More... history

A number of rules and fees payable (applying to both residents and outsiders) surviving from the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods is to be found in documentation relating to the town, with Robert Reeve’s handwritten, unpublished ‘A History of Lowestoft and Lothingland’, vol. 4 (c. 1810) – Suffolk Archives (Ipswich), 193/3/4 – being a main source of information. A practising local solicitor, he was also Steward of the Manor during the late 18th and early 19th century and therefore well placed to be familiar with various aspects of its day-to-day running.

by Susan Steward and Harry Grainger

Coastal erosion (South beach, Lowestoft) 1906-2023 approx 200m!   Measuring from the current cliff-top edge to the east of All Saints Church (as was) to the low-water mark on a OS 25-inch map, revised in 1903 and published in 1905.   The lines in red are the old roads and buildings. 

See also Dave Burt FB

.. but definitely nerdy lol

It would be great when providing an online primary source if you could link directly to the relevant phrase/sentence within a long external page. Well it seems you CAN!

Syntax

[URL]#:~:text=[RELEVANT%20PHRASE]

So instead of 

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/25852/25852-h/25852-h.htm  > then telling people to scroll down 300 paragraphs and you will find relevant section. You can do this…

A fitting tribute to Henry Browne, Clifford Brewster, and the other Lowestoft men who lost their lives serving with tank units in both world wars.

It is hard to make sense of the lost buildings at the top of High Street when all that is left is a long stretch of grass. So we started with an 1893 map that had TWO buildings that are STILL here today Arnold House (4) and The Flint House (now called The Royal Falcon (26)). 

A Millenium Heritage project from 1999 has been restored and saved by LO&N. It can be viewed here and even has its audio files updated to a current (playable) mp3 format as can be seen/heard here  

https://22villages.manystories.org/

Special thanks to PlantGrow for generously supporting this transformation 

Plans are afoot to try and sensitively recreate this 100 year old wall advert. It will reflect and celebrate the restoration and revitalisation going on currently throughout Lowestoft but particularly on the historic High Street. 

 The property owner is supportive of the project so work is now underway to raise the £8,000 the project will require. 

 Any info about 'Football Tea' gratefully received, especially if it's historical evidence.

Construction details

In May 1545, the Duke of Norfolk was carrying out a review of coastal defences between Great Yarmouth and Orford because of a perceived invasion threat from France. Having commented on the hostile landing capacity of both anchorage and beach at Lowestoft, as well as on the positioning of the three small gun batteries, he made the following remark concerning the place itself: “The town is as pretty a town as I know any few on the sea coasts, and as thrifty and honest people in the same, and right well builded.” – ref.

It is unarguable that maritime influences were the major factor in shaping Lowestoft during the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods. Yet, agriculture was also an important element in the development of the town, creating employment for a number of the inhabitants (and limited wealth for a few) and leading to a number of associated trades and occupations. It also acted as a safety-net for the community, something that was always there as part of the economic structure – something that could, in periods of adversity, provide subsistence until better times returned. 

Mid-late 6th century? - Founding of Lowestoft as Hluda’s toft, meaning “the homestead of Hluda” - with Hluda itself translatable as “the loud one”. On the evidence of the layout of ancient tracks and other landscape features, the location was possibly somewhere in the north-eastern sector of what is now Normanston Cemetery. 

In an effort to make local history images more accessible whilst also respecting the owners of the images wish not to have them copied everywhere, we came up with an interesting idea..

qr_image allows you to combine story and image to create a peice of intriguing artwork. Simply upload the image and type in the url containing the story. See a video of the result here

CREDIT: Hugh Chen

Lowestoft’s worst raid of world war II 80 years ago today on 23 January 1942, while convoys of lorries were still trucking the wreckage and rubble from the scene of devastation that became known as "The Waller's raid" in London Road North, Lowestoft, another deadly raid occurred. An alert had been sounded at 8.41 am, probably caused by German bombers seeking a convoy in the North Sea. Barely a minute had elapsed after the warning when a lone bomber, variously identified as as a Do 217 or Ju 88 emerged from the snow clouds overhead and dived towards the railway station from the NE.

WHERE: Martins Score - off High St NR32 1JA 

WHAT: Spray paint / Stencil Art 

ARTIST: Joe Thompson

The Banksy Spraycation street art gave Lowestoft a real boost at a difficult time and added to a sense of pride. 

I'm sure you are aware this was short lived, when landlords went to extraordinary lengths to literally rip out this new sense of community and auction to the highest bidder in America.    

#LowestoftDaysOfChristmas 10th day.. FROM SWAN INN and CROMWELL's HQ to well loved shops in many guises. Nos. 41-42 High Street, as seen today, are replacement buildings for "The Swan" inn, which once occupied the site and served as one of Lowestoft's premier hostelries during the 16th and 17th centuries. It was where Oliver Cromwell stayed overnight on 14 March 1643/44, when he came to Lowestoft (from Cambridge) with a force of cavalry, having heard tell of a shipment of arms either entering or leaving the town (it has never been established which).

Surviving internal timber framing

See also Overview and Commentary 

#LowestoftDaysOfChristmas 12th AND FINAL day.. SKYLINE LOOKUP QUIZ  (lower westside) PART TWO here are ANOTHER SIX features. But where are they??? Consider ANOTHER brisk walk to spot them! 

The ANSWERS link is in the comments…

and learn more about these lower west side buildings here

#LowestoftSKYLINE T-14 upcoming  online resource to celebrate architecture of historic High St. Having solved the issue of a sloping street, we now had to place each building next to its neighbours, (in Photoshop) and MATCH the scale. Initially we did this by eye to an accuracy of 98%. So was suprised after 30 houses to find that compared to the first in the row it was HALF the size it should be! The Covid pandemic should have taught me all I needed to know about ‘exponential curves’ (R value anyone?). 98% x 98% x 98% x 98%… soon becomes 50%!

