AdnamsGirl

Hi Thanks for the link Ian ... another bit of useful information to add to my notes! Simon ... I do find Archant's websites seem to be a bit flaky at times! I tried all the links above again and most of them seemed to work OK first time. Where they didn't, I just hit refresh and they then loaded normally. I will edit my above post to make a note of it there - thank you for mentioning it. Carol

Another interesting series of articles in the EDP was entitled "A Place In History" and, amongst them, are a few relating to Broadland landmarks: The first is about the many bridges on the Wensum in Norwich: http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/PlaceinHistory/content/26NorwichBridges.aspx There is another about the history of Cow Tower on the Wensum: http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/PlaceinHistory/content/05CowTower.aspx One about the history of St. Benets Abbey: http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/PlaceinHistory/content/29StBenetsAbbey.aspx This one is about Yarmouth's Row houses: http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/PlaceinHistory/content/44YarmouthRowHouse.aspx And the final one for now is about the Wherryman's Way: http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/PlaceinHistory/content/80WherrymansWay.aspx Carol

Hi A few more links of an historic nature: I came across the Archant (EDP etc) photosales Historic Archives recently. The photos cover various areas of Norfolk & Suffolk, but if you search through the various categories there are some wonderful shots of Broadland from the past. There are also some incredible photographs of the Blitz bombing of Norwich and Great Yarmouth in the wartime. Most people are aware of the terrible Blitz on London, but Norwich and Yarmouth were on the recieving end of some devistating raids during the 1940s. Once in the galleries just click on the thumbnails for a larger view. As I mentioned, it is their photosales website, so copies of all the images are available to buy through them. http://3276.e-printphoto.co.uk/anf/index.cfm?z=z&action=cat&c_id=75403 Whilst with Archant - the EDP run an ocassional series called "Hidden Norfolk" which has produced a few interesting articles related to Broadland over the years. Some of these are still available to view online. The Archant websites can sometimes be a little flaky, so if any of the links below don't load first time and produce errors, jut hit the refresh button in your browser and hopefully the pages will then load normally! The first is about the wherry Hathor, includes an interview with her owner Peter Bowers and dates from 2005. I did post the link to this on the Lord Roberts thread, but felt it relevant to place it on this thread too: http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/HiddenNo ... Hathor.asp "Broads Flotilla" from 2004 is a fascinating feature about Broadland role during WW2: http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/HiddenNorfolk/asp/2004/05/040529NorfolkBroadsFlotilla.asp And there was a follow up article on this which includes people personal memories of wartime on the Broads: http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/HiddenNorfolk/asp/2004/06/040619Flotilla2.asp Also from 2004 and sticking with the WW2 theme is an article on the Blitz: http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/HiddenNorfolk/asp/2004/10/041002Blitz.asp From 2003 is "Making The Cut" which tells the history of Haddiscoe New Cut. This one runs over two pages: http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/HiddenNorfolk/asp/2003/01/Cut1.asp "On the road to the past" features a little history about Thorpe St.Andrew and is another two page article: http://www.edp24.co.uk/Content/HiddenNorfolk/asp/2002/12/021207Thorpe1.asp And "Safe view from the hill" is about How Hill: http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/HiddenNorfolk/asp/2002/07/020706HowHill1.asp There are lots of interesting articles on Norfolk within the main Hidden Norfolk directory .... just click on the drop down menu to scroll through the list. http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/Hidden/ Carol

The EDP used to do articles every now and again in their "Hidden Norfolk" section - amongst them was a piece about Hathor's history which included an interview with owner Peter Bowers dating from 2005. It is still available to read online here: http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/HiddenNorfolk/asp/2005/07/050708Hathor.asp Carol

Going back to an earlier discussion about the wartime bombing raid which destroyed Horning Ferry Inn .... I have found the information source that I referred to. In Robert Maltsters "Norfolk & Suffolk Broads" book he mentions that it seems likely that the bombs were aimed at Percivals boatyard which was building craft for the Royal Navy at that time. However, he also mentions that he had spoken to an aeronautical historian, Huby Fairhead, who pointed out that Horning was the site of one of three "Starfish" decoy sites which were designed to draw the enemy aircraft away from Norwich. When activated the lights and fires resembled the Midland & Great Northern Station yard at Norwich, and the Horning site was in operation on the night of that bombing raid. Apparently 15 bombs were dropped during that raid ... only four caused damage, the rest landing in the surrounding fields and marshes. Amongst the fatalities at the pub were several pilots and servicemen who were based at RAF Coltishall and five people who had fled Yarmouth in an attempt to escape the bombing there. The fire which destroyed the replacement Ferry Inn in 1965 was caused by a chimney fire which set the thatch alight. Carol

