TG4118 : The Dutch Tutch
taken 9 years ago, near to Bastwick, Norfolk, England
The first bungalow was built beside the former railway bridge near Potter Heigham in the 1890s. Soon other bungalows followed, often replacing boat sheds, with the heyday of building taking place during the 1920s and 1930s, when elegant verandas were in fashion. During WW2, some of the bungalows became refuges for the wealthy who wished to avoid the bombing in the cities. Many others were occupied by military personnel or workers employed by Herbert Woods' boatyard.
Soon after its creation in 1978, the Broads Authority decided on a clean-up scheme aiming to demolish most of the bungalows but nationwide objections were raised in a campaign led by the Tenants Association, resulting in leases being granted. Today the bungalows are still standing and some are now even Grade II listed.
The bungalows dating from between the two wars were built of light wood or iron framing, covered with weatherboarding or painted corrugated iron, in the pseudo-vernacular style. The have low pitched roofs, ornamental finials and verandas facing the river. Some of them are thatched and have false timber-framing, and some have a small thatched boathouse. This is the largest concentration of such chalets in Broadland.