People who are not postcard collectors may possibly be forgiven for considering it might be a bit of a dry pastime or maybe an “anorak’s” hobby like (say) train-spotting or metal detecting? By the way: those examples were just off the top of my head, no offence meant to those that enjoy such pastimes.

I never concern myself with such ideas because whenever I go to meet friends and somebody produces an old picture of the district where we live or one of those “All our Yesterdays in such and such a town” books, the material is always greeted with enthusiasm and proves to be a wonderful source of conversation and memory sharing. If I am in my local hostelry a particular favourite is reminiscence about the old pubs of the town. Many of which had nick names that stuck for generations and people struggle to recall their proper names; the Pubs’ names that is not my friends’ - although I am not too sure about a couple of them?

The point of this introduction is to explain that many such publications are resourced by old postcards and this is why collectors like to buy ‘Topographical’ cards, e.g. Street scenes or views from their home towns, or ‘Social History’ cards, which are similar but tend to be more ‘Animated’ (containing lots of people) and may commemorate some ‘event’ such as a Royal Visit, a Ship Launching (or Wreck) a Parade, a Flood or some other such disaster. They do this out of general interest, nostalgia or to help in the presentation of the Genealogical Research they have done on their own families. Not least they may collect cards that reflect a specific interest which they may wish to write about and of course that is the group of which I now find myself a member.

Amongst these collectors: Many (myself included) particularly enjoy the monochrome “Real Photographic” cards that were particularly prevalent throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s; until they were largely superseded by the advent of litho-printed colour cards from the 1950’s onwards. This preference is largely because of the sheer quality of these images and the ease with which they can be scanned and enlarged, using today’s technology, without too much loss of clarity.

Some of the most famous postcard publishers produced fine examples of this process but a personal favourite is a smaller regional company known as the Bell Photo Co. of Westcliffe-on-Sea in Essex. They also used the trademark “The Bell Series Leigh-on-Sea” although it is a little confusing as to which came first!. This company was based in Essex, rather obviously, and is particularly known for its images of East Anglia; although they also produced work from all over London and, to a lesser extent, the North of England.

The Bell Co. produced postcard images that many consider of outstanding quality and this is in part due to the fact that they used “half plate” cameras which, by modern standards, had enormous negative sizes ranging between 4¼” x 5½” and 5” x 7” dependant upon what type of negative medium was used; be it glass plate or sheet film etc. This was the secret of their excellent sharp images because the originals were actually larger than the postcards produced.

As I explained in previous discussions: Real photographic cards were just that and they were created using frames of multiple negatives on large sheets of traditional photo-sensitive paper. After the photographs were developed and dried the whole sheet would be passed through a guillotine to produce the individual cards.  Here-in lies a little difficulty with this company’s products: in that they used different supplies of photo-paper and there was variation in the publisher information printed on the backs of the cards. This meant that some cards were what is known as “anonymous” in that they bore no mention of the publisher. That said, the format and style of the back layout would be recognisable and all the cards had their title and serial number hand etched onto the negative so that they appeared on the picture side in the form of white text. The Bell Photo Co. was not the only firm to do this but consensus amongst interested collectors is that most of their anonymous cards are very recognisably the products of that company. I concur and I have identified at least six different styles of back, pairs of which are frequently found with or without a trade mark but which are otherwise identical.

The company can be traced back to the early Edwardian years and seemingly survived until around 1950. I do not know of any surviving records which would help to pinpoint the dates their cards were published but in my small collection I have examples that were posted between 1912 and 1956; although predominately in the 1920s and 1930’s. Here are a few of my favourites:

     

Here we are making our way up the River Bure just below Wroxham Bridge in, around, 1910. I have the next card (number 65875 in Titles above) which is almost identical and that example was posted in 1912.

To our left: two of Ernest Collins’ skippers are preparing their yachts for new guests. The yacht with her mainsail raised and her boom resting in the crutches is ‘Iverna’. A very elegant, Victorian Cutter Yacht of 40’ (on deck) with berths for six people. Iverna was built around 1893 and it seems probable that she was named and styled after a very much larger and very famous, off shore, racing yacht, built in1890, which competed alongside the royal yachts of the late Victorian era. In fact this conjecture is supported by the fact that several of Ernest Collins' yachts had famous namesakes in the world of international yacht racing. Not least of these was the locally famous ‘America’ who shared her name with the yacht that won the Royal Yacht Squadron’s 1851 Challenge race, around the Isle of Wight. That racing challenge match was henceforth known as the “America’s Cup”, of which I am sure you are aware! Other contemporary Collins’ yachts named after 1st Class Racers and America’s Cup challengers included: (Royal Yacht) Britannia, Cambria, Mayflower and Valkyrie.   

Alongside ‘Iverna’ is one of the Wherry Yachts built by Ernest Collins. I can’t see enough of her to be sure but she is carvel built and looks quite large so, taking into account what is known about the date of this picture, she must be ‘Olive’ (named after Ernest’s youngest daughter) and would have been quite new at the time.

The small yacht directly ahead of us appears in quite a few photographs from this era; usually moored in this cross river location which was also part of Ernest Collins’ moorings. I have never been able to establish a positive identification for her but my best guess is that she is the ‘Restless’ a 6 ton cutter which was probably designed for estuarial work, originally. She is of heavy ‘clinker’ construction and she has raised gunwales with scuppers at the stern to let water drain from her decks. That was not a feature of the generic Broads yachts but they were only just beginning to emerge at the time that this picture was taken.