I meant to add ... there are more pictures of the Lord Roberts c1983 which were taken at Wroxham (after she was moved there from Womack) on Another Forum, taken by Pete Sanders. Just do a site search on there for Danny's "Wherry pictures anyone" thread. Those pictures were taken after she had been sunk for around 13-14 years so I do wonder just how much would be left after a further 25 years of being submerged. Carol

Hi The book I mentioned earlier which is available at the Museum Of The Broads is called How a Norfolk Wherry was built c1825 and was written by retired boatbuilder Mike Fuller. Mike apparently began working for Herbert Woods in the 1940s, later built boats at Maycraft and was involved with the Norfolk Wherry Trust where he helped to maintain Albion and other wherries. He now helps out at the museum and was responsible for building the replica of Albions cuddy which is on display there. To find out more about Albion and the Norfolk Wherry Trust you can visit their website: http://www.wherryalbion.com/ Similarly, to find out more about Hathor, Olive and Norada you can visit the Wherry Yacht Charter Charitable Trust on the link below: http://www.wherryyachtcharter.org/trust.html There is more about the appeal for match funding on there ... it appears that to get the £492K HLF grant they must find another £2 for every £1 on the grant! It would be a real shame to lose any of the remaining wherries. At the beginning of the 1950s there were other wherries which still survived and were sailing. There was the pleasure wherry Dragon of which you can read extracts from the 1950s sailing logs written by her then owner, Brig H.E.Hopthrow on Broadland Memories ... follow the links from there to see photos of her and other wherries taken in the 50s: http://www.broadlandmemories.co.uk/page38.html Whilst the Hopthrow's kept Dragon beautifully maintained, sadly her subsequent owners let things slide and she ended up in a poor state after being used as a liveaboard in the 1960s. It was an era when very little historical value was put on these traditonal Broadland vessels and she ended up being sunk on Oulton Broad c1970, forming part of the foundations for a jetty! It's hard to believe when you see the photos of her from the 1950s that she could have been beyond restoration by 1970 .... but those were different times. Claudian (also pictured on BM during the early 1950s) was another pleasure wherry which was owned at the time by Claude Hamilton .... sadly she was destroyed at Lake Lothing in the 1953 floods. Going back through my notes, the pleasure wherry Rambler was available to hire through Blakes as a static houseboat until 1961 .... her mast and rigging had gone by this time. She ended up sinking at Barton Turf at some point during the 1960s. There is a picture of her eventual fate in Robert Maltsters Wherries and Waterways book. Bramble was another pleasure wherry which was available to hire as a static houseboat, initially though Blakes, but she continued to be available to hire at Martham through Bradbeers until 1967. I am not sure what happened to her after this or where she ended up, but presumably was sunk somewhere. Then there was the beautiful wherry yacht Golden Hinde which, I believe, was still sailing in the 1950s, but lost her mast and became a houseboat at Oulton Broad during the 1960s. I need to check when she was sold, but she moved down to Pin Mill on the Orwell and apparently ended up being crushed between two concrete lighters ! She was still at Pin Mill when Maude's owner was looking for a wherry to restore ...... what became of her in unknown but if anyone has any information then I would be extremely grateful! I suspect that there is nothing left of her now, but I may well take a trip along the Orwell in the spring on one of the pleasure cruises which run out of Ipswich just in case! Carol

My friend bought a very interesting book when we visited the Museum Of The Broads in September - I think it was produced just for the museum. I cannot remember who the author is (I'll find out), but I believe he has had something to do with the restoration and maintenance of wherries. He wrote a book detailing how he believed that wherries were built and including his own drawings and plans ..... we just need to find enough decent trees and a strip of land to construct it on now!! For anyone that is interested in the history of wherries and the life of the wherrymen, then I can highly recommend both Robert Maltsters "Wherries and Waterways" (published 1971) and also Roy Clark's "Black Sailed Traders" (1961). The list of known keels and wherries at the back of the latter is extremely fascinating .... there were once so many of them trading on the rivers and even heading down the coast on occasions! Both books are now long out of print, but copies do turn up on Ebay every now and again. I bought my copy of Black Sailed Traders on Ebay for around £10. It's incredible just how many were still around prior to the First World War ... I have a photo from my own collection which I haven't got onto Broadland Memories yet which dates from c1905 and features 13 wherries all crossing Breydon together. That must have been a sight to behold!! Carol

I think it might be cheaper just to have a new one built! Carol

The Lord Roberts was indeed given to the Norfolk Wherry Trust in 1969 by May Gurney and, as you say, they didn't have the funds to carry out the restoration. She was moored at Womack (in Hunters Dyke or nearby I believe) and later sunk. She was raised c1983 and was then taken off to Royall's yard and, as far as I know, now lies sunk in a private dyke somewhere in Wroxham. Whether there is enough of it left to be able to salvage and restore I don't know. The picture below comes from a newspaper article c1983 when she was raised and taken to Wroxham. Carol

