I had a trip up to the Northern Broads today and to Wayfrord Bridge Marina where 'King Of Hearts' a Classic Broads Cruiser has been totally rebuilt. In the 1950s
and 60s, Hearts produced a fleet of very distinctive craft. Most were
centre cockpit with sliding canopy roofs and a raised bow. There are still several around on the Norfolk
Broads as private craft. ‘King of Hearts’ is one of these vessels and is now almost
at the end of a very expensive
and substantial refitting programme which has been ongoing for the past eight years. There has been full assistance
from Wayford Bridge Marina who have
un-doubtably employed some very good craftsmen over the years, who have reconstructed the vessel as something
of a prestigious Motor Boat. Virtually every part of the
vessel has been stripped, repaired or replaced. She is now to be launched ready for fitting out which could take another 12 months.
“Princess of Hearts” brand new in 1957, on trials on the "back reach" behind the island. She was followed by two sisters, Heartbeat and Heart-throb.
A view of Hearts Cruisers around 1960. Commander Ashby’s M.G.B “Morning Flight” can be seen in the background moored at the island. The man pulling on the mooring line is Ray Claxton who was chief engineer and behind him in the white overalls is Alan Goreham who was a painter, and spent his entire working life at Hearts. The boat in the foreground is Heartbeat and the one passing on the river is the King of Hearts
The yard in 1948. The gunboat is being fitted out and the Hart's fleet then consisted of the Five, Six, Two and Four of Hearts and the Ace was just launched, having been in building when Commander Ashby bought into the yard. The basin had been dug out in 1947.
Yard History
Harts was established in 1878 by John Hart. John and his wife Harriet had eight children and George, one of his Sons worked with him in building the business.
A selection of yachts & craft were available including cutters, a rig boat and storage sheds. Initially the boatyard was based at The Thorpe Gardens public house but a few years later the business moved to island between the old river and the New Cut. John died in 1898 and George continued the business. A bungalow was built next to the boatbuilding sheds where George and his large family lived until the 1920s when the bungalow became used for storage.
The war years saw a stop to any boats being built and during the Second World War the fleet was rafted together on Rockland Broad. Two craft were later used as Patrol Boats by the Home Guard and Geoffrey Hart helped build rescue boats on the Isle of Wight.
At the end of the war the fleet was brought back together, though three had suffered through no maintenance so much they could not be saved. Rationing was to make cruising difficult and so during 1946 the craft were let as houseboats from Whitlingham Reach and the times were to stay a bit difficult for the industry as a whole.
A change came-about in 1948 when Commander Ashby and his wife came to Norfolk after the war looking for a boating business and found Harts during a two week holiday on the Easticks cruiser “Royal Oak”. This resulted in a new company being formed and the Hearts Cruisers name being established. Commander Ashby had 51% and Geoffrey, son Peter, brother Richard and Frank Gooch, the yard foreman held the remaining shares.
Housing was impossible to find at the end of the war and so Commander Ashby, having served in coastal forces, bought a gunboat hull from the Navy and had it towed up to Thorpe where the yard fitted it out as a houseboat. The idea was to live on it "for a couple of years" while they built a bungalow on the Island but they were so comfortable there, with a large garden, that they never built the house and lived on the boat for 41 years. The wreck of the gunboat can still be seen from the restaurant of the Town House Hotel, moored in the old Jenners basin which is a little further along the island.
Commander Ashby and his wife Eileen continued to run the company from their M.G.B after Richard later emigrated, Geoffrey retired and Peter left to work for the Post Office telephones.
The plan was to build one boat every year until they got to 15 and then it would make a comfortable living. They started with the Knave, Ten and Queen, of which the Knave was the first hire cruiser to be built with a diesel engine, in 1948. Everyone else, of course, said "They will never catch on". They also featured the first fully-opening sliding wheelhouse canopy, which nowadays we take for granted but Commander Ashby actually designed the first ones. This meant that the wheelhouse could be much larger and so became the main saloon and dining area of the boat.
