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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 c1900 photograph album which documents a holiday taken aboard the yacht “Test”.

“Beccles” – Whilst William Dutt didn’t necessarily rate the town centre of Beccles, he was a little more complimentary about the riverside which was; “of interest on account of the picturesque character of much of that part of the town which slopes down to the banks of the river just beyond its road and rail bridges. Here, the old malthouses, boatyards, gardens, brightly painted wherries, some fine old trees, and two or three houses of quaint styles of architecture, make a series of riverside pictures worthy of an old Dutch town.”

“Yacht Judge at Beccles” – I’ve been unable to find any information on ‘The Judge’.

“Jolly boat race Beccles” – Did the holiday party visit during Beccles Regatta or was this an impromptu race I wonder.

“Stokesby Ferry”- The Ferry Boat Inn at Stokesby with the pontoon ferry seen in position here. The children seen on the riverside may have been waiting for pennies and ha’pennies to be thrown from passing yachts, having adopted the long held tradition at Horning whereby the local children would run along the quay, chasing boats whilst chanting the ditty: “Ho! John Barley Corn, Ho! John Barley Corn. All day long I raise my song, to John Barley Corn”, scrambling wildly for the loose change on the ground thrown by appreciative boating parties. Juvenile buskers of a sort!

“Mill on River Ant” – I suspect the caption on this is actually wrong as it doesn’t appear to match any of the known mills which stand, or once stood, on the River Ant. As they already photographed Ludham Bridge south mill (Later known as Beaumont’s Mill), I’m certain that it isn’t that one as there are differences, most noticeably in the window style. The closest match I’ve been able to find is Six Mile House Mill on the River Bure at Halvergate, a contemporary image of which elsewhere online shows very similar looking rustic fencing to that seen here.

“Stokesby Ferry” – Looking back towards Stokesby, black sailed trader approaching.

“Acle Bridge” – Looking upstream towards Acle bridge with a heavily laden trading wherry moored on the left, alongside the Angel Inn (now the Bridge Inn). Back to William Dutt in 1903: “All through the summer a good many yachts are moored above and below Acle Bridge, and on regatta day a lively scene is presented around the well known Angel Inn. Some cruisers prefer it when only a few wherries are moored at the staithe below the bridge, urging that wherries are more in harmony with the weather-beaten bridge and inn than are the dainty yachts of the pleasuring folk.”

“Test and Restless at Ludham Bridge” - .. and a well-laden trading wherry too. This is Ludham Bridge South Mill which stood on the northern bank, just downstream of the bridge and was demolished in the 1960s. It later became known as Beaumont’s Mill after the marshman who looked after it, but at the time this photograph was taken, it had been under the care of several generations of the Rice family.

“Cottage at Ludham Bridge” – This little cottage stood on the northern bank, between the bridge and the South Mill.

“South Walsham Church” - The churches of St. Mary and St. Lawrence at South Walsham. The two churches were built in the same churchyard in the early 14th century and were on the border between two medieval manors who each decided to build their own church. St. Lawrence, on the left, was gutted by fire in 1827 and was largely abandoned and left to go to ruin, only the chancel was repaired and was later used as a schoolhouse. The tower was still standing up until 1971 when it suffered two disasters in short succession -firstly it was struck by lightning and then the sonic boom from a low flying aircraft caused it to collapse. The remains of the base of the tower can still be seen in the churchyard and the chancel building has now been fully restored and is used as a church hall.

“Valentine near Ranworth” – Once again, I’ve been unable to find any information on ‘Valentine’.

“Wroxham Bridge” – John Loynes boatyard on the left and the Norfolk Broads Yachting Company on the right.

“Houseboat House near Wroxham” – My thanks to Trevor Curson for getting in contact to tell me that this is ‘Bureside’ which stands in Skinners Lane at Wroxham. Built c1889, this grand house with it’s large glasshouse also had tennis and croquet lawns, a paddock and stabling, kitchen garden, herbaceous and rose gardens, a rustic summerhouse and water gardens leading down to the river where a large boat house could be found. Trevor also happened to have a copy of the auction brochure for the property when it was sold in May 1920 which includes photographs of the house and surrounding countryside, plus the original bill of sale from that auction for the purchaser, Major S. Trafford. A PDF version of this can be found within the Paper & Ephemera section of the website.

“Cattle near Wroxham Church” – “From Yarmouth to Wroxham Bridge the Bure is, as East Anglian rivers go, a fairly wide stream; but above the bridge it narrows considerably, though not so much as to make sailing very difficult,” wrote William Dutt in 1903. “The scenery of these upper reaches is decidedly pretty, and between Wroxham and Coltishall the banks are, from June to September, decked with the loveliest waterside wild flowers. After sailing some distance from the bridge, a stranger may well be surprised that the church he sees standing on a hill by the riverside is Wroxham Church; but the mystery is explained when he is told that a considerable portion of what is generally known as Wroxham is situated in the parish of Hoveton St. John, and that the parish of Wroxham lies west of the bridge.”

“Goats at Coltishall” – The maltings which stood beside the Rising Sun pub at the end of the common. These were originally owned by the Coltishall Brewery and Coltishall itself was very much part of the wider brewing industry at one time, with at least 6 maltings in the village. Barley would have been brought in for processing via the River Bure by wherries, some of which may well have been built at Allen’s yard in the village. William Dutt was greatly enamoured by the village in his 1903 guide: “Coltishall, about two and a half miles above Belaugh, is in many respects a delightful place: undoubtedly it is the most picturesque waterside village in Broadland. Unlike Wroxham, it has not been spoilt by the erection of unsightly modern houses for the accommodation of visitors; for, in spite of its attractiveness, only a very few yachting parties extend their cruising above Wroxham Bridge. In its fine church, quaint old inns, houses with rounded gables, wherry-builder’s yards, old malt-houses, charming gardens, well-wooded river reaches, cottage-bordered greens, fine old watermill and weather-worn locks, it contains just the features calculated to enhance the charm of a village pleasantly situated by the riverside.”

“Coltishall Hall” – The magnificent Coltishall Hall, believed to have been built c1700, it underwent alteration in the 1830s and was given a new, grand façade in the 1870s. It was owned by a succession of local, wealthy inhabitants over the years including Chapman Ives, owner of the Coltishall Brewery, The Norfolk parson Rev. John Micklethwaite and magistrate Richard Rodgers. During WW2 it was taken over by the Royal Army Medical Corps, and post war had a variety of uses including hotel, nursing home and insurance company headquarters. In more recent years, the grade II listed building has been redeveloped, along with the lodge which stood in the grounds, into 13 residential apartments.

“Belaugh Church” – St Peter’s Church at Belaugh.