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The waterways of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads have for many centuries been used as a method of travel and as a means of transporting goods. Pin-pointing the exact time that boating for pleasure began though is a somewhat difficult task, but it certainly dates back to at least the 18th century.

At that time, Norfolk was primarily a farming county with most of the land being owned by the aristocracy and farmed by their tenants. Many of the regions great houses were built and extended during this time and villages, churches and schools sprung up around them as the need for workers increased.  The rivers and broads became a playground for these wealthy inhabitants and their friends, taking to the water in rowing boats and small sailing craft. While some were content to explore the waterways at a leisurely pace, others were keen to pursue more sporting pastimes on the rivers and the development of pleasure craft began as yacht racing became a highly competitive affair.

The first “water frolics”, or regattas as we now know them, were recorded towards the end of the 18th century. People would gather to watch the yacht and rowing races on decorated boats and wherries, many bets would be wagered, musicians would play and it was generally an event at which you could eat, drink and be merry. By the 1830s water frolics were being held at locations all over the Broads and the desire to have faster and better sailing craft led to the development of “lateener” yachts, based on a Mediterranean design. The most famous example of the lateeners, “Maria” which was built in 1827 survives today as part of the collection held by The Museum Of The Broads at Stalham.  The lateeners were later to be superseded by the Broads “cutter” yachts which had a very large gaff sail, long bowsprit and were unique among cutters in having just one large foresail rather than the usual two.

By the mid 19th century boating for pleasure had extended into the professional, middle classes. In 1859 the first sailing club was formed – The Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club and in 1860 the first use of a wherry for a pleasure trip was recorded when the Revd T.A. Wheeler, a Norfolk parson, temporarily fitted out a trading wherry as a liveaboard to make a three week cruise of the Broads.  The riverside was also becoming a popular destination for day trips as the Victorian middle classes developed a passion for “al fresco” eating.  The landscape was very different from that which we know today. The banks were largely cleared of any trees, cut down by the wherrymen to allow as much wind as possible to reach their sails as they plied their trade along the rivers.  Those areas with small pockets of woodland such as Brammerton and Postwick Grove became popular local beauty spots where afternoon strolls could be taken.

It was the coming of the railways, however, which heralded the dawn of the Broads becoming a destination for holidays. The first railway line in Norfolk was laid in 1844 and ran between Norwich and Great Yarmouth soon to be followed by the Lowestoft to Reedham line. By the 1880s a network of railway lines connected the Norfolk Broads and coast to London and the Midlands with Wroxham station being a popular alighting point. It was this that led to Wroxham becoming known as the “capitol of the broads”, a title which it still holds today. Whilst the railways opened up the possibility of travel to other parts of the country they also brought with it the decline of the trading wherry as goods could be transported far more efficiently by rail.

On the rivers themselves the interest in boating for pleasure and sport was increasing.  In 1876 The Yare sailing club was formed with the Rovers Rowing club being an offshoot. Regular events were held and were usually accompanied by riverside picnics attended by the families and friends of the competitors. The wives of the members often sailed too as well as taking to rowing boats, although this was largely confined to quieter backwaters such as the river Wensum where it was considered to be safer for ladies away from the busy main river traffic. However, a new revolution in pleasure boating was about to happen, one which was to spark the birth of the hire boat industry.

Local man, John Loynes, had undertaken an apprenticeship in carpentry in Bungay later moving to work in London for a short while. The lure of country life drew him back to Norwich where he set up in trade as a master carpenter. During his spare time he spent many happy hours sailing on the river Wensum eventually building his own small boat.  It is reputed that, keen to try other waters, the boat was placed on a handcart and taken to Wroxham so that he could explore the Northern rivers. He went on to build himself a larger boat and it was when asked by friends whether they could hire that boat for holidays that the hire industry began c1878. He began to build further boats which he hired out from his premises in Norwich, but most of his customers preferred to head to the Northern rivers and the boats were often left at Wroxham for him to collect after the holiday had ended. This was to become a common practice amongst those that hired out boats for a few years.

