New bid to build first Norfolk trading wherry for 112 years

But plans have now been unveiled to build the first Norfolk trading wherry for more than a century – and use it to carry cargo once again.

A boatbuilder has embarked on an ambitious six-year project to create a brand new vessel, designed along the same lines as the traditional craft which once sailed the waterways, carrying their wares around every corner of the Broads.

Wherries coming together in Norfolk. (Image: © ARCHANT NORFOLK 2012)

The last trading wherry was built in 1912 and only two survive, the Albion and the Maud – neither of which can carry cargo – along with a handful of wherry yachts and pleasure wherries.

The Wherry Albion sailing in the Broads in 1968 (Image: Newsquest)

Don McDermott, the man behind the project, plans to start work on the new vessel later this summer and already has a name for her, Lady Garnet, in a tribute to the Sir Garnet, the wherry which appears in Arthur Ransome’s books set on the Broads, Coot Club and The Big Six.

Don McDermott has set out to build Lady Garnet – the first trading Wherry since 1912. (Image: Don McDermott)

Mr McDermott is originally from the US but learned his trade at Lowestoft’s International Boatbuilding Training College in 2021-2022.

He now lives in Bourne End, in Buckinghamshire, where he works at a boatyard on the River Thames and where he is to start work on the 59ft (18m) oak Lady Garnet.

Don McDermott working on a folkboat at IBTC Lowestoft. Picture: Lyn Tupper (Image: Lyn Tupper)

He hopes that once she is finished, she will be able to carry cargo under sail, as wherries did for hundreds of years – but haven’t done since the Albion in 1972.

“She was very much an outlying case, as all other wherries had ceased trading before the Second World War,” Mr McDermott said.

“But all of that is about to change. My wherry will be able to carry roughly 15 tonnes (15,000 kg) of cargo, and I intend to use her as part of the ever-growing sail cargo movement.”

The wherry Albion makes her way under sail along the River Yare near Cantley. Picture: Denise Bradley/Newsquest

Sadly for locals, he plans to use the Lady Garnet for trading on the Thames, rather than on Norfolk and Suffolk waters.

Her design is loosely based on the Albion, although she will differ as the Albion is ‘carvel planked’ – which means she has a smooth hull – while Lady Garnet is going to be clinker planked, meaning her planks will overlap with each other.

As with previous trading wherries, she will feature an enormous, eye-catching, black gaff-rigged sail.

Don McDermott, helming Albion. Picture: Alexandra McDermott (Image: Alexandra McDermott)

Mr McDermott  – who has crewed on the Lowestoft fishing smack Excelsior, and is a trainee mate for the Albion – said he chose the name because Arthur Ransome’s books have had a big impact on him, since he first read Swallows and Amazons as a seven-year-old.

He said the books sparked a love of sailing and of boats, eventually leading him to Lowestoft’s IBTC.

Arthur Ransome, author of Swallows and Amazons. (Image: Archant)

“I decided as an homage to Arthur Ransome that I would give my wherry a similar name – and since boats are almost always traditionally called ‘she’ I thought it would make sense just to simply change it to Lady Garnet,” he said.

Artur Ransome’s Coot Club (Image: Archant Norfolk Copyright)

Mr McDermott has been planning the project for two years and intends to fund the work initially through crowdfunding and savings, with a YouTube series to follow.

He has set up a GoFundMe appeal and admits “any contributions towards the early costs will be gratefully received”.

“I’m doing an initial fundraiser for £15,000, which combined with my own savings, will cover the early costs.

The Lady Garnet plans. Picture: Don McDermott (Image: Don McDermott)

“I plan to raise the remaining funds by doing a comprehensive YouTube series on the building process.

“The project has already gained a good deal of traction after I released the first video in late May.”

To pledge support visit the Building Lady Garnet – Early Funding GoFundMe page.

Don McDermott shaping a station mould for a dinghy. Picture: Don McDermott (Image: Don McDermott)

FROM FULL SAIL TO BECALMED… RISE AND FALL OF THE WHERRY

The vessels date back to the 17th century and were developed from an earlier type, the Norfolk Keel, which they ultimately replaced.

In their heyday, in the 1800s, there were more than 300 of them, navigating the Broads, carrying trade between waterside staithes.

An archive photo of sailors preparing the rigging onboard the Wherry Albion (Image: Newsquest)

Their sails were black, from a protective mixture of tar and fish oil.

The last trading wherry to be built was the Ella, in 1912.

She has not survived as the fleet was gradually broken up or left to sink, as trade moved off the waterways and their numbers dwindled away so that they had virtually vanished by the Second World War.

The Wherry Albion picking up some speed while sailing in the Broads (Image: Newsquest)

Pleasure wherries and wherry yachts became popular in the wake of the late Victorian tourism boom and some of these have survived.

The wherries’ legacy remains in many village signs as well as the names of pubs, companies, beer, the long-distance Wherryman’s Way footpath and a railway line.