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1900 to 1950 - An Historic Overview

Around Broadland development was proceeding rapidly as more and more people wished to experience the beauty of the area. Populations were steadily growing and new methods of transport meant that access to the villages became easier. In the earlier years of the century visitors were met at the station by pony and trap but Harry Blakes 1920 brochure, by now entitled “Norfolk Broads Holidays Afloat”, contained an advert for the “Norfolk Broads and District Motor Service” at Horning. It stated that a “regular service of first class motor omnibuses run daily between Wroxham station, Horning, Ludham and Potter Heigham bridge for the conveyance of passengers and luggage. During the summer months it is intended to considerably extend this service, linking up many places which, hitherto, have been practically inaccessible”. It also offered motor cars for hire to private parties which would meet them at the station. The famous Bristol L type bus began service in the 1920s and was to become a regular sight for the next 30 years running a service between Norwich and Great Yarmouth, stopping at all the main Broadland villages en route on a journey that took nearly two hours to complete. The brochure also contained advertisements for outboard motors by Evinrude, Knight and Watermota. Norwegian born inventor Ole Evinrude designed and built the first outboard motor in 1909, inspired after rowing to an island with his girlfriend for a picnic on a very hot summer’s day. The earlier designs were not highly efficient but by 1920 he had perfected his motors and others were copying his ideas.

Blakes 1920 brochure included a note that his contact with potential clients now stood at ten thousand and along with the yachts, wherries and motor boats for hire were 15 houseboats and a few bungalows. The effects of the war had begun to take their toll as he announced that boat hire prices had risen this year due to “ a heavy increase in materials etc., which have risen 200 to 300 per cent since 1914”. This did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm for boating holidays and bookings remained strong even though prices has almost doubled compared to those listed in the 1912 brochure. Noticeably in this edition, the higher peak season rate was charged between May and September rather than just the August of previous years.

The average estimated cost per person for a fortnights holiday, based on a party of six, had now risen to £8 12s 6d. The wherry yacht “Olive” cost between £18 and £24 for a weeks hire, the yacht “Blue Diamond” was £9 10s rising to £12 15s while the smaller “Frolic” cost £7 10s at the highest rate. Of the motor boats listed some had been converted from older sailing vessels but purpose built motor cruisers and launches were now appearing.  The 30ft launch “Marguerite” from Oulton Broad was fitted with a 22hp Daimler engine and was “especially suitable for picnic parties” for up to 12 people or it could sleep 2.  It was priced at £14 15s per week or £5 5s per day during high season.  

More and more yards were starting to build and hire motor cruisers alongside the sailing yachts and wherries during the early 1920’s including Alfred Ward and J.H. Jenner at Thorpe and E.C. Landamore at Wroxham. Landamores also built the famous passenger cruiser “Duchess” during this decade which saw many years of service at Wroxham. Along with the new builds were the converted craft, several of the pleasure wherries had their masts removed and engines fitted and, in 1923, one of the largest motor cruisers to feature in a hire fleet appeared when an 80’ ex-WW1 Royal Navy motor launch was re-fitted for holiday use. In his 1927 brochure Harry Blake had 36 pages of motor craft listed and, as the popularity of motor cruisers began to increase, attentions were turned away from building the larger sailing vessels - the very last pleasure wherry “Ardea” was built at Oulton Broad in 1927. In January 1928 a rival agency to Blakes appeared when a group of private owners and boat builders including Jack Robinson and John Jenner, formed The Broadland Yachting Association at Oulton Broad. There were initially 19 members and the BYA continued operating until the outbreak of the Second World War.

Herbert Woods had joined the family business run by his father, Walter, at Potter Heigham in the early 1920’s when Walters health began failing. Herbert Woods is now considered to be the architect of the modern hire boat industry with both the design of his motor cruisers and the way in which he developed the yard at Potter Heigham. In 1926 he built his first motor cruiser “Speed Of Light” and over the next four years was to launch a total of nine of this class of vessel which he hired out through Harry Blakes agency. He recognised that some of the earlier cruisers were often very difficult to manoeuvre, the engines were usually noisy and smelly and extremely difficult to start. With “Speed Of Light”, Herbert introduced a low wash hull and turned to Morris Motors at Cowley to provide a marine engine, a partnership which would last for many years. The Morris marine engine was built with a self starter button, was cleaner and easier to maintain than anything that had come before it and was therefore better suited for use by hirers.

The “Light” class of boats were also designed to be spacious, comfortable and equipped with everything one could need to make it a real home from home. Herbert also had ambitious plans to develop the yard at Potter Heigham and, in 1929, plans were approved for a 6 acre site which he christened “Broadshaven”. In 1930 work began as a two acre basin was dug out of the marshland by hand to a depth of 8-10 feet, creating 1800 square feet of quay heading for his hire fleet. New boat building and mooring sheds were also constructed along with garaging for his clients motor vehicles. Over the next few years the site was developed further with the building of a shop and the famous Woods water tower which he disguised by surrounding it with offices and flats for his employees. Herbert’s boats and the Broadshaven yard were to set the standard by which all Broadland boatyards would later operate.

