I was recently contacted by Ray Arnold about a collection of photographs of the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads which were taken between 1902 and 1912. Ray had been in conversation with a lady who mentioned that she had inherited an album of photographs belonging to her late father-in-law. The collection spanned 10 years of sailing holidays taken on the Broads by a Mr Benson during the Edwardian era. Mrs Benson expressed a desire for them to be made available for the public to view, so Ray contacted me to ask whether I would be interested in publishing them on the Broadland Memories website. It’s always a great privilege to be given access to photographs from this early era so, of course, I said yes! Ray very kindly scanned the collection and a few weeks later I received a set of over 60 photographs on a CD in the post. They really are a fabulous collection and I am still working my way through them, researching locations, featured boats etc. I hope to have them on the main website in a few weeks time but thought I would post a couple of sneak previews on here in the meantime.
Trading Wherry 1902
The first photograph dates from 1902 and shows a heavily laden trading wherry being quanted at an (as yet) unidentified location. It captures a beautifully tranquil scene which belies the enormous effort it must have taken to propel the wherry over what could, at times, have been a considerable distance. It must have been a harsh life, working extremely long hours, day and night in all weathers, loading and unloading all manner of cargo, but it wasn’t unusual to find wherryman still working well into his 80s! The location has got me scratching my head. It’s a scene that I feel sure I should know and I’m currently thinking that it may be the upper Bure. If anyone can confirm a location then please do get in contact.
The second photograph is from 1907 and shows the crew at Wroxham with bags packed, ready to depart for home at the end of their holiday. In the background you can see Ernest Collins boatyard.
Ernest Collins boatyard 1907
Ernest Collins name became synonymous with Broads boating holidays for many decades and he built some truly stunning sailing cruisers, pleasure wherries and wherry yachts in the early years of the 20th century. Ernest was the son of the boatbuilder Robert Collins who moved his business from Coltishall to Wroxham in 1886, later purchasing some land at the bottom of Staitheway Road.
After his death in 1901, Ernest and his brother Alfred decided to split the company, with Ernest retaining the yard on Staitheway Road and Alfred setting up business on the opposite side of the river. Some fine examples of Ernest Collins earlier sailing craft survive to this day – the wherry yachts “Olive” and “Norada” are currently under the care of the Wherry Yacht Charter Charitable Trust, the river cruiser “Maidie” can regularly be seen racing at some of Broadlands regattas, whilst the wherry yacht “White Moth” is now under the care of the Wherry Yacht Charter Trust. The sailing cruiser “Zoe” is still available to hire from Martham Boats. A more detailed history of the Collins boatyards can be found on the Broadland Memories website in an article entitled The Collins Legacy by Roger Wilson.
