From 2018 to 2023, the Broads Authority delivered Water, Mills and Marshes, a Broads Landscape Partnership Scheme in The Broads National Park, Britain’s largest protected wetland. All made possible by a generous grant of £2.4 million from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and partner contributions.

Highlights

Water, Mills and Marshes Project Highlights

Of the 38 projects Water, Mills and Marshes delivered with over 50 partners, here are our some of favourite project successes

Heritage Construction Skills

Water Mills and Marshes provided skills training to 250 students at City College, Norwich (CCN) and employed two heritage construction skills apprentices to help keep traditional building skills alive in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Go to Heritage Construction Skills

Burgh Castle Almanac

Burgh Castle Almanac is a collaborative Archaeology, creative and wellbeing project based at Burgh Castle Roman Fort and The Time and Tide Museum in partnership with Norfolk Archaeological Trust, The Restoration Trust and Access Community Trust which took place between 2018 and 2021.

Go to Burgh Castle Almanac

Mapping the Broads

Mapping the Broads set out to explore the idea of a ‘map’ not just being a visual representation of an area of land, like the commonly known OS maps, but can be a range of alternative visual narratives. This idea was explored using research conducted by the Illustration Team at Norwich University of the Arts (NUA).

Go to Mapping the Broads

100 years of Ted Ellis

The nature and wildlife journals of Norfolk's most well-known naturalist Ted Ellis turned 100 years old in October 2023. To celebrate his life’s work, Water Mills and Marshes launched a project in partnership with The Broads Authority, The Ted Ellis Trust and Norwich University of the Arts to digitise Ted’s wildlife journals.

Go to 100 years of Ted Ellis

Broads Hidden Heritage

Broads Hidden Heritage was a project led by our partners at Norfolk County Council Historic Environment Service with the aim of connecting with local communities to create a deeper understanding of the marsh landscape.

Go to Broads Hidden Heritage

Chet Boat

Since 2018, the International Boat Building College (IBTC) in Lowestoft has been hard at work on an exciting experimental archaeology project, building a full scale replica of The Chet Boat

Go to Chet Boat
Picture of fish print making

Educational Resources

Alongside our schools engagement we also created Educational Resources to be used by teaching staff and parents, which proved a particularly useful resource during the Covid-19 restrictions.

Go to Educational Resources

Trails

This collection of walks has been compiled to create a ‘go to’ for walking in the Broads.

Go to Trails

Connecting Communities

In partnership with The RSPB, The Connecting Communities Project at Strumpshaw Fen worked with communities and schools local to the reserve to connect them to nature in the Mid-Yare Valley and Strumpshaw Fen itself.

Go to Connecting Communities

Marsh, Arts and Us

Marsh, Arts and Us was a 3 year scheme of projects that combined activities in the landscape of the Broads National Park with creative activities to increase the health and well-being of residents in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.

Go to Marsh, Arts and Us

WISEArchive

The WISEArchive gathered more than 100 stories from people who have lived, worked and spent their lives in the Broads. The stories are organised by categories including: boat building, coypu, life and childhood, reed cutting, and many more.

Go to WISEArchive

Heritage Open Days

Water, Mills and Marshes has taken part in the Norfolk Heritage Open Days (HODs) festival for four years running!

Go to Heritage Open Days

Water Mills and Marshes on Instagram

Use #WaterMillsandMarshes to tag us in your photos