Further upstream we can see the Granary and the Pleasure Wherries of the Norfolk Broads Yachting Company; Probably ‘Dragon’ and ‘Fairy Queen’? - please see below: 

              

Unfortunately this card doesn’t seem to scan with quite the same degree of clarity as most of this firm’s production but since it is the opposite view to the previous example and it was clearly taken on the same day I couldn’t very well leave it out, could I? I don’t think those plate cameras had very fast shutters, if indeed they had shutters at all, and so camera shake may have been a hazard at this view point. In any event, all the pictures display a tremendous depth of field which in itself would necessitate very small lens apertures and consequently longer exposure times. I have sometimes noticed that camera shake or movements within the scene can affect the sharpness of some of these photographs. However this doesn't appear to have prevented the publication of some quite badly affected examples? 
       
In this view from the bridge we can see the premises of the ‘Norfolk Broads Yachting Company’ on the immediate left. Two of that firm’s most famous craft are in the foreground. They are the Pleasure Wherries: “Fairy Queen” and “Dragon” the former being the nearest vessel with the white mast top. On the far right are the moorings of Ernest Collins, where we can still see ‘Iverna’s mainsail in the raised position, possibly drying out after a soaking?

            

A recently acquired card that, again, has been photographed on the same day as those above. This time the camera has been positioned closer to the premises of the Norfolk Broads Yachting Co. (N.B.Y.Co.) and to the left we can see John Loynes’ yard with a pair of his Cutter yachts and the little motor launch ‘Blossom’ which would be quite new at this time. Through the arch of the Bridge we can also see one of Ambrose Thrower’s steam launches at her moorings. She is probably ‘Vivid’ which was built around 1875 and, around the time that the picture was taken, could be hired for thirty five shillings (£1.75) per day; including fuel and a ‘man’ to handle the boat.

Now that we have a closer view of the N.B.Y.Co. (Don’t you love the hats?) we have a better idea of the identity of the two hard-chine hulled yachts moored together: The  yacht on the left is ‘Badger’ or one of her two class sisters. I am not quite so sure of the yacht on her right but I think it probable that this is one of the similar but slightly larger ‘Alligator’ class; one of which (‘Pelican’) was later converted into a houseboat for Pippa Miller of Oulton Broad. Originally there were seven of these similar yachts and they joined various other fleets when the N.B.Y.Co. was eventually dissolved in 1920.

Finally: I am intrigued by the small ‘clinker’ built yacht that is being moved to a mooring astern of the latter two yachts. This is not the usual Broads type craft and she is apparently without her ballast so may have just been launched out  of the building sheds? If you look carefully she can be seen in the first post card above with her crew still aboard. The N.B.Y.Co. had three branches at this time. At Potter Heigham, Brundall and here at Hoveton where Fred Press (Snr.) was the manager but it would be pure speculation to suggest that gentleman was one of the two crew seen here, despite their typical boat men’s attire?
 
              
 
Ernest Collins’ moorings and basin (c.1920) on the Hoveton bank of the River Bure opposite his main boat sheds on the Wroxham side. In the back ground can be seen his brother Alfred’s main boat houses on the bend of the river. The name of Alfred’s right hand man and eventual owner of the business Jack Powles is emblazoned on the shed roof; confirming his roll as Manager.  The Pleasure Wherry on the riverside mooring is ‘Reindeer’ and although I cannot be certain of the second Wherry’s identity, I think that she is ‘Chloe’ with ‘Empress of India’ lying, mostly obscured, astern of Reindeer. At one time Ernest’s fleet included about eight Pleasure Wherries but by 1926 only ‘Reindeer’ survived. Wherry Yacht ‘Olive’ having been joined by ‘White Moth’, ‘Norada’ and White Heather. There was also ‘Liberty’ a carvel built wherry which was painted white to give the impression of a yacht.

I am really not sure about the white yacht in this picture, she is possibly ‘Britannia’, but it is interesting to note the stone jar on her foredeck. That was how you carried your drinking water aboard in those days. I hope they had a better system on the wherries where baths were provided for the guests’ comfort?
 
    
                                                                 
A particular favourite of mine, from the 1920’s, and one that has almost a 3D like quality about it; when viewing the original. Clearly this is another view of the Ernest Collins premises and I would like to think it is that very gentleman doing some running repairs on the foredeck of the nearest yacht; although I believe Ernest passed away in 1926 and this is more likely to be Jack Cooper. The yacht is ‘Reed Bird’ and Jack was her regular skipper. She was an early and very large example of what became the generic yacht type that is designed specifically for use on the Norfolk Broads. ‘Reed Bird’ was built in 1914. She was 40ft. long and 10ft. in the beam. The yacht had the distinctive feature of a full length skylight in her cabin roof. The covers for this can be seen in the picture, below the furled sail.

Activity can be seen in and around all of the boats so it is probably safe to assume that this is a Saturday when the change-over of guests would take place? Judging from her rounded counter stern the yacht behind ‘Reed Bird’ appears to be the famous Cutter style yacht ‘America’. At 43 ft she could accommodate six guests and was fitted out in the luxurious style of a small Wherry Yacht even, like them, including her own piano. Moored alongside her we have the Cutter Yacht ‘Iverna’ once more and in this later picture you can see that all the yachts have now been fitted with ‘stanchions’ in their stern sheets. These made it safer and more comfortable for guests to seat themselves there whilst under way. I am sure the reason that the counter sterns were usually squared off was to provide more room for this purpose. This was the hey-day of these elegant yachts which had catered for well-to-do Edwardian parties and survived throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s. Unfortunately most of these yachts did not survive the 2nd World War and only a handful of skippered Wherry Yachts remained in hire into the early 1950’s

‘America’ appears to have a cross-trees spreader on her shrouds but it is my belief that these have been drawn into the image as none of these boats was thus equipped. Minor embellishments such as this were not uncommon in the postcard trade.