Next came the King of Hearts, which was a very "state of the art" boat in her day. In those days most customers arrived by rail and were normally parties of single young men or women from London or the Midlands, as the Broads has always been an "adventure" holiday! So the boats were designed with mainly single beds, or bunks, to take as many as possible. The Seven and Eight were next, which were among the first front drive cruisers on the Broads and proved very popular with fishermen because of the open but sheltered aft cockpit. Then Commander Ashby and Russel Newby, the foreman boatbuilder, got together to produce the Princess of Hearts, which was a radically modern design upon which most Broads boats are based, even to this day. The six berth layout, with a big galley behind the saloon, (instead of right aft), a big aft cabin, two toilets, which later had showers, and the big saloon with a fully opening canopy, made this boat into a classic.
Commander Ashby was the chairman of Blakes for 8 years during the 1960s and attempts were always continued to attract people to holiday on the south rivers, since this would alleviate the overcrowding in the north and spread the traffic over the whole of the cruising area.
David Millbank was the owner of Jenners, which was then a small, but very old, yard alongside the Town House Hotel which was then owned by his parents. He had ambition to expand and bought out the business of A.G.Ward when Alf Ward retired, in 1965. Alf lived in the Thorpe Old Hall and his yard was on the quay there. Commander Ashby was also ready to sell and so David Millbank bought Hearts as well, thus creating the Jenner Group, of the three yards between the bridges in Thorpe - Jenners, Wards and Hearts.
The Broads was going through one of its tough spells and several yards wanted to stop hiring boats, and David bought their fleets, but not their yards. In the winters of 1968 and 69 he bought the fleets of Landamores, Windboats, Dawncraft, Jack Powles and several others and transferred them to Thorpe where, in 1970, he was able to offer over 200 hire boats for hire between the bridges in Thorpe. The idea, strongly supported by Blakes, was to encourage holidaymakers to take their cruise on the south rivers.
Sadly this ambitious project fell victim to what we nowadays know as "cash flow". After about 3 years he sold to his main competitor, Tom Watson, of the Caister Group of holiday camps, who by then also owned Herbert Woods at Potter Heigham. It was at this stage that Commander Ashby was brought out of retirement to become MD of Jenners but sadly it was too late to save it. After a couple of years Caister Group closed down the Jenners operation and put the site at Thorpe Old Hall up for sale. They sold half of the boats and transferred the others to Potter Heigham as well as to the two Southgates yards in Horning, which they also owned. They retained Hearts, with 25 boats and Commander Ashby as MD, but soon sold it to Ladbrokes, who retained Commander Ashby to run it as MD and he stayed on until Ladbrokes sold the yard, though they stayed on the gunboat in their retirement until 1988 when they moved into a house.
Another chapter started in 1986 when Pennant Holidays was created by Lawrence Dale, the Chairman of the new group. The group consisted of Ernest Collins, Jack Powles, Southgates and Hearts Cruisers, and they also acted as agents for Swancraft. A change in Pennants ownership occurred during the very early 1990s when they became part of the Mowat Group and soon after this, in April 1992 Hearts Cruisers was sold to Richardson’s New Horizon Group. Mowat kept most of the boats and transferred them to their other fleets with New Horizon transferring craft from several of their other hirebases and Pennant continued as marketing agents for Hearts with Hoseasons continuing as marketing agents for the rest of the New Horizon bases.
Disaster was to strike soon after and despite Pennant being in fairly good shape the collapse of the housing market was to drag the Mowat Group down and the Group entered receivership mid-season. New Horizon took over the marketing and bookings for Hearts directly and created their own brochure with the booking office being based at Stalham, the Groups largest site and head-office.
Over the following seasons the Hearts continued to be run by New Horizon without any agent affiliation and this contributed to the value for money prices they were able to be offered at. Many of the boats were amongst the oldest that the group ran but a wide range of sizes and styles were offered and the fleet was normally running in the region of 60 craft. As throughout the bases entire history, the styles offered were greatly influenced by the height restrictions imposed by the nearby railway bridges. Occasionally, if tides were high boats would be vacated nearby and moved when passage was possible.
The fleets last season was to be 2002. A number of factors are thought to have contributed to the decision including a number of operational difficulties, large investment being needed to repair or sustain facilities & moorings on the island and the ageing fleet was making it increasingly harder to meet customer expectations.
