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Designed & Maintained By Carol Gingell
Golden Emblem pictured coming in to moor at Potter Heigham. Bob Applegate’s boatyard can be seen in the background on the left, whilst the boatsheds of George Applegate Jnr. Are seen on the right. George Applegate’s yard was taken over by Herbert Woods after the Second World War, although he continued to use the Applegate’s name.
An unidentified sailing cruiser is launched at Herbert Woods yard in Potter Heigham in April 1949.
The second photograph shows the same scene in the 1930s by which time H.T. Percival was running a small fleet of motor cruisers and yachts. Amongst the motor cruisers were the 33ft 6 berth “Barton”, the 24ft 3 berth “Filby” and the 36ft 6 berth “Ormesby”.
The third photo in the sequence moves on to the late 1940s and shows the yard having expanded with an additional boatshed to the right. During the war, Percivals had built boats for the admiralty (more of that to follow), but after the war the hire fleet continued to grow. The 1949 edition of Blakes boating brochure shows that Percival’s were running 11 classes of motor cruisers, from the 17ft 2 berth “Peter Pan” up to the 39ft 8 berth “Springtime”. The houseboat seen moored in front of the yard was probably “Summertime” which slept 4 and cost between £9 10 shillings and £12 10 shillings for a weeks hire in 1949.
Going back a few years from the previous photograph, this shows Percival’s yard during
the Second World War. With the outbreak of the war the Broads were effectively shut
down, the hire industry was suspended and the waterways were declared a no go area
for recreational boating. Many of the hire fleets were requisitioned by the admiralty
and were towed off to be moored on the open Broads in an effort to prevent enemy
sea planes landing. The Broadland boatyards turned their efforts to the building
of various military craft for the admiralty and Percival’s were no exception, constructing
motor launches for patrol, mine laying and anti-
The final photograph shows the same landing craft moored in front of H.C. Banham’s boatyard, a little further upstream at Horning. Banhams were also engaged in the building of military craft during the war, initially constructing 27ft whalers but later working in partnership with Percivals in the construction and finishing off of the larger landing craft and MTB’s. Charles Carrodus wrote that it was a combined venture which lasted for around three years until the end of 1944 when the production of these enormous vessels was drawing to a close. After the death of Mr Banham in 1960, the yard was sold and became Norfolk Holiday Boats before being bought by the Caister Group in 1966. The land was eventually sold, the boatsheds demolished and housing built.
The first photograph shows the site of H.T. Percival’s boatyard in the 1920s, although at this time it was under the ownership of the Broads Motor Craft Company Ltd. I know nothing about this company, but H’T. Percival bought the land and boatsheds around 1929. According to the author Charles Carrodus in his book “A Norfolk Village in Wartime”, the land had originally been owned by James Lockett who had built a pair of Dutch style tin barns in which to store fodder for the London bus horses, the barns later being used for the villages first motor omnibuses before becoming a boatyard. A reminder of that former owner can be found in the name of the nearby “Locketts” cottage.
More of M.Joy’s photographs from 1949
Golden Emblem negotiates Potter Heigham Bridge in April 1949.
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