The elegant little yacht in the background is ‘Sunbeam’ a 38ft. four berth Gaff Cutter Yacht in the Victorian style; like a smaller version of Iverna. In 1926 she could be chartered for as little as £9.10 shillings (and up to £14 in the high season) including a “Man” to sail her for you. I have to consider that ‘Sunbeam’ may have been renamed after the earlier but outwardly similar ‘Lapwing’ had her accommodation remodelled to provide more permanent berths?  

     
 
The quay of Ernest Collins ‘ near neighbour: John Loynes, just next to Wroxham Bridge; circa. 1928. Mr Loynes is famously recognised as the man who was first to popularise the Norfolk Broads holiday yacht charter business. That is as may be but there were Yacht and Wherry builders and Owners in the region well before John Loynes and some were prepared to offer charters for Victorian customers in the short holiday season of that era. In those early days there was no very organised system for booking a cruise and potential customers would sometimes arrive with no arrangements confirmed and simply ask around. There was apparently a fairly good grapevine though and often if an owner had no boat available he might well know the whereabouts of colleagues who did have craft for hire. All a bit ‘hit and miss’ and in fact it was Ernest Collins who first formed the association with Harry Blake that resulted in the foundation of his booking agency in London. This provided advertising and centralised the process of arranging these holidays; a move that proved so good for business that many other yacht owners were quick to follow in Ernest’s footsteps and become members of the organisation.

Here at John Loynes’ premises we can see a similar mix of craft to those downstream at the Collins’ yards, although it was a rather smaller fleet. Before us is an example of the ‘Ripple’ class. These three yachts were built between 1922 - 1926 and are representative of the evolution of the generic ‘Broads’ yachts that we are still familiar with today. They are round in the bilge and low in displacement for the shallow waters of the Broads. They often have low free board and that is why these yachts invariably feature some means of raising the cabin roof when moored up; otherwise there would be little or no headroom in the cabin. They were also designed with a short fin of a metal keel for lateral resistance (necessary for sailing upwind) but which allowed the vessel to turn quickly when tacking in the narrow rivers.

Behind ‘Ripple’ is the Wherry Yacht ‘Golden Hinde’ which appears not to have been in commission at this moment in time. She has no after stanchions fitted and her mast is out. That suggests that this either the start or finish of the charter season. Perhaps she is about to be hauled out and battened down for the winter or is still awaiting preparation for the new season?

Now it gets a little bit more difficult! Here we have two of the heavy “Cutter” type yachts that survived at this yard up until around 1936 or 1937. My archive material for these boats is a little patchy. John Loynes had five or six yachts of this type but they were not always illustrated in Blakes’ brochures. Furthermore three of these yachts were listed as a class but, in fact, they were not all quite the same. That said, I do believe the inner yacht is ‘Coral’ and I suspect that the yacht moored alongside her is the largest of this type ‘Spree’ or possibly ‘Volunteer’ another name that is evocative of the America’s Cup yachts? These craft were long keeled and of heavy displacement, consequently some Rivers and Broads would be too shallow for them. They would be fast but not so “handy” for inland waters and probably their professional crews would need to make full use of their ample foresails to turn them through the wind when tacking? Amongst other things: It was the necessity for professional crews that ultimately saw the demise of these historic craft in favour of the generic Broads yachts such as ‘Ripple’ and ‘Reed Bird’ and many-many more, not mentioned here.  

                                                                  

Wroxham Week Regatta circa 1920 and in the tradition of such events spectators have turned out aboard various vessels, the larger of which are dressed overall to celebrate the occasion. The yacht in the centre of picture appears to be a smallish wherry yacht whose crew have erected an awning to protect their guests from the sun or the rain, whichever should prevail on the day? I do not know the identity of this craft and to offer any such would be pure guesswork on my part; so I shall refrain from speculation. It would be easy to suppose that this was a committee boat and it may be that she is stationed at one end of the start and finish line but I cannot see any sign of racing signal flags so she is probably not host to the Officer of the Day? Astern lie three more Wherries and it can be seen that at least one is a large Wherry Yacht; perhaps White Moth or Olive?  

            

“A Pretty Scene” but I think not at Horning Ferry, rather we are just passing the Village Staithe and making towards Swan corner; the year is around 1928.

I have pondered long and hard about the identity of the yacht in the centre of picture and have eventually formed an opinion which I am happy with; more of which in a moment.  I would say that the yacht has not long raised sail to get under way, as we can see her skipper busy “swigging” her halyards tight. This is a technique whereby the sail is raised as far as can be managed by hauling away on the halyard then by taking a single turn on the cleat and holding the tension with (in most cases) your left hand. Any slack is then taken up by pulling on the halyard at right angles with the other hand (a bit like a bow string) and then snatching up the slack with the left. This is what we see here, there would be no halyard winches, on yachts, at that time, and the process would be repeated until the luff of the sail was taut enough for efficient sailing. Ideally this procedure would be done without wind pressure on the sail but the yacht is clearly sailing, albeit very close to the wind, so maybe we can suggest that it is more likely the jib halyard that is being attended to here?  

So clearly this is a fairly large ‘attended’ yacht of the ‘Broads’ type and since these are generally of similar appearance it can be difficult to identify an individual from a postcard image without a few good diagnostic clues.