In Blakes 1930 edition of his “Holidays Afloat” brochure the number of motor cruisers had increased dramatically to cover 74 pages as boatyards began to concentrate on producing more and more motorised craft.  The average cost of a two week boating holiday was given as £7 10 shillings, a reduction on the post World War 1 estimate in 1920 of £8 12s 6d. He made the strong recommendation that clients hiring a boat without an attendant should take out insurance to cover the boat in the event of accidents and stated that “beginners must not engage yachts over 21ft and motor craft over 22ft”

   “DON’T call the skipper ‘Mr.’ it may hurt his feelings!”

   “DON’T mistake the roof of a houseboat for a dancing floor. It may not give way, but it is not really intended

       for Jazzing or the Charleston.”

   “DON’T make your UKELELE or BANJULELE your sole pastime. These are pleasant to hear at times, but some       

       people are charmed more with ‘the concorde of sweet sounds’ and dislike being ‘UKELELED’ from 7a.m.

       until 11 p.m.”

The wherry yacht “Olive” was by now fitted with a Thornycroft 2 cylinder petrol engine and was priced at between £18 10s and £28 5s per week including the two attendants. The 38ft, 6 berth, “Blue Diamond” cost £9 10s to £14 and the smaller “Frolic”, £5 10s to £8 for a weeks hire. Of the motor cruisers listed, one of the largest and most famous was “Enchantress” from Oulton Broad at 60ft in length which was hired out complete with two crew members. She was luxuriously fitted out inside with teak throughout, had 3 double cabins and one single, plus a bathroom with a full sized bath with hot and cold running water. Wicker armchairs and a table were provided for having tea on the upper deck and mosquito nets were supplied for protection at night. The hire price varied from £19 10s a week up to £30 10s during August. Herbert Woods “Speed Of Light” 6 berth cruisers were charged at £12 to £17 a week whilst the smaller “Morning Light” class vessels cost between £10 and £14 to hire. Smaller and cheaper options available included the 2nd class motor cruiser “Ada” a 24ft, 2 +1 berth from Brundall which cost £6 at its lowest rising to £8 per week in August. There were also 20 houseboats and 15 bungalows listed which were available for holiday let, prices ranged from £2 10s up to £12 per week depending on size and the season.

By the late 1920s Broadland was attracting more and more visitors as transport links increased and cheaper holiday options opened up the market to a wider section of the population. Most businesses were now adapting to accommodate the needs of the tourist during the summer months, both those who took cruising holidays and those who were land based. Many village shops offered provisions lists to boating parties from which they could pre-order their holiday goods to be delivered to the boatyard on the day of arrival, some enterprising boat owners and stores were even converting boats into floating provisions stores which would then trade along the rivers.  The shops were also stocking more specialist items aimed squarely at the tourist market such as London daily newspapers and Kodak films. Other riverside businesses also recognised the opportunity to expand their trade, many of the pubs and inns had adjoining “pleasure gardens” where afternoon teas could be taken and often other recreational activities were on offer. The Swan Inn at Horning provided lawn tennis, fishing and boating, the Kings Head Hotel at Wroxham advertised motor boats, rowing and fishing boats for hire by the day or week. Tearooms were opening in many of the popular villages and also offered takeaway services to those on boats. The Riverholm Teagardens at Horning offered “luncheons, teas, any meal cooked to order. Hot or cold home reared fowls and ducks, eggs, milk and cakes”. Interestingly they also offered the facility to have hot baths, a service which many other riverside establishments also provided.

Numerous holiday guides were being published at this time, some of which give a fascinating insight into how the holiday industry was developing and also of the trends of the era. “Everybody’s Broadland” written by William Leslie Rackham in 1927 gave detailed information for cruising the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads with guides to the villages and facilities on offer. Of Acle he wrote; “during the season the river here presents a scene of animation. Yachts, motor boats, wherries, etc., are continually up and down and the banks are lined with craft” and of Oulton: “on no other Broad will you see such an assembly of boats as here”.

He mentions the fine shopping that Norwich offers and of Yarmouth, which he refers to as “Bloaterville”, he tells of the “new swimming pool, handsome shops, Old Toll House museum and endless amusements”. The amount of holiday homes being erected around Broadland did not escape his notice either as of Potter Heigham he says “This may fairly be termed as ‘Bungalow Land’, riverside residences extending a considerable distance before coming to the bridge”.

One of the most interesting features of Rackhams book though is the wonderful little items that are so evocative of the era. His list of “don’ts” for holiday cruising include the following amusing warnings;

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