04 High Street
Current
ArnoldHouse
4
High Street
Lowestoft
NR32 1HX
United Kingdom
History
Two of Lowestoft's Our Fallen lived here... Karl Arnold and Spencer Ashenden
This Grade II listed building probably dates from the late 18th century. It was altered in 1877 when the large front door opening onto High Street was bricked up, the south entrance block added and the opening on the north side enclosed. Brief history/features: In the early 1720s, an earlier house on the site was divided into two tenements owned by John Arnold and Susanna Arnold. The property had passed from the Brissingham family to the Arnolds in late 17th Century. One Robert Brissingham is recorded as the owner in 1618. In the 16th Century it belonged to the Jettor family.
All of these were wealthy merchant families. Former Notable Owners: The property was owned by the Arnold family for over 200 years. The last member of that family to occupy the present house was Susannah Magdalena Arnold. She moved into the house after the death of her husband, Rev Charles T. Arnold in 1878. It was Charles who had the house altered the previous year. Susanna died here in March 1900 aged 79. The property was sold the following year and was purchased by Isaac S. Reading and his wife.
It became a large, respectable boarding house. Little known fact: In 1560 one Robert Jettor an owner of the property was very heavily fined for refusing to give up his Roman Catholic faith and for not attending services at the parish church.
CREDIT:David Butcher
No4 High Street is named Arnold House and during the 1960's it was the offices of Cleveland and Sons (second-hand dealers), from 1901 the house stopped being a family house and became a lodging house. Up to that point it was the home of the Arnold family, Dr. Arnold of Rugby and Matthew Arnold, the poet, essayist and critic.
Captain Thomas Arnold, in 1718, when he was lieutenant of the "Superbe", he captured the Spanish admiral's ship, Royal San Philip. Today No4 is separated into Flats, private and rented, long gone are the fancy gardens which were at the rear with their Tennis courts and terrace gardens and have been replaced with overgrown trees and shrubs. CREDIT:Crispin Hook
Me and my wife had a flat there 1963 our first home,it was owned by Jack Cleveland ,a wonderful old Man ,hew made sure All the old people had fresh vegetables ,and fire wood for Christmas, in the foyer of the House was a stuffed Lion my Dad a friend of Jack would give me a paper to go in were Jack lived I was about 9yr,s old and taken a back seeing it for the first time lol ,later Jack,s son Peter Cleveland collection of rent,s £1 50 a week ,some time, s me and my wife ,would pretend we weren't in lol ,as money I got a week didn't go far ,when your first married .love CREDIT: John Turrell
Architecture
Following the admission of Coe Arnold (brewer) to the messuage of what later became No. 4 High Street in October 1719, it became divided at this point into two moieties - a southern one and a northern one. Coe's daughter received the former by terms of her great-grandfather Henry Coe's will and Coe himself the latter one from the same source. Later, in November 1723, Coe Arnold bestowed his portion on his son John.
The northern tenement, as it had become, is described as abutting onto the High Street to the west, with part of the upper yard, all of the middle yard, and all of the lower yard from the brick wall to the Denes. The southern one also abutted onto the High Street to the west, with part of the upper yard and all of the middle yard - meaning that the latter was a shared facility by both tenants.
The Manor Roll of 1618 states that the undivided messuage was held by Robert Brissingham, with reference made to Anthony Jettor and John Jettor preceding him. Up until the 1560s, when punitive fines for adhering to their Roman Catholic faith had all but ruined them, the Jettors had been Lowestoft's wealthiest merchant family.
The house gets its name from a family of mariners and merchants based in Lowestoft for around 250 years or more. They feature in the Lay Subsidy of 1524-5 and were still living in the town during the middle of the 18th century. An earlier dwelling on the site of No. 4 came into their possession when Thomasine Arnold inherited it from her father, Henry Coe, in February 1687. Her son, Coe Arnold (brewer), acceded to it in October 1719.
Later members of the family, who had moved from Lowestoft, included Thomas Arnold, the famous headmaster of Rugby School (1828-41) and his son, Matthew - poet and critic. CREDIT:David Butcher
Arnold House known for the Arnold family. It''s an interesting building architecturally. You can see it's a very large house but it was modified in the 1870s. If you look on the ground floor, centre, you can see a rather attractive arched window. That in actual fact until the 1870s was the main entrance to the building. It was bricked up and an Annex and an entry was built on the southern end the building. You can see the lower thing so you had to go up the steps and into the side of the building. Another modification that was made to this building was immediately to the north there was an opening that took you through to the back of the building. Presumably a tradesman's entrance at the same time as the location of the front door was moved that alley way was bricked up and made into a covered alley way as you can see with the room over the top and a rather nice front door was put on so that's presumably the tradesman's entrance so there was a big change to that building in the I think the date was 1874, judging by the plans. Very ornate Gardens at the back stretching all the way down to the road at the foot of the cliff, Whapload Road, and there are some very large bay-fronted windows overlooking the garden and the sea. It's actually more attractive from the east view, the rear, than it is from the front. CREDIT: Ivan Bunn from transcript - Poetry People - High Street Histories
TM5594SW HIGH STREET 914-1/6/14 (East side) 03/10/77 No.4 Arnold House
GV II
House, now 12 flats. Mid C19. Rendered and colourwashed brick. Asbestos slate roofs. 3 storeys and basement becoming 4 full storeys to rear (east). 5-bay facade with an additional narrow entrance bay to the north and a deep late C19 wing added to the south gable, forming the principal entrance. North side bay with a C20 six-panelled door, plain fanlight and an open pediment surmounting the doorcase. One late C20 6/6 sash above. The main block has five 6/6 late C20 sashes to each floor except for the central ground-floor Venetian window. Hipped roof with with a stack on the north and south slopes and 2 stacks on the east slope. The south entrance block is of 2 storeys, hipped, late C20 6/6 sashes. A double-leaf late C20 door is set below a 6-vaned fanlight in a projecting bay under a pediment. The rear (east) elevation is dominated by a full-height late C19 canted window bay with sashes and casements. Remainder of fenestration of late C20 6/6 sashes. INTERIOR. Open-string staircase with one twisted and one fluted baluster per tread. Moulded ramped handrail. Staircase hall with modillion and rosette cornice. CREDIT: Historic England
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