There are several subtle clues here to narrow things down a bit: The yacht is Gaff Rigged but most were at this time. She has a white enamel hull with her full width transom in varnish, a companionway to the starboard side deck and at least one cabin skylight; all fairly common features unfortunately! The first feature that really narrows things down are the cross tree spreaders on her shrouds. These appear to be a genuine feature (see my comment about ‘America’ above) and that was not really usual on Gaff rigged yachts of the day. It is not clear but my initial feeling was that the burgee could possibly be that of Alfred Collins? However, much more time spent myopically staring through a magnifying glass brought about the impression that it was actually showing a pale letter H on a slightly darker ground? That left only one possibility from my short list: William Hewitt’s ‘Belvedere’  and one last observation confirms that in my mind. ‘Belvedere’ had a rear cockpit, aft of the main well, where guests (probably ‘ladies’ in those non p.c. days) could remain seated and out of the way whilst the yacht was under way. With the benefit of seeing the original such a facility can just be discerned. So there you go: in my ‘opinion’ this is ‘Belvedere’ but, as always, I would be delighted to hear from anyone who has other ideas. For example 'Belvedere' was built in 1926 and the following year a slightly smaller and very similar sister class was born. That was the 'Belvoir' class (Belvoir 2 came later in1930) but they were generally for hire unattended and I remain convinced that the yacht seen here is Belvedere. Strangely, Belvedere was spelled with an I [Belvidere] in early brochures but this had been corrected by 1935.

William Hewitt had his home near to Wayford Bridge and had been a Wherry Skipper from a very young age. He set up his boat yard nearby and designed and built his own hire fleet of yachts and day boats; including ‘Belvedere’ which was the largest. After the 1939 -1945 War he retired and sold his business to J. Stanley Starksfield, himself a Marine Architect, who went on to design the two ‘Willow Wren’ yachts and increase the fleet with a few Motor Cruisers. The yard changed hands again in the early 1960’s when it became part of the Windboats group; then owned by T.M. Hagenbach who designed the ‘Flat Afloat’ Houseboats and went on to build Cabin cruisers and Marine Yachts using the Ferro-cement (Seacrete ) method.  

The moored yacht (right of picture) was very much easier to identify because her name can be read on the original postcard. She is ‘Miranda’ from Herbert  Hipperson’s at Beccles. Although it is not obvious from this angle ‘Miranda’ was actually a little larger than ‘Belvedere’ and would also be sailed with a Skipper in attendance and berths for five guests. It strikes me that taking an engineless yacht through the tidal waters of Great Yarmouth might have been a daunting task for this crew from Beccles without the benefit of an expert Broadsman aboard? Both of these yachts could have been chartered for £14 per week in the peak season and as little as £9 out of season, at the time this picture was taken.  

I was intrigued by the large and comfortable looking house boat on the opposite bank. She is the yacht conversion ‘Memories’ and is listed as having a Wroxham base. I have not been able to identify which yard she belonged to, as she was de-listed before Blakes started recording that fact in their brochures, but what is she doing here at Horning? Well sometimes people were allowed to move houseboats by Quanting them but in this case hirers could invest an additional £2.10.0d per week and have an outboard motor included in the charter. That way they could cruise rather further afield but we should not forget that this was quite a modern innovation in the 1920’s. Outboard motors were invented in the late 19th century, primarily in the United States, but it wasn’t until the 1920’s that they really became efficient and reliable enough to be produced in any great numbers for the world market. Well known companies such as Evinrude and Johnson were amongst the pioneers at that time.   

And finally: just a comment about the cabin cruiser coming downstream towards the camera.The early designs of motor cruisers were often based on a yacht like hull with the forward hull sides raised to allow standing headroom in the cabin. The trouble is: from this angle they can appear like the simplest and smallest form of this which featured cabin forward and large open cockpit aft. However some larger examples evolved with an additional aft cabin superstructure which would not necessarily be visible from the camera’s viewpoint here. Having added that caveat we can see the scrolled nameplate which was a feature favoured by Alfred G. Ward at Thorpe and he had a pair of 3 berth aft cockpit cruisers known as ‘Sea Sprite’ and ‘Sea Finch’, which appeared around this time. That would be my best theory as to the class of this craft.      

        

This is a very intriguing scene at Horning, probably not long after the 1st World War, in which what appears to be Ernest Collins’ yacht ‘Iverna’ has had to find an emergency mooring near to Horning. I do not recognise the location but I am guessing that the Dike (sic) was on the ‘Lower Street’ bank of the River Bure. The yacht’s mast has been removed from its tabernacle and is lying on the rhond beside her. Two members of staff are attending to the work and the gentleman in the well looks a little familiar from the earlier picture of ‘Reed Bird’ could it be Jack Cooper again or is that just my imagination?

The mast’s counterweight (weighing up to one and a half tons in a Wherry but probably rather less on this boat) must have been removed (before the mast could be withdrawn) and that suggests that this is quite a big job to be undertaken in such a location; away from boatyard facilities. Hopefully, like many yachts she had a system of stacking a number of iron or lead plates to form the total counter weight? That would enable the men to remove the weights individually by hand. In any event, all this leads me to believe that the yacht’s mast (or even the tabernacle itself) must have been seriously damaged whilst under way, somewhere near to this location? I cannot bring to mind any other such incident that would require this drastic action. In the more likely event of a parted Forestay, Shroud or Halyard, or indeed any other breakage effecting the running rigging or the spars, repairs could be simply affected with the mast in the lowered position; in those circumstances its removal would not be necessary?

In any event it seems likely to me that the crew are stripping out and de-rigging the yacht’s mast whilst waiting for a replacement to be fetched from the boatyard at Wroxham. Maybe the guests have repaired to the comfort of one of the local hostelries to await the recommencement of their cruise - I probably would!

