We may know about the woman who proved the Norfolk Broads weren't what everyone thought they were, but what about the women who had to stay home in case a car wanted to cross the railway line? We find out more.
A stuffed coypu is among the intriguing exhibits at the famous Museum of the Broads - and he has quite a tale to tell.
It's thought he may have been the last coypu to be shot in the Broads and it's known he was the much loved mascot of the students of Dr Joyce Lambert, the botanist and stratigrapher who was the first to prove that virtually all the lakes in the Broads are man made. Until the mid 1950s's it was thought they'd formed naturally, but she discovered they were actually there thanks to extensive digging for peat about 500-700 years earlier.
She had a prestigious lecturing career and was much loved by her students, who apparently took the stuffed coypu she kept in her office on all manner of trips, adventures and expeditions.
Her story, and that of the coypu too, is told at the Museum of the Broads, the popular attraction at Stalham which brings the history of the Broads alive.
The people of the Broads are an essential part of that, says curator Nicola Hems, and there are all manner of fascinating characters involved in its past, and present, life.
They include the likes of comedian Sidney Grape, of Potter Heigham, author of the engaging Boy John letters, famed for his Norfolk dialect and dry Norfolk wit.
And there are the likes of the author George Christopher Davies, one of those credited with encouraging tourists more than 100 years ago and Roys of Wroxham founders Alfred and Arnold Roy, who started the iconic Norfolk company by selling goods to Broads villagers and tourists.
With the tourists came the railways – or visa versa - and even more interesting characters, says Nicola.
They include the platelayers, who inspected and maintained the track, and the people, usually women, who opened the gates to let cars drive over the railway line.
The North Walsham to Great Yarmouth line, which ran for more than 70 years until it closed in 1959, took priority over road traffic. So rather than the gates being closed to cars only when a train was coming, drivers had to stop and ask at gatehouses for the gates to be opened. It meant the gatekeepers had to stay at home in case a car came!
A new museum exhibition about the railway will include memories of two women born at the Martham gatehouse in the 1930s. They recall their mother couldn't wait for Saturdays when their father could take on gate opening duties and she could go grocery shopping!
The track itself, with stops at the holiday camps to take people to and from the Broads and coast, was taken up. The route now forms part of the Weavers Way and part of the A149 Potter Heigham to Stalham road.
'I find the social history of the Broads totally fascinating. It's wonderful when people see something here that reminds them of something their grandparents had or work their parents did and they share memories with us,' says Nicola.
'We get glimpses into people's lives and how they worked and lived and how the landscape has changed.'
Now modern day Broads' characters include the volunteers at the Museum of the Broads, who range from Mike Fuller, a former boat builder now in his 80s with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the Broads' wherries, to ex military personnel, teachers, engineers, publicans, artists, carpenters and model makers.
'We have an awful lot of very skilled people,' says Nicola. It means that whether a new display needs organising, boats need maintaining, the reception needs manning or the Museum's steam launch Falcon needs helming, there's someone for the job.
'We are very lucky,' she adds.
Visit the Museum of the Broads and discover everything from Broads history and that stuffed coypu to its boats and wherries, trains, tourists and wildlife to the more eccentric Broads characters.
It's at The Staithe
Stalham
Norfolk
NR12 9DA
01692 581681
www.museumofthebroads.org.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here