He was obviously a shrewd businessman as, recognising the advantages of publicity, he took to making models of the boats he had for hire on the Broads and displayed them at exhibitions as an advertisement for his holidays.  In 1882 he charged clients between £1 10s and £2 5s a weeks to hire boats ranging from between 13 and 20 feet in length, a cost that was beyond most peoples means. By 1888 he had moved his business to Wroxham and was building cabin yachts with full sleeping and cooking facilities that also had raising and lowering roofs – an innovation which you can still see in Broads yachts today. Others were soon to follow in John Loynes footsteps as Broadland gained in popularity.

The first guide book to the area was published in 1881 and was written by George Christopher Davies, a member of the Yare sailing club.  His “Guide to The Rivers and Broads of Norfolk and Suffolk” was revised and republished many times in the following years. Many other guide books were published extolling the delights of the area and, with the development of photography, picture books were produced.Guides to fishing on the Broads were also being written as angling began to be promoted as a suitable sporting pastime for gentlemen. Businesses soon became aware of the power of advertising and were also keen to use the medium of photography to sell their holidays. In the late 1880’s the Great Eastern Railway commissioned a photographer to produce a series of photographs of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads which were then displayed in their carriages promoting rail travel to the area as a holiday destination.

Throughout the 1880’s many other boatbuilders were following John Loynes example and began to build and hire out cabin yachts. Some of those who began in the early years went on to become very familiar names in the hire boat industry. Robert Collins had a business in Coltishall, his son Ernest eventually taking over after it had moved to Wroxham, John Hart hired boats from Thorpe, and Applegates yard began hiring out of Potter Heigham.

By 1891 some 37 boatbuilders and owners were advertising boats for hire. As demand increased, trading wherries were being temporarily converted for hire during the summer months, reverting back to carrying cargo in the autumn. These pleasure wherries and larger yachts were hired out with two crew members on board, a skipper to sail them and a steward who would cook, clean and attend to the needs of the party on board. Some crews began to build a better reputation for reliability than others and this became yet another marketing tool for the owners when advertising their boats for hire. In the mid 1890s Ernest Suffling, another well known author of Broadland guide books, decided to act as an agent through which boats with trustworthy crew could be hired and, within a few years, had a variety of wherry yachts, sailing cruisers and houseboats on his books. Houseboats were also becoming a popular choice for holiday retreats, some being quite lavish affairs whilst others were little more than the hull of an old ship with a shed built on top.

At this time the villages of Broadland were very small in comparison to those we know today. In the 1881 census the population of Wroxham was recorded as just 374, Horning having 435 and Potter Heigham 414. As with all villages up and down the country, most services or supplies you needed were provided within the village itself.  There would be bakers, butchers, grocers, ironmongeries, blacksmiths, draperies, cobblers … etc, and of course every village would have at least one pub but quite often more. The Broadland villages were, of course, geared up for servicing the wherrymen and there were far more riverside inns than there are today. As holidaymakers and day trippers flocked to the area these establishments began to serve a new clientele.

As the railways took more and more trade away from the wherries many were converted permanently and new pleasure wherries were being purpose built. These boats were luxuriously furnished with blinds, soft cushions and rugs, even small wherry pianos could be hired for around 15s a week. Some boats were described as being suitable for mixed groups of ladies and gentlemen while others were deemed suitable for all male parties only. On the mixed party boats there were strict rules however, with separate cabins for ladies and gentlemen, and the men were instructed to bathe early in the morning before the ladies could come out of their cabins. In the 1890s another famous Broadland name was to emerge with the creation of the Norfolk Broads Yachting Company who had bases in Brundall, Potter Heigham and Wroxham. By the end of the century they too had amassed a considerable hire fleet of pleasure wherries, yachts, half deckers and other smaller boats.

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