                                                                          

You might say that this is a slightly bland photograph but there is just something about the lines of our boat that I find very attractive? This is an example of one of the anonymous cards in this series but I am confident that it is rightly included because the serial number and location sits neatly between two others that are clearly endorsed as The Bell Series, Leigh-on-Sea. The card is pre - first world war (c.1910) and shows two nicely turned out Edwardian gentlemen having a gentle cruise in their lug sailed half decker ‘Iceni’; near Barton Broad.

I have no proof but it seems to me most likely that ‘Iceni’ (named after the Ancient Britannic tribe associated with East Anglia) was on hire from the nearby firm of Southgate Brothers at Stalham; or Sutton Staithe. At this time boats like this could be hired for as little as 25 to 30 shillings a week (£1.25 to £1.50) and use of an overall awning for camping could be included; if so desired. The body language and positioning of our crew does not suggest to me that they are experienced sailors and I am reminded that it was very close to here that I had my very first experience (i.e. attempt at) of sailing. That was over fifty years ago and I was armed with no other instruction than that provided by reading about the Swallows and Amazons or the Coot Club. It was a slightly windier day than this appears and it wasn’t the most auspicious beginning but I did at least remain dry on that occasion! 

                       

This is the yard at Sutton Staithe where Richard Southgate started his boat building business, in the 19th Century, and where his sons George and Edward carried on after Richard’s death in 1913. The brothers also ran their Yacht Hire business from Stalham Staithe up until 1938 shortly after the younger brother, Edward, died and George would have been about 70 years old by then. This would have been the location where our Edwardian gentlemen sailing ‘Iceni’ (above) had probably chartered their boat; just as two half deckers are being prepared for visitors on this day in the 1920’s.

In the background can be seen a Wherry and a House boat, both pulled out. The house boat looks familiar from pictures, I have seen, of Stalham Staithe.  

                                                     

Here's a close-up because the Sign is not easily read on the full picture. That's almost certainly one of the brothers in the boat and although no name can be distinguished you can see that her lines are very similar to 'Iceni' in the previous postcard.

For a long time I have been intrigued by the question of whether or not the Southgate brothers were the same partners who set up the boatyard at Horning. That which was bought up by Herbert Woods’ 'Broadland Yachting Company' towards the end of World War II. That is to say, the boat sheds adjacent to the New Inn (that have survived the larger marina built near Swan corner by the Woods company) and which until fairly recently were the base of Mike Barnes’ Norfolk Broads Yachting Company. (Please see my photograph on the River Bure page)

I contacted Mike who provided the helpful information that those sheds were the replacement for Dick Southgate’s original premises in Horning which had burned down. This event had taken place at the very beginning of the war but was not as a result of the hostilities. Disastrously, several boats including YBOD number 1 ‘Fritillary’, which had been stored away for their safety, were destroyed in this fire.

Renewed researches revealed that Richard (Dick) Southgate was one of the earliest boat builders at Horning (certainly by 1891) and his younger brother William joined him some fifteen to twenty years later. Mike believes that there may be an extended family connection between Dick and William and the brothers from Sutton but I have been unable to prove any link, as yet. William Southgate died in 1942 and his older brother only survived him until the following year. I imagine that the premises were sold to Herbert Woods by Dick Southgate’s Widow some time after her bereavement.     




                         

                                                                                                                                                                         © Blakes Holiday Boating 1926

Here is a brilliant card from around 1900, easily my earliest by Bells of Leigh-on-Sea; judging by the index number alone. Unfortunately, this time I won’t be able to tell the reader the names of the boats with any real confidence. Clearly this is the river front of John Loynes’ main premises at Wroxham and there is the man himself (centre left) looking over the large cutter yacht moored alongside. I get the impression that it is quite early on the morning of hand-overs and bed linen, water bottles and luggage have been readied for the departure and changeover. It’s almost as if one of the departing yachtsmen has paused to take one last photograph before setting out for home? An occasion always tinged with sadness in my day.

As I have said before: the problem with identifying early boats, such as these, when it comes to John Loynes’ fleet, is that many of the yachts were never illustrated in the Blake's holiday brochures and several of the larger cutters were grouped together, as a class. Despite this they were not identical and had differing lines, because their designs were improved upon over time. Just to make it more challenging I have found at least one example where two different boats have been named as one and the same in different years: i.e. ‘Victoria’- which might well be the larger white yacht in this picture? This anomaly may have come about because, in my experience, brochure photographs might be updated fairly often but it was rather less common to update the descriptions year on year.

Several of the larger (Loynes) yachts had white enamelled hulls and at least two had a varnished mahogany finish but this is not mentioned in the brochure descriptions. In any case Harry Blake’s brochures did not appear until 1908 and, as far as I can tell, John Loynes did not become a member of Blake’s ‘Broads Yacht Owners Association’ until after the 1st World War. I am aware that he produced his own boat catalogues, early on, but unfortunately I have only ever seen one in the Museum of the Broads and that was more of a flyer or pamphlet. In any case this photograph pre-dates both of the aforementioned events.

The little yacht in the foreground should be relatively easy but I only have written descriptions of Loynes’ smaller yachts for evidence. Based on those descriptions I think that she may well be the 3 Ton, Cutter ‘Plover’ a very simply furnished little yacht for two people. I am intrigued by the double curvature of her hull form which brings her planking to a point beneath her counter almost like a double ended hull; at least on the waterline? This styling is reminiscent of similar lines in at least one of the much larger cutter yachts; which may be seen in the previous Loynes view (# 116744 above) showing the yard from the Granary Staithe; across the river. Unlike her larger sisters ‘Plover’ survived in the Loynes fleet up until the outbreak of World War II but, like many others, never reappeared in hire after that war. 
 