Hi Jill Thank you for that ... I had forgotten about the Science & Society picture library website! Unfortunately you can't paste a link to search results (much like the Picture Norfolk website) ... you need to do a fresh search each time. If you put "Norfolk Broads" into the search page, you will be presented with a great selection of pre 1900 Broads photos taken by Peter Henry Emerson and some superb old railway posters promoting Broadland. I believe that you can also order prints from them. http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/search.asp Another site I came across recently is the WISE Archive which aims to record personal memories of the working lives of older residents. It does cover a wider area that Norfolk, but there are quite a few interesting articles on the website for Norwich and Norfolk. Just click on the link to the projects section and there is a list of various occupations on the right hand side. http://www.wisearchive.co.uk/home/ One that really needs a good trawl through is the Foxearth & District Society website! Whilst most of it relates to history around the West Suffolk/Essex area, there are a few interesting articles about Beccles including some fascinating transcriptions of newspaper artciles dating as far back as the early 1800s. I still haven't had the time to go through this lot but bits I did read before gave a wonderful insight into life in the area during the 1800s. Main website: http://www.foxearth.org.uk/ Beccles Newspapers: http://www.foxearth.org.uk/BecclesAreaNewspapers/index.html Suzanne, I am really pleased that you found some of the links interesting .... there is a lot of great stuff out there if you search round. It's funny really, as History was one of my least favourite subjects when I was at school but I just find it all so fascinating now! Carol

Hi If anyone fancies owning their own ex-admiralty boat, there is a 1942 Fairmile B up for sale on Ebay at the moment .... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk:80/WW2-Fairemile-B-1942_W0QQitemZ260326233243QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_BoatEquipment_Accessories_SM?hash=item260326233243&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 Carol

Hi A few more links to add to the collection: Following on from the previous town and village history links .... Brccles town website has a page with some interesting history about it: http://www.beccles.info/beccles/localinfo/beccleshistory.htm There is a website for the village of Martham which also has a brief history and some very interesting old photos within it's galleries. Once you get to the gallery page, click on the links listed along the bottom to view the individual collections: http://www.martham.gov.uk/pages/history/history.htm Old Norfolk.Net has old photos, maps and illustrations of Norwich and Great Yarmouth: http://oldnorfolk.net/withmenu.htm The Gorleston Heritage site has some great history about the area and lots of old photos and postcards: http://www.gorleston-heritage.co.uk/gorleston%20the%20resort.htm The Norfolk Broads Yachting Company have a very nice article on their history and also some fabulous old photographs of Broadland during the Victorian and Edwardian era ... History: http://www.norfolk-broads.com/history/index.php Pastimes & Past Times Gallery: http://www.norfolk-broads.com/galleries/pastimes.php Yacht Racing in the Victorian & Edwardian Era: http://www.norfolk-broads.com/galleries/vic_ed_racing.php And Royalls have a nice page devoted to the history of the yard including photos: http://www.royallsboatyard.com/articles/article/6 Carol

And for those who don't know ... MGB 56, also known as Morning Flight, was the home of Cmdr Ron Ashby (Hearts Cruisers) and his family at Thorpe Island. She was towed to Thorpe in 1948 and had to be partially sunk and dragged along the river bed to allow her to get underneath the rail bridges there. It was apparently only meant to be a temporary home for a couple of years whilst they built a house on the island .... in the end, the family lived onboard for 41 years! The picture below shows Morning Flight at Thorpe c1963. Carol

Fantastic pictures Terry .... I see you got the hang of the new scanner then! All that lovely wood ... bootiful!! Carol

Hello Rammy .... who on earth could possibly forget you? Goodness knows, I've spent enough money on therapy over the last year trying to ...... !! Carol

Many thanks smellyloo! It's nice to know that she is still about. Carol

Hi Jonny Do you mean that Picken Jack sold for £40k through NYA ... or Doris? I haven't actually been through Beccles by river this year, so I'm not sure whether Doris is still there or not. I seem to remember her being on Ebay a few times with an asking proce of £75k, but didn't think she sold. Pete, I hope that funds can be found to continue the restoration too - as you say, she is an historic vessel and it would be a great shame to lose her. Carol

That's what I'm still trying to find out .... I think the trail goes cold after the Norwich pictures were taken. Hi Clive .... it will still be extrememly interesting to find out what the wreck actually is! At least I now have confirmation of where MTB 653 was during the 50s and early 60s so many thanks for that!! Carol

If anyone has £40k to spare then they could own another classic Brooke boat .. Picken Jack: http://motorboats.apolloduck.co.uk/display.phtml?aid=92713 A good bit smaller than Doris, but a very nice looking boat! Carol