At the end of the 2002 season the site was closed down and the fleet was temporarily distributed between New Horizon’s Horning & Stalham sites as space allowed. The boats were largely put up for sale and a small number have continued with other operators. A small number of craft have been updated (such as San Pedro, Rio & Corfu) and put into the Stalham fleet, and the odd one had major refits going back to a bare shell and starting again (such as “Star Gem 6” for example). Today, in December 2010 a small number remain at Stalham for sale, having sat awaiting their new lease of life for too long.
Thinking of Buying a Boat and Need Help? I specialise in Boats of all types, and I will assist you to make an informed decision. Contact me for a detailed and comprehensive report at: steventruss1@aol.com
The yard in 1948. The gunboat is being fitted out and the Hart's fleet then consisted of the Five, Six, Two and Four of Hearts and the Ace was just launched, having been in building when Commander Ashby bought into the yard. The basin had been dug out in 1947.
Yard History
Harts was established in 1878 by John Hart. John and his wife Harriet had eight children and George, one of his Sons worked with him in building the business.
A selection of yachts & craft were available including cutters, a rig boat and storage sheds. Initially the boatyard was based at The Thorpe Gardens public house but a few years later the business moved to island between the old river and the New Cut. John died in 1898 and George continued the business. A bungalow was built next to the boatbuilding sheds where George and his large family lived until the 1920s when the bungalow became used for storage.
The war years saw a stop to any boats being built and during the Second World War the fleet was rafted together on Rockland Broad. Two craft were later used as Patrol Boats by the Home Guard and Geoffrey Hart helped build rescue boats on the Isle of Wight.
At the end of the war the fleet was brought back together, though three had suffered through no maintenance so much they could not be saved. Rationing was to make cruising difficult and so during 1946 the craft were let as houseboats from Whitlingham Reach and the times were to stay a bit difficult for the industry as a whole.
A change came-about in 1948 when Commander Ashby and his wife came to Norfolk after the war looking for a boating business and found Harts during a two week holiday on the Easticks cruiser “Royal Oak”. This resulted in a new company being formed and the Hearts Cruisers name being established. Commander Ashby had 51% and Geoffrey, son Peter, brother Richard and Frank Gooch, the yard foreman held the remaining shares.
Housing was impossible to find at the end of the war and so Commander Ashby, having served in coastal forces, bought a gunboat hull from the Navy and had it towed up to Thorpe where the yard fitted it out as a houseboat. The idea was to live on it "for a couple of years" while they built a bungalow on the Island but they were so comfortable there, with a large garden, that they never built the house and lived on the boat for 41 years. The wreck of the gunboat can still be seen from the restaurant of the Town House Hotel, moored in the old Jenners basin which is a little further along the island.
Commander Ashby and his wife Eileen continued to run the company from their M.G.B after Richard later emigrated, Geoffrey retired and Peter left to work for the Post Office telephones.
The plan was to build one boat every year until they got to 15 and then it would make a comfortable living. They started with the Knave, Ten and Queen, of which the Knave was the first hire cruiser to be built with a diesel engine, in 1948. Everyone else, of course, said "They will never catch on". They also featured the first fully-opening sliding wheelhouse canopy, which nowadays we take for granted but Commander Ashby actually designed the first ones. This meant that the wheelhouse could be much larger and so became the main saloon and dining area of the boat.
Next came the King of Hearts, which was a very "state of the art" boat in her day. In those days most customers arrived by rail and were normally parties of single young men or women from London or the Midlands, as the Broads has always been an "adventure" holiday! So the boats were designed with mainly single beds, or bunks, to take as many as possible. The Seven and Eight were next, which were among the first front drive cruisers on the Broads and proved very popular with fishermen because of the open but sheltered aft cockpit. Then Commander Ashby and Russel Newby, the foreman boatbuilder, got together to produce the Princess of Hearts, which was a radically modern design upon which most Broads boats are based, even to this day. The six berth layout, with a big galley behind the saloon, (instead of right aft), a big aft cabin, two toilets, which later had showers, and the big saloon with a fully opening canopy, made this boat into a classic.