            

I became a little more intrigued by the small [following] group of Bell’s postcards after the acquisition of this card. The most recent example to join my collection of Norfolk cards by this publisher. The scenes date from the late 1920’s, and in as far as one can be sure the cabin cruiser in the centre of this picture is ‘Emperor’ from the fleet of Herbert Banham at Horning. Herbert was one of a handful of early pioneers who began building and hiring out self drive motor cruisers. Although initially guests would still have the option of a skipper to handle the boat.

The other craft, nearer the camera, is of a style principally attributable to Leo Robinson at Oulton Broad and Herbert Hipperson of Beccles. Interestingly, Ella, the sender of this postcard has given her address as “Rest-A-Whyle” which was a cruiser from the fleet of Herbert Hipperson. Comparison with the several classes of this style suggests that this could well be the boat of that name; I have been able to rule out most of the others. How fortunate would Ella have been to find a postcard that shows the very boat she was cruising on? However, she doesn’t mention that in her note, only that the party had spent two nights at Ranworth.

In any event, it was the large dinghy, with the coiled rope fenders on her transom, that piqued my curiosity.  It won’t show up very well on the web-site but the name on her transom is ‘Enchantress’ and she is the sailing tender to that famous craft. ‘Enchantress’ was a large (60’) very stylish and luxurious launch that was on hire from Leo Robinson at Oulton Broad. She could accommodate ten guests and carried a crew of two. A Skipper to take care of all aspects of the boat handling and an Attendant who was responsible for the catering. My first reaction was to look for ‘Enchantress’ in the background of the scene but apart from the unidentified broads yacht all that is in clear view are a wherry yacht, most probably from Ernest Collins, and a large yacht of the cutter type; possibly ‘Iverna’ also from the Collins fleet.

                                         
So I referred to my other three cards, in this sequence, which all look in the opposite direction and appear more likely to have been photographed from a floating viewpoint….

I had not noticed before but ‘Enchantress’ appears in all three scenes albeit in the far distance. Can you identify her in this view? I will point her out on the next card shown. Meanwhile, we can see a large and very smart cruiser nearest to the camera. As far as I can be certain, I believe her to be ‘Grey Dawn’ a 47’ Cruiser with 7 or 8 berths for guest’s. ‘Grey Dawn’ would be quite new in this picture and on hire from Charlie and George (C. & G.) Press at Hoveton. At the time of this picture she could be hired for around £20 per week, in the high season, including the services of a ‘man’ to handle the boat.

            

So there she is: ‘Enchantress’. Alright - I know it’s not the best shot of her but if you didn’t spot her in the first view this will help. I’ve got a better one below! This is a lovely sharp example of the Bell Company’s products and perhaps of more interest here are the two cruisers in the middle left of the picture. It is clear they are also from the fleet of Herbert Banham at Horning but which class? I believe that the nearest boat is ‘ILIKU’ (that only works in upper case) a one-off cruiser which was rather similar to the ‘Ailsa Craig’ class of three thirty footers, but larger at 35ft. The adjacent cruiser looks similar, as far as you can see. In fact she is also a Banham cruiser but this is ‘Sultan’ (her name can be read on the original) a 33’6” craft which could accommodate up to seven guests. The principal difference between her and her neighbour is that ‘Sultan’ had a raised foredeck covering a cabin which contained the galley and a single bunk; making her similar in appearance to ‘Emperor’ above. To me, boats like this represent a stage in the evolution from Launch style cruisers to the later Centre Cockpit type which were soon to replace these boats.  Well at least for the next thirty years, or so, until the ‘Caribbean’ and ‘Bermuda’ classes heralded the return of the single level, forward drive, designs we are so familiar with today. Own up! Who said Tupperware??  

                 
    
Here’s a close up of ‘Enchantress’ at Stalham in the 1920’s. I have long been intrigued by this picture in so far as the young skipper looks very much like Jack Robinson, Leo’s younger brother. The puzzle is mainly in dating the picture. Leo Robinson inherited the family business from his father, William, and initially the two brothers operated virtually as partners but eventually there was a rift in this partnership which culminated in Jack setting up on his own; some time in the mid-1920’s. I have a guide to Broads Yachting published by Jack in 1921 (containing an advert for Leo Robinson) and a very similar volume, by Leo, from 1925 which implies the separation had taken place by then. That being the case, if I am correct that this is Jack Robinson, the above photograph must be no later than that?

       
                                                                                                                                                                                                    Blake's Boating 1939
                                                                                                                                                                                 
It would be interesting to speculate that the existence of this Stalham picture (one of two I have in sequence) and the subsequent group from Ranworth suggests that the photographer was actually a guest onboard ‘Enchantress’ but there is quite a large gap between the index numbers so perhaps not, in the latter case? In the absence of any archive records it seems unlikely that a provincial publisher would produce hundreds of thousands of real photo-cards. At the same time, it is known that changes were made to Bell’s reference number system, so one might speculate that the Stalham index indicates 1[9]24 and the Ranworth cards are 1[9]27? That would work out rather well for many of the cards in my collection but would not apply for earlier index numbers containing only five digits.

* For more discussion regarding the controversy that had earlier surrounded the identity of 'Enchantress' please see the section on Spashett postcards above.


                                                                  

On the face of it this simple little card (showing a Wherry rigged yacht on Wroxham Broad) could be mistaken for an early Raphael Tuck or a Photochrom Co. product but it was actually produced for the Bell Photo Co. of Westcliff-on-Sea. That makes it unique in my collection because the only examples of that company's cards that I have ever seen are of the 'Real Photographic' type, in Black & White. Maybe that is because I always have an eye open for examples of Bell's real photos and would not necessarily take the same notice of a card like this?