I love an unsolved mystery too .... but I'd rather have it solved! I've been on the trail of MTB 653 for a while now ... just when you think the trail has gone cold, up pops some new information!! Barry ... thanks for having a word with your contact at Salhouse.... that is very inetersting. If it's not our MTB then it would be equally fascinating to find out which boat it was. There have been so many ex-military craft on the Broads over the years. Hopefully Clive will go along and have a closer look with some of the members of the BMPT forum and be able to tell us a bit more about what it actually is. Whilst I would sort of love it to be my MTB so that the mystery of what happened to her is solved, I have to say that I still do have my doubts. I have photos of MTB 653 moored at Norwich in the early 1970s .... as they already removed part of the superstructure to get her up to Horning in the late 40s/early 50s, and must have had to do the same to get her on to the Southern rivers by 1971 I wonder whether they would have gone to the trouble of doing it all for a third time to get her back on to the Northern rivers? These are MTB 653 at Norwich c 1971/72. Carol

Oh Bruce .... stop it ... you're making me blush! I tend to consider myself to be an archivist rather than an historian as there are far more people out there who know an awful lot more about Broadland's history than me. I do however have reams of notes I have taken over the last few years, some superb books to refer to .... and I am very good a Googling! Glad that you are enjoying my website though ... it's thanks to everyone that takes the time to scan their old photos, or write down their memories that it is the site it is! Carol

Aah ... the lovely Doris! She certainly is a beauty. Built in 1930 by J W Brooke at Lowestoft for Montague Evans at a cost of £3,960 .... that was a lot of money back then!! In her heydey she was considered to be one of the finest boats on the Broads, fitted out with a luxurious interior which included Axminster carpets and a large, china bath. Whilst she has undoubtably suffered from neglect over the years, it's not fair to say that her current owners are guilty of that charge. Over the years she has been sunk for a time, and also suffered a major fire during the 1980s. The current owner had previously owned her for 10 years before selling her on, the fire happened after this time along with other neglect, but he bought her back a few years ago and I believe has spent somewhere in the region of £50k on restoring her exterior over a four year period. She was launched again in 2006. I think the plan was to then restore her interior to it's former glory and then she would become a floating, luxury hotel. As she was up for sale last year, I guess that the funds couldn't be raised to complete the work ........ but if my lottery numbers come up .... :-D I spoke to someone a while ago who used to skipper Doris up the Ant to Barton regatta every year ... ususally with half a dozen white boats on tow!! Carol

Hi Construction on the new road bridge at Haddisoce began in March 1960 and it was opened to traffic on the 15th May 1961. You can find out all you ever wanted to know, and more, about Haddiscoe bridge on the link below: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vSZAnyWpzDcC&pg=RA2-#PRA2-PA536,M1 There is also an interesting old EDP article on the making of the New Cut itself here: http://www.edp24.co.uk/content/HiddenNorfolk/asp/2003/01/Cut1.asp Carol

It amazes me too Terry ... mainly because, in the scheme of things, I actually know very little!! But I am learning more all the time through people recalling their memories of the Broads, through information passed on via forums and talking to others, and though an awful lot of reading and internet searches!! There is a lot of fascinating stuff out there! A few more links of an historical nature ...... these mainly relate to town and village history around Broadland. First up is the Ludham Community Archive website which has lots of interesting historical bits and pieces about the village and some wonderful old photographs. There is a large section devoted to photographs from the Boardman collection which date back to the beginning of the last century .... some truly fabulous images amongst those! http://www.ludhamarchive.org.uk/ Loddon local history group also have a website which has a few old pics: http://www.loddonhistory.org.uk/index.htm .... and there is also another website which has a large collection of of photos of old Loddon and surrounding area. There are 24 pages of them here: http://www.commanet.org/reflect.aspx?action=navigate&rec=5009999900081275&dir=P&arcid=5029999900000032&view=thumb "Whiteswan" is the Stalham website and it has a history of the village here: http://www.whiteswan.u-net.com/Stalham/history.html And also (for Simon) a Stalham "Past & Present" page of comparison photos .... http://www.whiteswan.u-net.com/Stalham/past.html The Oulton Broad Community Enterprise website has a bit of history on Mutford Lock and Lake Lothing: http://www.onesuffolk.co.uk/obce/History/SaltsideandMutfordLock.htm "Lothingland On The Internet" has a history of St Olaves and Herringfleet: http://www.lothingland.co.uk/herringfleet1.htm The Acle village website has a section on the history of the town: http://www.acle-village.info/history.html Buxton has a website which has a village history timeline and includes some wonderful old photos, several of which show the aftermath of the 1912 flood which destroyed the Locks above Coltishall and ended the navigation beyond it. Just click on the small thumbnails on the page to see larger versions. http://www.buxton-norfolk.co.uk/h_events.htm That'll do for todays selection .... I hope that you are all paying attention as there will be questions later!! Carol