This week I have been working on two collections of photographs from the 1980s and 1990s which will be uploaded to the Broadland Memories website within the next week. The picture below, taken by Neil Lambton, is one of those which will be added and shows a reed cutter at work on the banks of the River Yare in the late 1980s.
Reed Cutter on the River Yare c1986
For many centuries, reed and sedge cutting was a vital part of the local economy and Norfolk reed was particularly prized by thatchers for it’s high quality. At the time the photograph was taken, this traditional industry was on the verge of dying out with only 15 reed cutters believed to have still been working on the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads. As a large proportion of those were reaching retirement age, it looked as though the skills would be lost. According to the Broads Authority website, there had been a rapid decline in demand for Norfolk reed after the second world war, hastened further when cheaper reed began to be imported from Turkey and Hungary. At the turn of the millennium, a group of the remaining reed cutters voiced their concerns about the situation and action was taken to try to revive the industry. At the forefront of the campaign was Eric Edwards who had been employed as a reed cutter at How Hill by the Broads Authority since 1967. Eric had become a minor celebrity in his own right, making many TV appearances including, amongst others, “The Generation Game” with Bruce Forsythe. He famously taught both Prince Charles and Margaret Thatcher to cut and dress reed and in 2004 was awarded an MBE for his services to the Broads.
The Broads Reed and Sedge Cutters Association was formed in 2003 and the industry was given a further boost when the Broads Authority supported the campaign by making funds available from their Sustainable Development Fund. This enabled the purchase of new equipment which could be leased by association members and also financed a program of reed bed restoration. Over the last four years, ten trainees have completed an 18 month reed and sedge cutting apprenticeship funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund so, for now, it looks as though these traditional skills will continue in Broadland.
During the reed harvest by P.H. Emerson
Neil’s photograph from the 1980s reminded me of some of the wonderful scenes of marsh folk which were captured by the photographer Peter Henry Emerson in the 1880s. The image on the left is titled “During the reed harvest” and shows a reed cutter at work with his long handled scythe. The woman in the middle looks to be dressing the reed, a process in which a small rake (usually home made) was dragged through the reed to clear debris from the bundle. Next would have been the “knocking up” whereby the loose bundles were repeatedly knocked on the ground to create a tight bundle. On the far left, a hunched figure sits in a reed lighter waiting to transport the prepared bundles away. The techniques used by the reed cutters in Victorian times were those which are still practised today but, although scythes are still a vital tool of the trade, mechanical cutters are now used to harvest reed in less sensitive areas. You can view more of P.H. Emerson’s photographs in the pre-1900 gallery on the Broadland Memories website.
