* home * about this site * archive * contact *

Designed & Maintained By Carol Gingell

The Norfolk Broads - Then & Now

previous page

next page

Church Road in Potter Heigham pictured on the left c1940s. The pond was presumably at the entrance to a farm at that time with an entrance opposite into the field. The photograph on the right was taken in February 2010 and shows that the pond is still there, as is the remains of the flint wall which you can see in the earlier image. The farm building has long since gone, and the houses in the distance have been joined by some new properties in the intervening years.

The River Thurne at Potter Heigham, taken from the old road bridge looking upstream. The photograph on the left shows the old rail bridge, pictured in the early 1930s and taken by Ronald Winton. The line was part of the Midland and Great Northern Railway (known locally as the Muddle and Get Nowhere!) and brought thousands of holidaymakers to the Broads every year. The line was closed in 1959 and the bridge was demolished in the 1960s. The picture on the right, taken in May 2008, shows a very different scene today. A road bridge carrying the A149 has replaced the old rail bridge and the boatyards and sheds which once lined the left hand bank are now gone, their place taken by a large, grassed area which provides free 24 hour moorings.

Another view taken from Potter Heigham road bridge, this time looking downstream. The photograph on the right was taken by Donald Shields in 1904 and shows the skyline filled with masts, including those of several wherries. The comparison on the right was taken in May 2008 and shows that the scene looks very similar today. The buildings on the right stand in the footprint of those original boatsheds and, in the height of summer, the riverbank is still lined with large numbers of cruisers.

Another view of Potter Heigham Bridge. The postcard on the left was posted in 1919, but probably dates from a little earlier, and was taken from the edge of what eventually became Herbert Woods “Broads Haven” yard looking up towards the Bridge Hotel. The boatyard on the right bank had been owned by the Norfolk Broads Yachting Company and was managed by Walter Woods, father of Herbert. The company also had boat sheds on the opposite bank roughly where the original photo was taken from, as well as yards at Wroxham and Brundall. When the company went into liquidation in 1917, Walter bought the Potter Heigham yard and founded Walter Woods and Sons. The site of that original yard is now occupied by the Phoenix Fleet and the bridge pilots.

The old photograph of St. Olaves Bridge dates from 1934 - Johnson’s boatyard and yacht station can be seen on the left. The bridge was designed by George Edwards of Carlton Colville and was built in 1847, replacing an earlier three arched stone bridge. St. Olaves was once a busy hub of the hireboat industry with yards such as Johnsons, Jillings, Wynmill, FW Cruisers and the Beaver Fleet providing the starting point for many boating holidays during the boom period of the 1960s and 1970s. Johnsons ceased hiring in 1990 and the last hire fleet to operate here was Castle Craft who closed at the end of 2005.   

St. Olaves

The Bell Hotel at St. Olaves, seen on the left in a postcard c1910 and on the right in May 2010. The Swan is reputed to be Broadland’s oldest inn and was is believed to have been built c1520 as a ferryman’s cottage. St. Olaves was originally in Suffolk until the county boundary was moved in 1974, with the village becoming part of the Fritton parish.

Potter Heigham

The famous medieval road bridge at Potter Heigham, pictured on the left in the early 1930s and taken by Ronald Winton. The Bridge Hotel can be seen in the background on the right with the motor cruiser “Pauline” moored in front, and George Applegates boatyard can be seen on the left hand side in front of the bridge.  The picture on the right was taken in May 2008, the Bridge Hotel is now long gone having suffered major fire damage in 1990. The area where Pauline was moored is now the site of the Bridge Pilots office and Phoenix dayboat hire. Applegates yard is also long gone.

Oulton Broad

The Yacht Station at Oulton Broad pictured on the left in the 1950s. The photograph on the right was taken in September 2008 and shows that this is as popular a mooring spot as ever! Much of the layout of the Yacht Station remains the same, although the large maltings buildings in the background have now been converted into apartments and virtually all of the many boatyards which once lined the banks of the Broad are, sadly, long gone.

A very familiar scene to those visiting the Yacht Station at Oulton Broad - the Wherry Hotel as viewed from Bridge Road. The postcard on the left dates from the 1920s and shows a very quiet Bridge Street winding it’s way past the Hotel. The photo on the right, taken in September 2008, shows that major changes have been made to what is now a very busy, main road, the course of which has been substantially altered since the 1920s. The building on the right in the foreground, now an Indian restaurant and cafe, is still there although it too has been heavily remodelled. The shop beyond it is now a two storey building but appears to sit in the footprint of the one seen in the 1920s postcard.

Another view of Bridge Road, this time looking up towards Outlon Broad North railway station. The shops and both rows of terraces still exist but, again, look very different to the scene in the postcard on the left which dates from around 1950. The shop itself is now in a very poor state compared to the elegant facade with it’s awning that we see on the left.

The view from Oulton Broad Yacht Station, looking across to the old maltings - seen on the left in a photograph which dates from 1934 and on the right in May 2010. The 1930s scene shows an array of small motor launches, sailing and rowing boats lined up for hire whilst just a handful of dayboats can now be seen in the recent photograph.

The postcard of Mutford Lock on the left dates from the 1920s whilst the photograph on the right was taken in May 2010. The first bridge was built here in 1554 and was replaced and rebuilt several times over the next 200 years. In the early 1800s Lake Lothing was opened to the sea when the new harbour was built and the first lock was installed at Mutford Bridge. Oulton Dyke was also widened and the Haddiscoe cut was dug to allow the passage commercial traffic through Lowestoft and up to the port of Norwich. A swing bridge replaced the fixed Mutford Bridge in 1894 - this itself was replaced by a new swing bridge in 1939. In 1992 the road layout was altered, the lock was rebuilt and a new foot bridge was installed.