It was renowned as one of Britain's most remote and peaceful pubs.
Yet the serene, quiet surroundings of the former Berney Arms have been disturbed by an extraordinary row between neighbours with allegations of 'out-of-control' horses, 'aggressive' geese... and a pet fox cub.
The Broads pub, which shut in 2015, is now home to a community of eight people.
They live in a collection of outbuildings, static caravans and boats moored on the nearby River Yare.
The Broads Authority recently launched a legal bid to evict the entire community, claiming the structures do not have planning permission.
The owner, Raymond Hollocks, is vowing to defend that action and keep the group on the land.
However, he is separately trying to evict one of the residents, Sharon Davis, accusing her of breaching her tenancy agreement.
He also says that she has brought pet horses onto the land and let them roam and gallop freely, including on the popular Wherryman's Way footpath which runs through the site.
Other tenants say the animals - as well as her gaggle of "aggressive" pet geese - are "terrorising" them and threatening walkers.
They have also raised concerns about a pet fox cub that Mrs Davis is rearing at the site.
Mrs Davis, 53, denies the allegations and insists she keeps her animals safe and secure.
She claims to be the victim of a "revenge eviction", for refusing to renovate her property for Mr Hollocks.
She also says she wants to leave the site but cannot find anywhere suitable to live with her horses.
Video captures a man narrowing avoiding being trampled on by one of the two loose horses:
The famously remote location, between Reedham and Great Yarmouth, has no public road access - a rail halt lies just under a mile away. Although there is mains electricity, water comes from a borehole.
Mrs Davis moved to the site in August 2021 when Mr Hollocks let her the property with a one-year tenancy, with a rent-free period after she volunteered to restore the chalet.
However, the pair both acknowledge that they fell out at their very first meeting and the arrangement did not last long.
Shortly after moving in, Mrs Davis decided to halt the improvement work, concerned about what she would get out of the deal.
She has since complained about the dilapidated state of the site and buildings.
“I moved here because I have horses and there is lots of space here.
"After I had a brain haemorrhage I needed somewhere quiet and peaceful and a project to keep me busy," she said.
"But the situation here for all the tenants is so severe. [Mr Hollocks] is leaving us to rot. This eviction is a revenge eviction."
She complained to Broadland District Council about the state of the property and officials raised concerns about the safety of the building, citing the state of the electrics. They are now attempting to rehome Mrs Davis.
Mr Hollocks, who has owned the Berney Arms and 20 acres of surrounding land since 1999, is at the centre of a series of planning disputes with the Broads Authority over the presence of the static caravans not just at the former pub but also at other riverside locations he owns, at Loddon Marina and the Beauchamp Arms, further upstream on the Yare.
He is now threatening to go to court to secure Mrs Davis' eviction. He claims that if the council says she must leave the property for safety reasons, they should do more to find somewhere for her and her animals to go.
“I don’t know how much more evidence the council need to take action. The woman is not paying rent, and if they have deemed the conditions so bad, why aren't they in a hurry to take action?"
He added: "I have had reports of the geese attacking people. And there is CCTV footage showing the horses roaming freely on my land, and running past people at speed.
"My tenants have told me the geese are aggressive. And I have concerns about a wild fox living here."
READ MORE: Meet the man with a 25-year long feud with the Broads Authority
Nettie Southgate, 57, who lives in a static home next to Mrs Davis's chalet, is supporting Mr Hollocks.
She said there had been more than five occasions when she has "nearly been trampled" by the pair of charging horses.
Video captured by Mrs Southgate as she avoids the horses charging along the public footpath by the moorings at The Berney Arms:
"It is so lovely so tranquil so quiet. Ever since the neighbour moved in she has had no regard or respect for us. I love animals but her horses are storming around our side, out of control.
"There have been numerous occasions where I have nearly been trampled on.
"They charge along the public footpath constantly and it is terrifying and causing me a living hell.
"I love animals but these are out of control. They roam all over the place and go wherever they please.
"Recently she has been letting walkers hold her pet fox, a wild fox which she found, which surely should be living freely."
READ MORE: The problem facing EVERY Norfolk village...
Jeff Pennington, who lives on a boat at the site, said: "For over a year Mrs Davis and I were very good friends.
"However, it has all turned sour now she is failing to recognise the fact she is not controlling these horses.
"I was nearly flattened by her out-of-control horse and it was caught on film.
"She has burnt all her bridges with us all living here.
"The geese stroll around as though they own the place. I think it's quite fitting for them to be here though they have been aggressive to walkers in the past.
"I think she believes rescuing the fox cub was an act of goodwill, though I think it is a wild animal which should be roaming the wonderful meadows and plains."
Video captures the horses roaming on a wintery afternoon on the public footpath and to the front of The Berney Arms:
A Broadland Council spokesman said: "The council has served an Emergency Prohibition Order regarding the safety of the [Mrs Davis' chalet].
"The reason for this is poor electrics, which pose an immediate risk.
"We are working with the tenant to assist with rehousing, in the meantime we have given advice on safety measures and actions we will need to be completed to lift the Order."
READ MORE: Did you know about Norfolk's long-forgotten 'sugar beet' railway?
The Berney Arms on the left pictured in 1966 and on the right pictured in June 2023
THE FIRST BERNEY ARMS BARNEY
It is not the first time the tiny community of Berney Arms has been at the centre of a dispute.
As well as the former pub and windmill - which both take their name from former landowner Thomas Trench Berney - the hamlet is also home to the Berney Arms railway station, one of the most desolate and deserted stops in the UK.
The station dates back to a deal Mr Berney struck with the company building a line between Norwich and Yarmouth in the 1840s.
He sold them a stretch of marshland for the track, on condition they built a station for his hamlet.
A few years later, the railway stopped serving it, saying that there had been no agreement for trains to actually call there.
However, after lengthy legal proceedings, it was agreed to serve the station in perpetuity.
The station is statistically one of the quietest stops on the UK rail network. In 2020 it was the country's least used.
In its heyday, the hamlet of Berney Arms was home to a community of 11 homes and a chapel.
Its most prominent landmark is the Berney Arms mill built in 1865 and the tallest of its kind in Norfolk at 21.5m (71ft) tall.
It was originally used to grind cement clinker for the Reedham Cement Works. It was later converted into a drainage mill.
It closed in 1948 and is now a Scheduled Monument in the care of English Heritage.
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