148 High Street
History
No148 has spent most of its life as a Solicitors office, in 1865 it was the home of William Rix Seago, Solicitor, Town clerk and Notary Public and in 1900 it was the home of Lovewell Blake and Seago and Sons. Recorded in the Kelly's Directory of 1932 the building became Lowestoft's School of Music under the tutorage of Miss Corbyn and Miss Tooley (I.R.A.M). The building also has a plaque on the outside which reads: -Site of 16th to 18th century "the bell inn" Crown Street was once known as Bell Lane. The 2nd picture, taken in the 1880's, shows the view of the terrace and you can see the cart is outside No148. Today the house is just a private house.
CREDIT: Lowestoft High Street, The Butcher, The Baker and The Candlestick Maker by Crispin Hook 2016 Get the book
Architecture
Together with No. 149 High Street), this building once formed part of the former 17th-18th century "Bell Inn" - though it is not known when subdivision into two parts took place. In 1721, the property was held by John Frary, member of a Lowestoft family mainly engaged in blacksmithing. Prior to that, it had been in the hands of William Arnold, a man whose family had been resident in Lowestoft since at least the early 16th century and were mainly connected with maritime activity and brewing. The description of the property is phrased as "one messuage called The Bell".
The Manor Roll of 1618 names Thomas Mewse as tenant, with an earlier manorial record revealing that he and his wife Philippa had acquired it from Thomas Goddard (merchant). It remained in the hands of the Mewses until October 1627, when it was transferred to Simon Hammond - and he held it until August 1652 when it passed to William Arnold (brewer). It is possible that this is when the building became an inn.
At one time, what is now known as Crown Street East (Crown Street only, before the road was cut into two by the construction of Jubilee Way, during the late 1970s) was called Bell Lane. This lasted towards the end the 18th century, when the inn probably went out of use and the name changed to Crown Lane (followed by Crown Street), after the larger inn on the other side of the road's junction with the High Street.
The building forming Nos. 149 & 149A High Street contains two particularly interesting, original, internal features, probably dating from the late 16th-early 17th century.
The first is a single-framed roof, with oak common rafters fixed to a central ridge-piece.
The second is to be found at the other extremity - below ground level. The northern bay, on the corner of the High Street with Crown Street East, has what is possibly a late medieval cellar (surviving from an earlier building) with a circular well inside, built of excellent "basket-weave" brickwork.
This is not primarily for use as a source of water for domestic use (though it may have served that purpose), so much as a drainage sump for the cellar itself, to cope with water penetrating the floor from periodic rises in the local water-table - a feature not unknown in parts of the High Street. And when this writer last went down it, some years ago, there was a 19th century iron hand-pump in place to move water out of the well into the High Street's drainage system. This was no longer in use, having been replaced by a small electric pump.. CREDIT:David Butcher
Surviving internal timber framing
Once formed the southern part of The Bell inn and may have internal timber framing in places running through from No. 149. This hostelry was once important enough to have what later became Crown Street named after it - Bell Lane being in use for a good deal of the 17th and 18th centuries before finally giving way to the rival establishment. CREDIT:David Butcher
TM5593NW HIGH STREET 914-1/8/44 (West side) 03/10/77 No.148 Berfield House (Formerly Listed as: HIGH STREET (West side) Nos.148 AND 149 Berfield House (148))
GV II
House. Early C19. Rendered and colourwashed brick. Roof of black-glazed pantiles. 2 storeys and dormer attic. 6-panel door set to right, in panelled reveals and under a geometric-glazed overlight. Small scrolled brackets support hood. One horned C20 2/2 sash left and 2 similar to first floor, that over door without glazing bars. All have C20 external shutters. Gabled roof with one flat-topped dormer fitted with a 3/3 sash. Internal gable-end stacks, that to south shared with No.147. Two-storey rear block, gabled. CREDIT: Historic England
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