Arthur Ransom’s Horning

[YnysMon]

Does anyone have any info on what Horning looked like when Arthur Ransom wrote ‘The Coot Club?  He describes, just downstream of the staithe…
The boat-sheds were astern of them, the willow-pattern harbour,

The description has always intrigued me. 

[Vaughan]

The boat sheds, known as Jonatts yard in the books, were actually H.C. Banhams yard beside the staithe and the window over the slipway where one of the boys had his tooth pulled out by dropping a brick on a piece of string, actually existed.

Downstream of the New Inn down as far as the Ferry was marshy land, called carr, and was where the boys hid the Death and Glory among the osier bushes.  There was little or no development there in those days, between the river and the road.

I am sure LizG knows more detail than I do!

[LizG]

Think Vaughan has as much knowledge.

Although this map is 1888-1913 it still shows Horning probably as it almost was?

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=15.0&lat=52.70206&lon=1.46907&layers=6&right=ESRIWorld

Just opposite the Petersfield (as was) there is still some lagoons and I can imagine that as the willow pattern harbour as there were/are wooden bridges, the pines of the Petersfield - all a bit willow pattern? I've seen an old aerial photos online but can't find it at the moment!

Broadland Memories has loads of photos of Horning but the Francis Frith archive is pretty impressive

https://www.francisfrith.com/horning/photos

This one might look uninteresting but the concrete pavement is still there - you walk on it when you go to the Chinese which is the building in the corner.  The cottages are still there  but the boatsheds which say HT Percival is the development where I lived between 1970 and 1981 etc.

https://www.francisfrith.com/horning/horning-the-village-c1965_h116118

Liz

[grendel]

there are a couple of illustrations in the books showing Horning staithe

eg

there are some others, but I cant find examples just now, I know there is one from The Big 6 that shows the notice board at the swan end of the staithe.

 

[TheQ]

This page includes several of Horning of the 1930s and before, including the sign by the Swan , where the southern comfort now moors. The sign reads Horning Town Sailing Club which ceased to exist in 1938, Horning Sailing club was formed a few months later.

https://www.broadlandmemories.co.uk/1900to1949gallery3.html

 

[webntweb]

5 hours ago, LizG said:

Think Vaughan has as much knowledge.

Although this map is 1888-1913 it still shows Horning probably as it almost was?

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=15.0&lat=52.70206&lon=1.46907&layers=6&right=ESRIWorld

Just opposite the Petersfield (as was) there is still some lagoons and I can imagine that as the willow pattern harbour as there were/are wooden bridges, the pines of the Petersfield - all a bit willow pattern? I've seen an old aerial photos online but can't find it at the moment!

Broadland Memories has loads of photos of Horning but the Francis Frith archive is pretty impressive

https://www.francisfrith.com/horning/photos

This one might look uninteresting but the concrete pavement is still there - you walk on it when you go to the Chinese which is the building in the corner.  The cottages are still there  but the boatsheds which say HT Percival is the development where I lived between 1970 and 1981 etc.

https://www.francisfrith.com/horning/horning-the-village-c1965_h116118

Liz

Thanks for the links Liz.

Particularly poignant for me are the c1965 photos of Horning, as we hired from Chumley & Hawke in both 1964 and 1966. The aerial view of c1955 showing three (I think) boatyards again brought back memories as the photo is only three years before my first Broads holiday in 1958. I remember seeing the Percivals' roundel as we cruised past the boatsheds. Were those boatyards Percivals, Banhams and Southgates Lower Street? I'm sure Vaughan will put me right.

[YnysMon]

Thank you so much. I knew I could rely on members of the forum, particularly Vaughan and Liz. 

[LizG]

I think this is the aerial photo I meant - sure it's been posted on here before!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133475091774

 

[PaulN]

On 16/12/2022 at 07:48, LizG said:

Think Vaughan has as much knowledge.

Although this map is 1888-1913 it still shows Horning probably as it almost was?

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=15.0&lat=52.70206&lon=1.46907&layers=6&right=ESRIWorld

Just opposite the Petersfield (as was) there is still some lagoons and I can imagine that as the willow pattern harbour as there were/are wooden bridges, the pines of the Petersfield - all a bit willow pattern? I've seen an old aerial photos online but can't find it at the moment!

Broadland Memories has loads of photos of Horning but the Francis Frith archive is pretty impressive

https://www.francisfrith.com/horning/photos

This one might look uninteresting but the concrete pavement is still there - you walk on it when you go to the Chinese which is the building in the corner.  The cottages are still there  but the boatsheds which say HT Percival is the development where I lived between 1970 and 1981 etc.

https://www.francisfrith.com/horning/horning-the-village-c1965_h116118

Liz

Thank you LizG, I've never seen that before, I'm referring to your first web link showing then and now, with the double cursor when the mouse is moved. Very informative.

[marshman]

Remember in the early 50's having a holiday in a Percivals houseboat opposite the sheds. Were they blue even then - cannot recall.

