Overture: Pre 1948
The Holybourne Theatre site and the surrounding Complins area were occupied by a brewery before the war, in the days when hop fields separated Holybourne from Alton. The brewery closed and, during the war, the site held German prisoners of war in what was then known as Fisher’s camp.
Housed in Nissen huts, with few forms of entertainment available, the German soldiers lacked morale so they sought permission to convert one of the little huts into a theatre. Authorisation was given and the soldiers worked hard to construct a raised stage and a sloping auditorium.
Hop picking in Alton (1880)
POW camp with Nissen Huts (not Fishers Camp)
The old Nissen Hut
Nissen hut stage and lighting
The auditorium
The cramped stage
Next page: Scene One: Humble beginnings 1948-1959