Always on the look out for new titles to add to my Broads bookshelf, a browse in the book department of Jarrolds of Norwich just before Christmas left my purse a little emptier when I came across “How Hill – Heart of the Norfolk Broads” which was written by David Holmes and recently published by the How Hill Trust.
The book tells the fascinating history of How Hill and contains many wonderful old photographs of life and leisure on the estate through the years. Part one of the book is a revised version of “The How Hill Story” which was originally published in 1988, whilst part two covers David Holmes personal reflections of his 27 years serving as the director of the How Hill Trust. The estate was owned by the Boardman family for many years and the house was designed and built by the Norwich architect Edward Boardman in 1904 as a holiday home for his family. The book includes numerous photographs from the Boardman family collection which give a wonderful insight into life at How Hill during the first half of the 20th century. When the estate was put up for sale by auction in the mid 1960s it was bought by Norfolk County Council who wished to provide a residential study centre for Norfolk schoolchildren on the site. The book also covers the campaign which was launched to save How Hill as and educational centre when the council decided to sell the estate the early 1980s and the eventual forming of the How Hill Trust.
How Hill – Heart of the Norfolk Broads (ISBN 978 0 9569606 0 3) is published by the How Hill Trust, Ludham, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR29 5PG and is priced at £12.99.
