There are numerous photographs of houseboats on the Broadland Memories website, some traditional and some that were slightly more unusual in origin. From simple eel huts to converted lifeboats and wherries, and from floating pontoons with caravans balanced on top to the ultra modern Flat-Afloat’s of the early 1960s, houseboats have been an integral part of Broadland life for many centuries. As the popularity of holidays in the region increased, so did the range and number of houseboats.
I was recently sent a set of images by David Coote who holidayed as a babe in arms with his family aboard the houseboat “Gray Malkin” at Brundall in 1964. Gray Malkin was one of several ex admiralty craft which were repurposed for use on the Norfolk Broads after the Second World War, the most famous of which was probably the Fairmile B “Golden Galleon” which ran passenger trips from Great Yarmouth between the early 1950s and the 1990s and became a familiar sight crossing Breydon Water.
Gray Malkin was refitted for use as a houseboat on the Broads. Owned and operated by R. Fisher on the Riverside Estate at Brundall, it was described in Hoseasons 1962 brochure as being an ex Motor Torpedo Boat at around 72ft in length. Opinion by others who have far more knowledge than I do, believe that it was actually a 69ft Higgins Motor Gun Boat. The brochure listed her as sleeping between 8 and 11 people in 2 double and 7 single berths. There was an anthracite stove on board to provide hot water, a well equipped galley with a household sized cooker and refrigerator, and a bathroom with a full sized bath. Included in the hire was a 12ft dinghy with a 4hp Seagull engine and a large rowing boat. It cost £36 for a week’s hire during the peak summer weeks of 1962.
1971 appears to have been the last year that Gray Malkin was available to hire on the Broads. What happened to her after this I don’t know. As mentioned, Gray Malkin was not the only ex admiralty boat to have been converted for houseboat use on the Broads. During the 1950s and 1960s there were three such craft at Oulton Broad – the MTB “Foynes” and the MGB “Blue Lagoon” which were on hire with Pye Marine, and the MTB “Young Jim” from Newson’s boatyard. The former MBG 56 “Morning Flight” became home to Commander Ron Ashby and his family at Hearts Cruisers in Thorpe St Andrew, and she appeared in countless photographs over the years. I also have photographs showing MTB 653 being used as a liveaboard at Horning in the early 1950s and, in the late 1960s an ex RAF launch renamed “Mutty” was available to hire at St Olaves. A further blog post is probably needed to cover these and others and will no doubt follow in due course.
In the meantime, my thanks to David Coote for sending me his family’s photographs of their 1964 holiday.
