![]() ![]() "We had a lot of bad press and I feel a bit irritated that the local people didn’t stick up for us a bit more.” But me and my husband have both been ill and thought it was foolish to keep going. “We hadn’t planned to leave and we miss the business terribly. “We have to leave the building now too because we can’t afford to pay the £7,500-a-year business rates. “I don’t really know who the chap was but he took everything. Jane, 83, who still lives above the former attraction in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, with 86-year-old Peter, said: “All the models and machines and frames were sold in one go. Many tourists only paid the £5 entry fee to mock the waxworks, which include celebrities, sports stars and members of the Royal Family. Jane and Peter Hayes’ 150 models, which cost up to £1,000 new, gained cult status because they look so little like the people they supposedly represent. The world’s worst waxworks collection has been snapped up by a mystery buyer from the Czech Republic, just over a year after it closed amid a storm of ridicule. They also got permission to put up two retail kiosks in front of the waxworks on the proviso that they were not hot food takeaways.Looks like whoever bought this bunch of dummies could be suffering from an identity crisis… Mr and Mrs Hayes lived in a flat on the first floor, but gained permission to turn the entire building into a home. They added that their wax modeller had retired some years ago and they were unable to find a replacement. The pair did not speak at the meeting, but a statement from them revealed they had been unable to find any individual or company to take on the attraction due to declining income and rising costs. Mr and Mrs Hayes won permission to turn the attraction into a home in December 2012, with Great Yarmouth Borough Council planning councillors giving them the green light. 'We don't want to be losing attractions near the seafront or anywhere in these times of austerity.' 'Any loss of tourist attractions is a blow,' he added. Michael Jeal, borough council cabinet member for tourism, said he feared the building would change from tourism to residential use when it is sold. Louis Tussauds House of Wax is now permanently closed.'Īnd the sale of the building was news to key tourism figures - including Alan Carr, chief executive of Greater Yarmouth Tourist Authority, and Peter Williamson, chairman of Norfolk Tourist Attractions Association and owner of the Model Village.īoth were told of the development by this paper. 'The property also includes owner's private living accommodation, a pair of kiosks to the front which provide additional income and an enclosed rear yard area with parking beyond.Ī member of staff at Howards said there had been demand for the waxwork models - which have all gone - from private collectors.Īn answer phone message at the House of Wax states: 'Thank you for calling. And now the building, constructed in the mid 19th century as a doctor's house, is up for sale with Howards Estate Agents.Ī listing on Howards' website, with an asking price of £375,000, reads: 'The property comprises a substantial building - 608sq/m - which was until recently used as a waxworks museum. ![]()
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