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©  C.Gingell 2006-2026  All photographs, personal stories and written articles on this site are copyright and should not be reproduced anywhere else without the permission of the copyright owner and Broadland Memories.

© Broadland Memories 2006-2026

1900-1949 Photo Gallery

Page  31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40

Continuing with the set of photographs of the holiday aboard one of John Loynes river cruisers in the 1920s.

Passing beneath Acle Bridge, photographed from the dinghy being towed behind. One of the attendants can be seen at the front of the boat with quant pole in hand. I haven’t been able to positively identify the boat which the party hired from Loynes boatyard, but I think it is one of the larger, cutter rigged yachts such as Victoria, Coral or Volunteer. This class slept seven persons and, in 1929, cost between £12 and £17 10 shillings for a week’s hire, including the services of two attendants.

Presumably, there was some riverside bank work going on here.

Great Yarmouth seafront pictured during the group’s holiday in the early 1920s. A contemporary guide to the Broads produced by the LNER Railway Company gave the following description of the town: “The largest and most popular seaside resort on the East Coast, is a good centre for excursions by rail or river to the Broads, and a grand seafront and almost inexhaustible recreational attractions often induce yachting parties to devote a part of their cruising time to enjoying a share in the town’s proverbial gaiety.”

On Great Yarmouth, the LNER guide continued: “Two fine piers with imposing pleasure pavilions, a public jetty, theatres, cinemas, several concert parties, a revolving tower, and scenic and switchback railways are among the popular resorts of Yarmouth’s thousands of holidaymakers, while the older part of town, with its ancient walls and towers, its quaint old Tollhouse, its grand Church of St Nicholas, its spacious quayside and its innumerable narrow byways known as ‘rows,’ provide abundant interest for visitors with antiquarian tastes.”

Having passed beneath the low bridges at Great Yarmouth, the crew are preparing to set sail across Breydon Water.

The Breydon Rail Bridge was built by the Midland and Great Northern Railway Company. Construction began in 1899 and the bridge was opened in 1903, connecting Great Yarmouth Beach Station with the Great Eastern Line’s South Town Station at Gorleston. At 800 feet in length, the Breydon Bridge was the largest structure on the MGN line, cost over £38,000 to build and consisted of five spans set on pilings, one span which swung open to allow passage for river traffic. The opening span swung centrally on a cast iron plinth which, when open, gave two 60 foot channels for vessels to pass through. The line was single track, with a signal box at either end and river traffic was given priority over the trains. The bridge could be swung by just one person, although it could apparently take up to ten minutes to open fully in adverse weather conditions. The bridge was closed in 1953 but stood for another ten years before being dismantled and sold for scrap.

A fantastic shot taken whist crossing Breydon Water by the rather brave photographer who elected to make the passage in the dinghy being towed behind.

Another photograph taken whilst crossing Breydon. Jack Robinson’s 1921 guide to Broadland Yachting described Breydon as: “a wonderful sheet of water at high tide,” but urged caution as: “The ebb tide runs like a mill race through Breydon Swing Bridge.”

Paying the toll to pass through the old lifting bridge in Haddiscoe New Cut. Collected, as seen here, via a bag on a pole, it was the only Broadland Bridge at which a toll was payable. Jack Robinson instructed crews to shout “Bridge Ahoy!” In good time as you approached so that the bridge could be raised.

Sailing on the Norfolk Broads in the 1920s.

Another view along the deck whilst cruising on the rivers.

Moorings alongside the River Yare, with Thorpe St Andrew seen in the background.

The final image from the set was taken at Oulton Broad. In ‘Through Broadland in a Breydon Punt,’ published in 1920, Arthur Patterson gave the following description: “From the train windows, the Broad used to seem to me a jumble of crowded craft; yachts, houseboats, dinghies; but today it is as orderly as was Scapa Flow with its greater fleet. The yachts lay at rest, tethered as regularly as cavalry horses; the motor boats - a flotilla of them - berthed in a coop-like corner, like freshly bathed ducks, each and all having elbow room.”

“Single berth - Pauline” - The accommodation looks rather basic by modern standards, but would presumably have been reasonably comfortable for the day.

The first slide in the collection was this rather lovely hand painted title for the set. I have included the set of 48 slides in their entirety here because they provide such a unique glimpse into holidaying on Pauline just before the outbreak of the Second World War. I have included any titles which were written on the slides and I’ve been able to establish that the photographs cover cruise number one according to contemporary adverts. Passengers boarded at Miller’s boatyard at Oulton Broad and over the following week the itinerary ran as follows; “cruise to Beccles; picnic at Geldeston; on to Somerleyton, Haddiscoe, Reedham, Buckenham Ferry, Bramerton, Whitlingham, Norwich; (launch trips to Rockland Broad), Cantley, across Breydon Water to Yarmouth.”

“Our would be skipper” - One of the younger passengers on board “Pauline” at Miller’s Wharf, Oulton Broad, preparing for departure.

“Leaving Oulton Broad” - Heading off across the Broad with Nicholas Everitt Park seen in the background.

“Skipper Dan Bedford” - It’s wonderful that the name of Pauline’s skipper for the week was recorded. I would love to hear from any descendants who may be able to give a bit more background information on Dan.

“Pauline leaving Oulton” - An almost identical photograph to this illustrated the entry for Pauline in Blake’s “Norfolk Broads Holidays Afloat” brochure in 1939. I wonder if the photographer had a connection to the Miller family or the boatyard. Pauline was one of the largest motor cruisers ever to grace the Broads and must have been a very imposing sight on the rivers.

“Quaint signpost” - at the junction of the River Waveney and Oulton Dyke. Turning left out of the dyke, our holiday party were Beccles bound for the first night of their trip. Blake’s brochure gave the following description: “ You have in front of you a delightful eight miles of sailing water, entering this red-roofed little town with its sentinel-like church tower through a swing-bridge, a road bridge and a railway bridge. Beccles is a charming old-time place full of ancient buildings and snake-like streets.”

“Pauline ‘Queen of the Broads’” - Pauline could accommodate up to twelve passengers - there were six single cabins, two double berth cabins and one with three singles, all of which were fitted with a wash basin.

“Pauline - the saloon” - The “spacious” saloon which seated the whole party for meals which included breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. It was also noted that evening dress was not expected to be worn by guests! Pauline was fitted with electric lights throughout and a “good wireless set” was provided.

On to July 1938 with a rare set of glass lantern slides which document a holiday taken on the motor cruiser “Pauline” from Fred Miller’s yard at Oulton Broad. Pauline offered a slightly different holiday at the time. A conversion of the Thames spritsail barge “Federation”, Pauline was bought by Frederick Miller in the early 1920s and converted into a floating hotel upon which one to three week, fully inclusive tours of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads were conducted. A crew of three – the skipper, a steward and stewardess, were in attendance throughout the holiday and places on board could be booked as an individual or as a group.  The cost is 1938 was between £4 and £5 per person, per week, depending on the time of year. Fred Miller ran Pauline until the outbreak of  WW2 in 1939 after which she was sold to a family who lived on board at Oulton Broad for a while. She apparently ended her days being used as staging on Barton Broad. Her remains can still be seen near the the entrance of the cut that leads to Wood End Staithe.