So what we have here is an un-numbered card endorsed "Bell's Series Westcliff-on-Sea" and more significantly "Printed in Germany" which is an indication that the card is Edwardian. Prior to the 1st World War many printed cards were produced abroad for British Companies because of their more advanced colour printing techniques; such as the Photocromic system. All of that came to an end with the declaration of war in 1914 and the resulting Anti-German feelings at home. After that cards often carried messages like "All British Production" or similar. Unusually for this era the card is unposted and in remarkably good condition, I hope you liked it too?

                                                
So here we have some clarification of the above colour postcard in my most recent acquisition. This is the original ‘real photograph’ version and its serial number confirms to me that the picture dates from the first decade of the twentieth century. With the advantage of a photograph we can more easily tell that this is a heavily carvel built Wherry Yacht with a counter stern and correct Wherry rigging. We can even see that she has her ‘Bonnet’ laced to the foot of the sail to increase her sail area; a common practice aboard trading wherries in light airs.

With the aid of this clarification I have found other pictures of this boat within my collection and my archive but no positive identification. Thanks to pictorial evidence I can say with some confidence that she is from the fleet of John Loynes at Wroxham but unfortunately that is where my archive becomes a little sketchy. At the risk of repeating myself: John Loynes didn’t join the Blake's organisation until after the First World War and only produced lightly illustrated leaflet type lists prior to that. Few of these have survived although I believe the Museum of the Broads has a copy. My earliest information is from 1926 and that contains details of the only Loynes Wherry Yacht that I know of; that yacht was the ‘Golden Hinde’. The only proven pictures I have of Golden Hinde show her with a white painted hull whereas the earlier pictures show this vessel with a dark varnished hull. That wouldn’t rule out a makeover but I believe this craft is of heavier more workman like construction with wider side decks; similar to the large Cutter Yachts of Loynes’ early fleet. A good picture showing her with two Cutters can be found in Robert Malster’s 2003 edition of ‘The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads’ page 155; I have a very similar view in my collection but it does not show this boat nearly so well.  And so, in conclusion, I can’t suggest that this is Golden Hinde, which in any case was described as new in the 1926 brochure, and it may be sometime or never that I discover her true identity? 

Since writing the above remarks I have discovered another view, from the early 20th Century which does show the boat in question, lying astern of the white cutter 'Victoria' at John Loynes quay. I have shared a crop (to better display the yacht) of this card below. The card was posted in 1909 but references to "Friesland Meres, Zuider Zee and North Holland Canals" suggest the photograph was a few earlier. 

Addendum November 2017: I have recently identified that John Loynes converted the old lifeboat ‘Caister Maid’ to a Wherry Yacht (to save on building time) and he had so many problems with the conversion that he re-named her ‘Hazard’. He was pleased with her in the end and she became the inspiration for his later and (nowadays) better known Wherrry Yacht ‘Golden Hinde’. It seems to me very possible that the vessel in these postcards is indeed ‘Hazard’ and I have since discovered that her hull was later painted white and from 1923 she was retired as a  houseboat; which purpose she served until the mid 1930s. This was a common fate for the Pleasure Wherries and Wherry Yachts when their maintenance as sailing vessels became uneconomical.   

Addendum January 2018: Oh the perils of an ever growing collection! Tidying my archives today I came across a period copy of the photograph (not a postcard) below. It is the same view that appears in Robert Malster's book and must date to the end of the 19th century before John Loynes withdrew from his Holland enterprise due to anti-British feelings there; because of the Boer War. The vessel thought to be 'Hazard' is in the foreground nearest the quay and, clearly, it is a Saturday afternoon with a family or school party being welcomed aboard by the crew. The vessel in the centre looks similarly constructed but, as can be seen, she has a Cutter Yacht rig

             

My postcard collection is carefully catalogued and yet I still forget some cards in my possession. Perhaps it is time that I also devised a proper system for the photographs that I hold in my archive? 

                 

This early 1920’s scene shows a yacht at her mooring, which appears to be a short way into Fleet Dyke, a hundred yards or so from the River Bure. Another yacht is passing by on the main river, and it looks like a bit of a calm day for sailing.

As soon as I saw this nicely animated card I was impressed by the lines of the nearby yacht. What a classic shape? To me she looks a powerful craft too; with what I shall call a semi-counter stern. What I mean by that is: her ‘length on deck’ aft is distinctly longer than her waterline but her stern is still squared off with a nicely varnished transom. If there is a proper name for this style I am not aware of what it might be but you can see what I am trying to describe in the brochure details below.

The young men have been enjoying a swim, something that was common practice on the Broads in those days of cleaner water and hotter summers. The skipper is just visible on the fore deck and the rhond has been visited by a good many ducks of a domestic variety. Perhaps they have wandered here from one of the local farms, maybe even Horning Hall? They may have been too fat to fly but I’m sure they could paddle along for quite a distance.

The yacht is easily identified as ‘Carissima’ which was available for hire from Herbert Banham at Horning. Herbert had an established boatyard at Cambridge and it seems to me most likely that it was shortly after the Ist World War when he came to Horning to expand his business. It was here that he quickly became a pioneer in the development of motor cruisers and established a substantial fleet on the Broads. I am uncertain whether or not ‘Carissima’ was one of the first yachts built at his new business or if she had been inherited with the premises he acquired at the time? Either way she remained in the Banham fleet until the dark clouds of War gathered once more in 1939. I am also unsure what fate befell ‘Carissima’ after 1939? Herbert did not maintain his association with Blake’s Ltd. after the war, depriving us of fleet records in the form of their brochures. The only other information I have is a Banham’s flyer from 1955 with the fleet list for that year. That does not include this yacht although other pre-war boats had survived; notably her smaller contemporary ‘Amorita’. Herbert died in1953 although his wife, Cora, continued as Managing Director until around 1960 when the firm was sold to their neighbour H.T. Percival.
                      