Commander Ashby was the chairman of Blakes for 8 years during the 1960s and attempts were always continued to attract people to holiday on the south rivers, since this would alleviate the overcrowding in the north and spread the traffic over the whole of the cruising area.
David Millbank was the owner of Jenners, which was then a small, but very old, yard alongside the Town House Hotel which was then owned by his parents. He had ambition to expand and bought out the business of A.G.Ward when Alf Ward retired, in 1965. Alf lived in the Thorpe Old Hall and his yard was on the quay there. Commander Ashby was also ready to sell and so David Millbank bought Hearts as well, thus creating the Jenner Group, of the three yards between the bridges in Thorpe - Jenners, Wards and Hearts.
The Broads was going through one of its tough spells and several yards wanted to stop hiring boats, and David bought their fleets, but not their yards. In the winters of 1968 and 69 he bought the fleets of Landamores, Windboats, Dawncraft, Jack Powles and several others and transferred them to Thorpe where, in 1970, he was able to offer over 200 hire boats for hire between the bridges in Thorpe. The idea, strongly supported by Blakes, was to encourage holidaymakers to take their cruise on the south rivers.
Sadly this ambitious project fell victim to what we nowadays know as "cash flow". After about 3 years he sold to his main competitor, Tom Watson, of the Caister Group of holiday camps, who by then also owned Herbert Woods at Potter Heigham. It was at this stage that Commander Ashby was brought out of retirement to become MD of Jenners but sadly it was too late to save it. After a couple of years Caister Group closed down the Jenners operation and put the site at Thorpe Old Hall up for sale. They sold half of the boats and transferred the others to Potter Heigham as well as to the two Southgates yards in Horning, which they also owned. They retained Hearts, with 25 boats and Commander Ashby as MD, but soon sold it to Ladbrokes, who retained Commander Ashby to run it as MD and he stayed on until Ladbrokes sold the yard, though they stayed on the gunboat in their retirement until 1988 when they moved into a house.
Another chapter started in 1986 when Pennant Holidays was created by Lawrence Dale, the Chairman of the new group. The group consisted of Ernest Collins, Jack Powles, Southgates and Hearts Cruisers, and they also acted as agents for Swancraft. A change in Pennants ownership occurred during the very early 1990s when they became part of the Mowat Group and soon after this, in April 1992 Hearts Cruisers was sold to Richardson’s New Horizon Group. Mowat kept most of the boats and transferred them to their other fleets with New Horizon transferring craft from several of their other hirebases and Pennant continued as marketing agents for Hearts with Hoseasons continuing as marketing agents for the rest of the New Horizon bases.
Disaster was to strike soon after and despite Pennant being in fairly good shape the collapse of the housing market was to drag the Mowat Group down and the Group entered receivership mid-season. New Horizon took over the marketing and bookings for Hearts directly and created their own brochure with the booking office being based at Stalham, the Groups largest site and head-office.
Over the following seasons the Hearts continued to be run by New Horizon without any agent affiliation and this contributed to the value for money prices they were able to be offered at. Many of the boats were amongst the oldest that the group ran but a wide range of sizes and styles were offered and the fleet was normally running in the region of 60 craft. As throughout the bases entire history, the styles offered were greatly influenced by the height restrictions imposed by the nearby railway bridges. Occasionally, if tides were high boats would be vacated nearby and moved when passage was possible.
The fleets last season was to be 2002. A number of factors are thought to have contributed to the decision including a number of operational difficulties, large investment being needed to repair or sustain facilities & moorings on the island and the ageing fleet was making it increasingly harder to meet customer expectations.
At the end of the 2002 season the site was closed down and the fleet was temporarily distributed between New Horizon’s Horning & Stalham sites as space allowed. The boats were largely put up for sale and a small number have continued with other operators. A small number of craft have been updated (such as San Pedro, Rio & Corfu) and put into the Stalham fleet, and the odd one had major refits going back to a bare shell and starting again (such as “Star Gem 6” for example). Today, in December 2010 a small number remain at Stalham for sale, having sat awaiting their new lease of life for too long.
Thinking of Buying a Boat and Need Help? I specialise in Boats of all types, and I will assist you to make an informed decision. Contact me for a detailed and comprehensive report at: steventruss1@aol.com
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