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©  Carol Gingell 2009

By the 1890s some 37 boatbuilders and owners were advertising boats for hire in Davies guide book. These included J.Allen at Coltishall from whom one could hire “The Merlin”, a three berth, cutter rigged yacht for £3-10s per week including a man, or “The Bessie” which was a lug sail open boat which came with a camping awning and would cost £1-10s per week. At Thorpe, J.Hart had a selection of boats including the 12 ton cutter “Island Queen” which was suitable for mixed parties, “Augusta” a 5 ton cutter and “Frolic” a 2 ½ ton cutter. W.J.Aldous, who ran the Steampacket Inn in King Street, Norwich, was offering the 6 ton cutter-rig yacht “Fairy Queen” which slept 6 to 8, and was newly fitted out with a lavatory, for £3 per week or £4 with a man, and “The Gipsy” which slept 6 and cost £3 per week.

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. In the mid 1890s Ernest Suffling also decided to act as an agent through whom 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.

The Broadland Rivers were becoming busier and Davies noted that: “Each year the tourist stream increases” and regular visitors may see: “a dozen yachts where formerly they saw but one, or a score of anglers where in past years but half a dozen might be seen.”  He bemoaned the fact that whilst comfortable accommodation may be found in the inns and private houses within the villages, it was still: “too meagre, and insufficient for the demand.” At the end of the 19th century things began to change rapidly though, as hotels began to appear in the more popular centres such as Horning, where The Swan Hotel was built in 1897. The shopkeepers were also adapting to meet the demands of the holiday makers and in 1895 one of the most famous names associated with the Norfolk Broads began trading as the first Roys shop opened in Coltishall.

As the dawn of the 20th century approached the seeds had been sown for the development of a tourist industry which would change the face of Broadland over the coming decades. An area that had been reliant on the marshes, the land and the wherry trade to provide income was to find a new source of revenue as leisure time increased and the holiday industry was to open up to a wider market.

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The demand for boats was ever increasing and, as the railways took more and more trade away from the wherries, many of these were converted permanently and new pleasure wherries were being purpose built. “Claudian” is believed to be the first pleasure wherry to be built solely for the hire industry by Halls at Reedham in 1887. These boats were luxuriously furnished with blinds, soft cushions and rugs, and were lit a night by oil lamps. Small pianos could be hired for around 15s a week and a “jolly boat” was provided with each wherry or larger cabin yacht. As these pleasure wherry’s and wherry yachts developed, they became more and more luxurious, lined with fine wooden panelling, and modern conveniences such as bathrooms, with full sized tubs, began to appear onboard.