                                                                                                                © Blakes Holiday Boating 1926

I would say that this is quite a well known image in the world of those who study the Norfolk Wherry. I love this atmospheric picture myself and have long coveted a copy of my own. I had seen one or two of these cards change hands on previous occasions but at prices that I would not consider sensible; so I was out of luck on those occasions. Never mind though, as is often the case, a little patience pays off for those who wait until the competition have been satisfied. Over the years I have seen many sellers disappointed when they have demanded high opening bids based on previously sold examples. Cards that only achieved such high prices because there was more than one keen bidder. Happily that was not the case in this instance and I was the only bidder for this, I would say, “reasonably” priced example. Anyway, enough about the woes of a postcard collector for one day; let’s talk about the scene.

At least the location is easy: It’s around 1920 and the wherry is travelling upstream on the River Ant towards Boardman’s Mill, a ‘Skeleton’ or ‘Open Trestle’ Drainage Mill at How Hill; near Ludham. Where the famous house was initially the holiday home and later the permanent residence of the well known Boardman family.  

The identity of the wherry is rather more difficult, if not impossible, to confirm. Even the very knowledgeable surviving wherry men or scholars are often unable to name a trading wherry, with certainty, from a stern view photograph and I have not seen the subject of this picture identified elsewhere. Perhaps unfortunately a wherry or yacht sailing away from the photographer or artist seems to be the preferred viewpoint. I can see why because I think it makes for a nicer composition? It makes identification more difficult though because Wherry name plates were only placed on the forward facing “Standing right ups”; the fixed part of the superstructure around the hold. Most trading wherries followed a similar colour scheme i.e. Black Hull with White Nose, Blue ‘Standing’ Right ups, White ‘Shifting’ right ups and Red hatch covers; so no clues there? On the other hand different owners would have their own distinct colours which were applied to the mast head with, one or more contrasting coloured bands.

You can clearly see a white band on the mast of this wherry and it is the portion above that which would usually be coloured in contrast to the main section which would more often be plain varnished or oiled; the better to withstand wear and tear from the mast hoops. I am sure you can see our problem today? Yes, all the surviving photographs of the old wherries were in Black & White because colour photography did not really come into its own until nearly all the Wherries had gone to their watery graves! So, excluding front views, I would say this means that the only confirmed identifications (and I have seen some contradictions) are photographs that included contemporary annotations; such as the date, the locality or event and identification of the pictured vessel or vessels.

Of course, it is true that Trading Wherries could find themselves working pretty much anywhere in the extended waterways of Broadland but if you find a picture, such as this? One that shows a Wherry in one of the smaller rivers or upper canalised reaches that might just be a clue that the vessel was in its home waters. For example making a regular run to supply goods to its Merchant Owner; such as coal for their local customers or cereals for brewing or baking. This alone cannot identify a Wherry but, bearing in mind the well known dangers of making assumptions, it can help to narrow down the possibilities.

                                                                                                                                       Jarrold & Sons c.1905

Prior to 1915, the Old Ludham Bridge was low and very narrow so any wherries regularly plying their trade on the River Ant had to be proportioned accordingly. This was a principle that also applied on other rivers such as the Thurne or upper Waveney. With this in mind it would make sense if this wherry was based somewhere on or around the River Ant navigations. That leads me to suggest that she could well be from the fleet of Harry Burton, of Stalham Mill, who owned several smallish wherries of around the 20 Ton mark. Thanks to Roy Clarke’s 1961 work “Black Sailed Traders” we know that Harry Burton’s wherries sported a Green mast top with Red, White and Blue rings at its lower edge. Notwithstanding that Green, Red and Blue do not stand out very well in a monochrome picture we can’t rule them out in this picture either. Examination of the enlarged original suggests that there are indeed coloured bands either side of the clearly visible White band.                                                                                 

Well, there is such a thing as serendipity! Only last month I posted the above article and today I received this second postcard which I purchased on-line at the weekend. I had never seen this picture before but in the posted copy it could be seen that the Wherry’s owner was H. Burton so I was immediately interested. However, the vessel’s name was less clear and appeared to contain only about four or five letters. I took this to suggest that she was likely to be Burton’s smallest Wherry ‘Ceres’ but with the opportunity to examine the actual photograph it is clear to see that the name is partially obscured and she is in fact ‘Cornucopia’! Naturally I was delighted by this development as, to me, it vindicates the conjectural elements in my previous discussion. Not forgetting though, that it doesn’t actually prove that my original suggestion was correct. Bearing in mind that the locations are a couple of miles apart and the serial numbers are not very close together.

So without doubt this is ‘Cornucopia’ and I think the picture shows her compact dimensions very well. To me, she looks to be rather well turned out and cared for particularly given that she would be about twenty years old at this time. However, I can’t quite figure out what is happening in this picture? The Wherry is heading upstream towards the Bridge but the crew are both aft and a Quant has been discarded on her port side-deck. So have the crew already quanted under the bridge and are now preparing to raise the mast and sail on downstream; or have they some way on and are drifting toward the rhond in order to pause their passage upstream? They do not seem to be on a trajectory to pass under the bridge and wherrymen would often eschew the yachtsman's practice of stopping to raise or lower sail but there is no one at the winch?