Picture of fishermen around 1920

In our fortnightly Picture This column, Lynn Museum curator Dayna Woolbright looks at a 100-year-old photo of fishermen…This black and white photograph, (circa 1920) from the Lynn Museum collection shows two men aboard the Mascotte, the famous steam-powered boat bought by Arthur and Robert Taylor in 1894, at St Olaves on the Norfolk Broads. It cost £70 – a considerable purchase equating to around £16,000 in today’s money.On the right, in the bowler hat, is James ‘Dawger’ Ward who skippered the Mascotte for Robert Taylor. The launch was later given to Mr Ward, a well-known North End fisherman, seen here sporting a traditional fisherman’s gansey. He used the boat for fishing sole and shrimping in the Wash.

In the current cold weather, the last thing many of us would want to do is take to the River Great Ouse on an open vessel but these men seem to be enjoying a sunny day, squinting against the sunshine with rays of white across their legs.The Taylor family were local seed merchants and ran a shop in Lynn from the 1830s. A mock-up of their shop can be visited at Lynn Museum, which is free to enter Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-5pm.