But at that time my parents brought round our own boat which lived in the dyke at the Yare in Brundall - it was a 16' or 18' ships lifeboat with a transom stern he had converted and built a cabin on. Powered by a British Anzani twin he and my Mum brought it across Breydon, in two hops via Upton, up to Horning as the houseboat was a bit small!! Mind you we slept on our boat on straw mattresses which were a bit bumpy but looking back, that trip with a tiny outboard was pretty epic by todays standards!!!!!

[LizG]

They were blue in the 70s (I'm sure) as they were opposite our house built on his yard! Slipway under our house. The dykes opposite where they were moored were built to enable MTBs built in the shed to be launched 

[Vaughan]

1 minute ago, LizG said:

Slipway under our house.

That was a big slipway, too! The gradient of it went right up to the road.

[LizG]

I'm sure I have a scan of the photo in the house of an MTB being launched but can I find it???

Liz

[LizG]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

That was a big slipway, too! The gradient of it went right up to the road.

It's also probably why our house hasn't shown significant signs of subsidence compared to some of the other houses on the development!!!

[ChrisB]

When we were "looking" to purchase in Norfolk. So would be 2006/7 The Old Police House in Horning was up for sale. We never moved forward on the property but if we had my late wife was going to rename it "Tedders"

[LizG]

Found it!!! Dated about 1944 Plus the one that was in the book about Horning in the war. 

[HEM]

On 16/12/2022 at 09:06, grendel said:

there are a couple of illustrations in the books showing Horning staithe

eg

there are some others, but I cant find examples just now, I know there is one from The Big 6 that shows the notice board at the swan end of the staithe.

 

The figure is supposed to be that of Mrs. Barrable & her pug William.

Coot Club was the first AR book I read - at the age of 10.  A tatty hardback version was in our classroom library.

[YnysMon]

Tatty is good, for a book. Just imagine the number of kids that had read it. Hope they appreciated it as much as you did. 

[grendel]

I do have several sets of the books, paperback / hardback, and 2 (coot club and big 6) that travel to the broads with me

[YnysMon]

2 hours ago, grendel said:

I do have several sets of the books, paperback / hardback, and 2 (coot club and big 6) that travel to the broads with me

I’ve now got them on my iPad, courtesy of Kindle, so they always accompany me to the Broads. Sadly my actual Kindle has died on me. Shame as the paperwhite screen allowed me to read even in bright sunlight where the iPad is useless in bright conditions. 

[ChrisB]

7 hours ago, YnysMon said:

I’ve now got them on my iPad, courtesy of Kindle, so they always accompany me to the Broads. Sadly my actual Kindle has died on me. Shame as the paperwhite screen allowed me to read even in bright sunlight where the iPad is useless in bright conditions. 

The greatest asset for me of The Paperwhite is you can measure battery life in days, even weeks if you read a bit in bed like me each evening. Not in hours.

Sure you can only read on a Paperwhite and photos are better on a tablet but mine is small and easily slipped into a jacket pocket for waiting rooms etc.

[grendel]

8 hours ago, YnysMon said:

I’ve now got them on my iPad, courtesy of Kindle, so they always accompany me to the Broads. Sadly my actual Kindle has died on me. Shame as the paperwhite screen allowed me to read even in bright sunlight where the iPad is useless in bright conditions. 

oh, I have them on kindle and audible too

[YnysMon]

4 hours ago, ChrisB said:

The greatest asset for me of The Paperwhite is you can measure battery life in days, even weeks if you read a bit in bed like me each evening. Not in hours.

Sure you can only read on a Paperwhite and photos are better on a tablet but mine is small and easily slipped into a jacket pocket for waiting rooms etc.

Yes I do miss it. I was hoping to get a new one for Christmas, but Pozzick related expenses (such as having to buy a trailer for the car earlier this month) have rather constrained our spending this Christmas. At least I still have my iPad, and means to charge it whilst we are on the boat.

[PaulN]

4 hours ago, YnysMon said:

Yes I do miss it. I was hoping to get a new one for Christmas, but Pozzick related expenses (such as having to buy a trailer for the car earlier this month) have rather constrained our spending this Christmas. At least I still have my iPad, and means to charge it whilst we are on the boat.

I have been using kindle for years and I read about 1 novel per week, sometimes a bit more. However, I don't have the hardware being referred to as I use my phone which has the kindle app on it and operates the same as the kindle hardware. The phone has a fairly large screen as I purchased it with the kindle in mind (Samsung Galaxy A70). It has the advantage that it is always in my pocket, so can read whenever, bus, train etc. I loved the AR books as a child, you have all spurred me on to download them and read again. 

[ChrisB]

I am not sure if there has been a disagreement but I can not purchase books anymore useing any of my 3 Samsung Tablets or my Samsung S phone. I can however download to tablet once purchased on the Kindle.

Conversely I recently read a travel book with YouTube links. The kindle was not supported anymore so had to watch on the tablet.