* home * about this site * archive * contact *

Designed & Maintained By Carol Gingell

Hosted by Horning.Org

Postcards Of The Norfolk Broads

Norwich

The first of a series of postcards which capture scenes in and around Norwich following the devastating floods which hit the region in 1912. Many areas of Broadland sustained heavy flooding and damage from the accompanying gales, over 40 bridges were destroyed, railways became blocked and the harvest was lost. There had been rain over several days prior to the storm but it began raining heavily in the early hours of Monday 26th August and in less than 24 hours over 8” had fallen over the region. The accompanying gales ensured that the tide remained high and, as the water poured off of the land, the rivers were breached in many places causing mass flooding. The above image shows Prince Of Wales Road.

Norwich Yacht Station 1960s.

Pulls Ferry on the River Wensum in Norwich 1960s.

Another postcard of Norwich Yacht Station from the 1960s.

A very busy Yacht Station pictured in the 1970s.

The River Wensum and Riverside Road in Norwich c1905.

Another postcard featuring an almost identical scene in Prince Of Wales Road.

The flooding in Magdalen Street pictured on August 27th 1912. As the water levels rose the sewers became blocked and the floodwater had nowhere to go, a problem made worse by the fact that the gullies in the streets became blocked by debris.

It is said that the flood water in Norwich rose to over 15 feet above the normal high tide level and that Carrow Road (pictured above) resembled a canal. Power and communications in the city were cut and Norwich effectively became cut off from the outside world for a few days until the water began to recede.

The heavily populated areas of Heigham, Coslany and Westwick were the worst affected areas of the city - they were also the poorest districts and over 3,500 homes were flooded with 15,000 people being affected, 2000 of whom were left homeless. The YMCA in Norwich took in 280 people who had been evacuated from their homes, many more were housed temporarily in local schools. The postcard above shows Exeter Street, the terraced houses seen here no longer exist.

next page