70 High Street

The Manor Roll of 1618 shows that Nos. 70-79 High Street consisted of one property, of similar large proportions to that to the north of it (now occupied by Nos. 64-69 High Street). Both messuages were separated by Rant Score and the Manor Roll of 1618 shows that the property to the south was held by Christopher Rant (gentleman), who had taken up tenancy in 1604 from another family member named Humphrey. He remained in occupation until his death in September 1641 and was succeeded by his son James, who then sold part of the holding to Thomas Porter (merchant and one of the town's Nonconformist community) the following year and then disposed of the rest of it to the same person in 1650.

The Rant family were in occupation of the messuage long enough to give their name to the score, but no information is available as to how many houses were located on it. Nos. 75, 76 & 76A have interior timber-framing and the general shape of the building (including the roof-line) would seem to suggest late 16th-early/mid 17th century origins rather than 18th century ones. The substantial shared chimney-stack with Nos. 78-79 may be another indicator. 

After Thomas Porter had acquired the whole of the messuage, he sold the part of it on which Nos. 75, 76 & 76A now stand to John Arnold (merchant) and his wife Barbara in 1667. Another merchant named John Fowler then acquired it in 1683, following the bankruptcy of John Arnold - but he allowed the Arnolds to remain in residence. His daughter Ellen Landifield (mariner's widow) became occupant of the property in 1718, following the death of Margaret Arnold and by the terms of her father's will, and her tenancy is recorded in a listing of 1720 drawn up by the Revd. John Tanner, Vicar of Lowestoft and one of the manor's chief tenants.

Further subdivision of the Rant family's former large messuage followed during 1686 and 1714, when John Porter and his widow released the rest of it to Benjamin Ibrook (merchant), an incomer from Southwold.

Nos. 78-79 High Street appears to be a companion building to Nos. 75, 76 & 76A, both in terms of general appearance, size and age - and also in sharing an integral chimney-stack with the latter. Again, late 16th-early/mid 17th origins would seem to in evidence, with boxed-in ceiling beams present in the ground-floor spaces. Until the mid-late 1960s, there was a cross-wing present to the east of the main range, with a steep roof-pitch - and there was a "low room" present as well. This term is encountered occasionally in the manor court records, and in probate material also, and seems to indicate an annex to the main house (and connected with it) which was partly below ground level.

In 1720, the building was in the tenancy of Benjamin Ibrook (merchant), who had begun his acquisition of former Rant-Porter family property by purchasing the sites of what are now Nos. 72-73 and No. 74 from John and Mary Porter in 1686. The plot accommodating Nos. 70-71 was acquired by William Mewse (butcher) and his wife Mary at the same time.

Ibrook's later purchase of Nos. 78-79 (in 1714) - from John Porter's widow, Mary Baker, and her husband Thomas - also included a large area of land with fish-houses located on it, which ran behind the plots of Nos. 70-76 and abutted onto Rant Score. This gave him about 90% of the former Rant-Porter family holding. What are now the sites of Nos. 74 and Nos. 75, 76 & 76A High Street (the former of which he owned) had right of use of a small-drying ground to the rear of their plots (for spreading out clothes and bedding after they had been washed), with access also to and from Rant Score - a piece of land which remains in existence and is still identifiable.

The size and complexity of the land on which Nos. 70-79 High Street stand (eight separate retail properties in all, currently) make it difficult to identify all of the changes which have taken place on it, over the years. Continuous manorial records of transfer exist from the early 17th century onwards, underpinned by a Roll of 1618 and a listing of property created 1720-25 by the Revd. John Tanner, Vicar of Lowestoft 1708-59. A summary of both sources of information now follows.

Nos. 70-71 (1720) - Mary Mewse (butcher's widow) - several [separate] tenements with yard, abutting onto the High Street to the west and land belonging to Nos. 78-79 to the east. Earlier manorial transfer records refer to a messuage with a shop (or warehouse), brewhouse and one-roomed dwelling with a "low room".

Nos. 72-73 (1720) - Benjamin Ibrook (merchant) - one messuage and yard, abutting onto the High Street to the west and land belonging to Nos. 78-79 to the east. Earlier manorial transfer records refer to a tenement with shop and one-roomed house with garrets. The property had right of access to the well belonging to Nos. 70-71.

No. 74 (1720) - Benjamin Ibrook (merchant) - one tenement, abutting on the High Street to the west and land belonging to Nos. 78-79 to the east.

Nos. 75, 76 & 76A - Ellen Landifield (mariner's widow) - one tenement, abutting on to the High Street to the west and land belonging to Nos. 78-79 to the east. Earlier manorial transfer records state that this messuage was divided into two parts, each with a house and with shared use of a well and access to a drying-ground.

Nos. 78-79 - Benjamin Ibrook (merchant) - tenements with a garden, and with a large yard and fish-houses, abutting onto the High Street to the west and Whaplond Way (Whapload Road) to the east.

The last summary of the land occupied by the present-day Nos. 70-79 High Street takes the form of information contained in the Manor Roll of 1618, when Christopher Rant (gentleman) was tenant, following on from a family member called Humphrey in the year 1604. Reference is also made to Roger Rant (baker) in the annual Leet Court proceedings of 7 March 1584.

The Manor Roll shows that the Rant family (presumably) had acquired five individual properties and held them as a composite unit, since it gives an overall figure for the annual ground-rent due, as well showing the individual payments. Working from north to south, the individual properties were as follows.

1. A house once held by John Shotsham (mariner-merchant).
2. A house once held by someone called Foster.
3. A house once held by someone called Sponer.
4. A house once held by someone called Beffeild.
5. A house divided into two - one part having once being held by someone called Henry, followed by Forman and then by Greene; the other part, held by Henry, followed by Greene.

Men called Edward Forman and Wyllyam Greene were late 16th century merchants, while Garrad Foster was a cooper. Thomas Beffild is mentioned in the Lay Subsidy of 1568 as holding land worth £2 per annum in rent. These are probably the people referred to.

The five components of this area of the High Street, as listed by John Tanner (what are now Nos. 70-71, 72-73, 74, 75-76A and 78-79), may well be the survivors and/or successors of the earlier dwellings - though with the last one of them having most of the land belonging to the others, following its purchase by Benjamin Ibrook in 1714. Earlier plot subdivisions leading to Nos. 78-79 becoming by far the largest unit are not able to be traced in fine detail, but may relate to the sale of the individual dwellings themselves - each sold without most of its land running down to Whapload Road. CREDIT:David Butcher