a municipal park in Morecambe. - The venture involved Lancaster City Council and Unique Group Ltd., Noel Edmonds’ commercial organisation. - Council records place key Heads of Terms decisions on 21 March 1994 and by 12 April 1994.

The Crinkley Bottom Experience

- The Morecambe attraction used the fictional Crinkley Bottom world associated with BBC One’s Noel’s House Party. - Mr Blobby was the principal character and public draw, rather than the attraction’s formal identity. - Photographs and promotional material show a rebranded entrance, Blobby-related features, guides, maps, tickets, retail material, stationery and staff clothing.

Closure and Audit

- The Information Commissioner’s Office records that the joint venture closed after 12 weeks; a specialist archive gives 13 weeks. - The closure was followed by a Council–Edmonds-side dispute, litigation and a 1996 settlement. - The 2003/04 audit letter states that formal investigations had concluded and the 1994/95 to 2000/01 audits could be closed.

Associated With

Lancaster City Council and Unique Group Ltd. - creator, owner or operator

Defining Feature

A Crinkley Bottom-branded, paid-admission overlay within Happy Mount Park

Status

Closed - after about 12–13 weeks

Primary Records

- **Lancaster City Council: Council Minutes, 12 February 2003** - **Lancaster City Council: Annual Audit and Inspection Letter 2003/04** - **Information Commissioner’s Office Decision FS50150198**

Image Sources

- **Image 1** - **Image 2** - **Image 3** - **Image 4** - **Image 5**

Rights Notice

Images are included for historical and archival reference. Rights holders may contact Forgotten Archive through the publishing account to request a credit correction or removal.

Gallery

A pink, yellow-spotted costumed character with a bow tie stands with arms raised in the road outside the entrance to Noel Edmonds’ World of Crinkley Bottom. The large entrance sign reads “CRINKLEY BOTTOM,” with open gates and a green park area behind.
Credit

Photographer unknown; original source not established.

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

Mr Blobby welcomes visitors at the World of Crinkley Bottom entrance, where a television character became the public face of a physical attraction.

Exterior of a themed attraction building with a large sign reading “CRINKLEY BOTTOM HAUTE CUISINE” above red wooden cladding and windows; a round turret at right is marked “BLOBBY LAND.”
Source
Credit

Crinkley Bottom attraction photograph; supplied via Yahoo image distribution, photographer not established

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

The Haute Cuisine frontage extended Crinkley Bottom's television comedy into a themed dining setting within the attraction.

Pink living-room interior with floral sofas, a green floor lamp, a small rounded cream television, a low green table holding a pink spotted box, a window with patterned curtains, and cartoon-style pictures on the walls.
Source
Credit

Crinkley Bottom attraction photograph; supplied via Yahoo image distribution, photographer not established

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

Mr Blobby's imagined home became a walk-through environment, translating a television character's visual style into rooms visitors could enter.

An overgrown entrance to a small pink-and-white themed structure, with a curved painted sign partly obscured by foliage, a white wooden gate, and fallen leaves on the path.
Credit

Photographer unknown; original source not established.

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

An overgrown Blobby-themed structure shows the afterlife of this kind of attraction. The original source and location of this particular photograph remain unconfirmed.

Street-facing entrance to Happy Mount Park, with white gate pillars, black gates, a yellow park sign, roadside banners and leafless trees beneath a blue sky with clouds.
Source
Credit

Photograph reproduced by North West Nature and History; photographer not identified

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary and research. Fair dealing under the UK CDPA 1988 applies only where its conditions are met. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

Happy Mount Park's entrance places Morecambe's short-lived Crinkley Bottom venture within an existing public park, rather than a separate purpose-built resort.