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© Broadland Memories 2006-2026

The Charles Hannaford Collection

Page  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

More of Charles Hannaford’s photographs of Broadland through the years.

B37 - this is one of the ‘Planet’ class of motor cruisers built by H.C. Banham of Horning in the mid 1930s. There were four in the class - Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune and Venus. According to the listing in Blake’s 1935 brochure: “These boats have been built to meet the demand for a really modern, three-cabin, six berth, bridge-deck cruiser. Every possible modern practice has been carried out to give maximum comfort and accessibility.” There were two cabins, fore and aft, each fitted with wardrobes and lockers, plus two more settee berths in the large saloon. There were two toilets and a full size bath, supplied with hot and cold water. The kitchen was fitted with a two burner ‘Perfection’ stove and there was electric lighting throughout. The cost of a week’s hire in August 1935 was £17 and 10 shillings.

Belaugh, on the River Bure with St Peter’s Church seen in the background. The date is unknown, but these boat sheds were part of A.J. Yaxley’s yard until the late 1960s when the yard became Belaugh Boats.

Further upstream on the River Bure, this is the boatyard of Clifford Allen at Coltishall, probably photographed during the 1950s. My thanks to Barry Battersby for identifying the varnished motor cruiser on the right as being ‘Crested Wave’, a Graham Bunn built Southwind 1. The windows, he says, were unique to the boat and were possibly fitted at Allen’s yard. Now renamed ‘Cassandra’, the boat is no longer on the Norfolk Broads.

This photograph was included within the ‘Art & The Charm of the Norfolk Broads’ section of this gallery, but this is the cleaned up version. It was the subject matter for an illustration in the Broads Tours souvenir booklet.

Unidentified pleasure wherry, probably c1930s.

The ruins of St Benet’s Abbey on the River Bure.

Another view of St Benet’s Abbey - probably c1950s.

Another unknown location, and more subject matter for Hannaford’s artwork.

Photographed alongside the Broads Tours yard at Hoveton.

The boat which Hannaford used as a floating studio to paint local scenes.

This is Hoveton Hall - identified for me by Dominic Bunn. Built in the very early 1800s, it is believed to have been designed by Humphry Repton and his son, John. It has had a number of owners and tenants during its lifetime, but was bought by Douglas Clark in 1936 who remodelled the house and gardens just prior to the outbreak of war. It apparently housed evacuees during the Second World War and, in 1945, was sold to the Buxton family who still own and live in the hall today. The gardens can be visited on open days during the summer and the hall also offers B&B accommodation.

The Church of St Michael at Irstead. I suspect this is quite an early photo.

Thurne Dyke - you can just see the Lion Inn in the background, on the right, through the trees. The Lion Inn was owned by the Great Yarmouth brewery Lacons, up until a takeover by the Whitbread group in 1965. The brewery itself was closed in 1968. The Lacon’s name was resurrected in 2013 and some very fine ales are once again produced in Great Yarmouth.

The final photograph from the Hannaford Collection looks like one of Percy Hunter’s ‘Lullaby’ class and, I suspect, dates from the 1930s. At 28 feet in length, and sleeping four,a week’s hire in August 1935 cost £10.

The first in a series of photographs of an unidentified boatyard. Barry Battersby contacted me to suggest that this may actually be the boatyard of Chumley and Hawke at Horning.

Panning round to right from the first shot, this shows a little more of the boat sheds.

Panning further round to the right, this is the last of the photographs of what may be Chumley and Hawke.

My thanks to John Hopthrow for identifying this, and the next three photographs, as the Cox Brothers boatyard at Barton Turf.

Another photograph of Cox Bros. Boatyard at Barton Turf. John identified the varnished boat on the riverbank as being ‘Penguin’ which was built in the late 1890s. Like most of Charles Hannaford’s photographs, these were taken to provide subject matter for his paintings.

Barton Turf once again. John believes that most of the dinghies were built by the yard and were hired out to anglers.

This fourth image taken at Cox Bros. Yard at Barton Turf. In the background is the sunken wherry which John Hopthrow remembers being known as the ‘Yellow Wherry’ - is this actually the wherry ‘Victory’ which I believe was sunk here.

Y162 - one of the ‘Cadet’ class built by C.J. Broom of Brundall, pictured here during the 1950s. There were originally eight of this 25ft, four berth class. The cost of a week’s hire in August 1956 was £37 10 shillings.

B612 - ‘Monarch 2’ pictured c1950s. Built in the late 1930s by H.C. Banham at Horning, the Monarch class were 43ft in length and slept eight over four cabins. There were separate wash basins in each cabin, supplied with water via the “Bee” electric system, according to the 1939 brochure entry.

A20 - ‘Zuma II’ built for, and owned by, Mr Len Ramuz, pictured here at Thurne Mouth. Mr Ramuz was a well known figure in Broadland and, amongst other notable achievements, was instrumental in founding the Broads Society in 1956.