Memories Of Holkham And The Victoria Hotel

A Memory of Holkham.

Whilst I lived at Mattishall near Dereham in the early 1960's I became a regular visitor to the area in Summer and Winter, having use of a small boat at Burnham Overy Staithe.
Fishing and full days out at Scolt Head became a regular feature for me, my mates and our girlfriends. We looked for a local pub to drink at and the Victoria at Holkham (Public Bar!) became just that. There were some wonderful local characters drinking there in those days.
You will have to excuse me on names as it is some forty years plus but I will do my best. I recall a "Bob" Everitt who was a retired gamekeeper from the Estate. There was Reuben, Maurice a retired chauffeur from the Hall and another local called Albert. Bob, Maurice and Reuben loved a game of dominos and one of the Dereham gang would be the forth player to make up the game especially at weekends. I remember Ernie Ruffles whose wife Betty ran the Public Bar and looked after us well.
Bob Everitt gave me a photograph of himself teaching HRH Prince Charles, then about 9 years old, to fish in the lake - I still have it.
Maurice, an ex-chauffeur, once showed me his driving license which was issued in London during the First World War Albert was a quiet character normally to be found on Summer Evenings with his back to the wall opposite the village shop watching the traffic.
One weekday evening I was on my own and it was quiet in the Vic. I suggested we had a drink and a chat about the old days in Holkham and whilst he was normally withdrawn, he had many stories to tell. One of his claims to fame was that during WWII he helped to construct the Mulberry Harbours in the south of England which were used for the invasion of Europe in 1944.
I went with Bob Everitt one Sunday afternoon to watch the filming of "Operation Crossbow" on Holkham beach. We came to a large caravan marked "Location Caterers" and sitting in front was a German officer. I was somewhat startled, him being so realistic, when he got up and approached Bob and I. He then said "Watcha Nev, do you want a bit of slab cake?" in a good old Norfolk accent. His name now somewhat evades me but I think it was Basil Smith who at that time was a forester on the Estate and like several other locals were extras as they were much fitter to run across the sand that the film stars!
Another younger character who frequented the Vic Bar was "Sparks" from Wells. Sometimes the Public Bar at weekends was full of Casual Visitors (Visitors)! Sparky had a way of ensuring we all got served quickly when this occured. He could empty the bar of strangers very quickly by placing part of a whelk's intestine in one of his nostrils, touching it occasionally! The Trust House manager only put up with it because the Wells boys frequented the bar all year round.
There was newly appointed Trust House manager, name forgotten, who started laying down the law to the Wells lads. He was always smartly dressed in dinner jacket, bowtie etc. in the evenings. It seems he had gone over the top as far as they were concerned on some issue and on being called to go out in the yard I saw him getting out of the large rainwater tank his evening attire soaked through and covered in green slime. Things returned to normal but his stay at the Vic was not long.
In the early 1970's I happened to stay at a Trust house - the White Hart in Launceston, Cornwall. The manager was Mr. Garvin who in the 1960's had been manager of the Victoria. I had a long chat in the evening with him and his wife. They were a nice couple.
I left Norfolk in 1969 when my job in the Post Office took me to Essex to live in a village called Tollesbury at the mouth of the River Blackwater. The area is very much like North Norfolk but unfortunately the creeks here are muddy not like the sand at Overy Staithe. Having been in Essex a couple of years my wife and I and two other couples stayed for a long weekend at the Victoria. Whilst the wives stayed in bed us males decided on an early morning walk before breakfast (6.30). Going down to the beach I was amazed to meet Reuben who was by then a ripe old age coming back up to the village. His bicycle was loaded with good quality driftwood. He could not ride or steer it - it looked like a
two wheeled barrow. I remarked on the quality of the wood and Reuben said "I've had enough wood off the beach to make two sheds and enough wood in one of them to make another one". After promising to meet later for a pint he chuckled in his usual manner and went on his way. My companions never forgot Reuben's remarks that morning.
Again in the mid 70's I recommended a colleague who was suffering from depression and stress to stay with his wife at the Victoria in February when Geoff Whitehead and his wife Gemma were in charge.
A few weeks later I met him and he was fully recovered. He said "I swore about you for the first two days for sending me to what I thought was a God forsaken hole but suddenly everything changed and we really enjoyed our stay". He summed up by saying "One day in Holkham Bay I stopped and listened and actually heard silence". An odd remark but I think it sums up the area well!

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