#LowestoftSKYLINE T-11 ** High Res Images ** The SKYLINE project will not only show the WHOLE building but it will do so in unprecedented detail. When you click on any building in Skyline view (all in a row), it opens up a page  on that building in the architecture section. If you then click on the image on the right of the text (from Historians David Butcher, Ivan Bunn and Heritage England) it will show in full screen 4k Ultra HD resolution (4,000 pixels high) allowing you to explore every detail.

Name: Old Lowestoft Scores Trail
Difficulty: Hard - several sets of steep steps. Not suitable for mobility scooters, prams, push chairs
Length: 2.5k (1.6 miles)
Terrain: Steps, pavements, paths, crossing roads

Summary: The walk follows most of the Lowestoft Scores (and passes or crosses them all).The map is interactive. Scroll down for text, photos and video clips.

LowestoftSKYLINE T-07 SNEAK PEEK VIDEO (2 mins)

https://youtu.be/17G5c-lqmbQ

Hope to see you at our launch NEXT SAYURDAY 13th Jan 11am  Get a free ticket below.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lowestoft-skyline-tickets-781337089267?a…

 A new feature of the website is that from any High Street building page you can see it in the context of where it is in the street, relative to other buildings via a link (RHS or bottom) that takes you to the correct position in our street stroll! e.g. https://lowestoftoldandnow.org/58-high-street#history 

It even knows which of the two strolls to show it on, the east side or west side.. clever LOL

best wishes - Joe

#ourfallenlowestoft FEATURED IN BBC NATIONAL MAGAZINE! Current issue of “Who Do You Think You Are?  Special thanks to Lowestoft Town Council and everyone who has generously shared their photos and memories with us. 

https://ourfallen.lowestoftoldandnow.org 

If you want to get really local you can put in your street or postcode. [more to follow...]

What do over 2000 casualties look like (large file)? As a spreadsheet, it looks interesting. Plot the home address to a street map, and the impact is sobering in its power.

 'Lowestoft Our Fallen' will feature in the December issue of the Who Do You Think You Are? magazine, the official companion to the successful BBC TV series.

Innovative features of the Our Fallen project include finding 100 casualties who have never before appeared on any memorial and ability to search by postcode (a feature that is already being used by some schools).

What do over 2000 casualties look like (large file)? As a spreadsheet, it looks interesting. Plot the home address to a street map, and the impact is sobering in its power.

The software we use could not cope with it on a single map without crashing, so we had to  slice it into THREE sections.

A new feature of the site allows you to 'virtually stroll' BOTH sides of the historic High Street at the SAME time! Using the links, you can explore the current shops and buildings OR see them as they were many years ago.

The Lowestoft Old and Now High Street Stroll

Creating the Stroll is technically quite difficult, and we use several different pieces of software and some specific coding to make it work. 

The basic idea is to reproduce a walk along Lowestoft's Historic High Street. Simples, eh.. We wanted to show it as it is, and simultaneously include historical information about the buildings. ( WEST side, EAST side, more )

As part of our tribute to those Lowestoft people who died because of two World Wars. We came across 13 Clemence Street - perhaps the most unfortunate wartime address in Lowestoft?

So-called “Ship Money” had its roots in Late Medieval times, when coastal towns and counties in England were periodically called upon to supply vessels to the Crown for use in naval warfare during times of conflict – mainly with the French. After having suspended Parliament in 1629, following a series of disputes, and not reconvening it again until 1640, Charles I had to find ways of creating revenue other than the rents yielded by the Royal Estate.

“I know not whether laws be right,    
Or whether laws be wrong.    
All that we know who lie in gaol  
Is that the wall is strong;  
And that each day is like a year,  
A year whose days are long.”  
(Oscar Wilde: “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”)

It is stated in the Book of Fiefs/Fees (al. Liber Feodorum) – an Exchequer listing of feudal estates compiled at the beginning of the 14th century – that Lowestoft was a manor in its own right by the year 1212. This possibly being when its status was raised from that of mere outlier to the Lothingland Half-hundred manor (as recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086), whose hub was Gorleston.

Building an archive not just for today, but for the historian who comes after us

One of the principles behind Our Fallen is simple: if we state something as fact, wherever possible we should also show where that information came from.

A source matters.

If we say that somebody lived at a particular address, served in a particular unit, was injured in an air raid or died in particular circumstances, another researcher should not simply have to take our word for it. They should be able to follow the evidence.

Former Names for Lowestoft Streets, Roads and Scores

All of the older names listed below in italic font derive from documentation of one kind or another relating to the town – particularly those manorial records recording the transfer of property 1582-5 & 1616-1756, to the Revd. John Tanner’s transcriptions of these done up until 1720-25, and to the Manor Roll of 1618. All found as Suffolk Archives (Ipswich), 194/A10/4, 194/A10/ 5-19, 454/2 and 194/A10/73.

Welcome to the Scores Trail. This booklet has been designed to help you understand a little more of Lowestoft history and of the significance of these ancient pathways leading down to the sea. You can find your way around the trial by reading the map in the attached Ledford leaflet or by following the red herring way markers. Lowestoft was originally built on top of the cliffs overlooking the North Sea. The schools that run down these clips were ways to access from the high ground to the beach area.

17th & 18th Century Naval Commanders

It is a claim – not made lightly by this writer – that no town of its size, in the whole of England, produced as many eminent top-rank Naval commanders as Lowestoft did between 1660 and c. 1720. During that time, no less than four admirals and five captains came from five local families mainly involved in fishing and maritime trade: the Allins, the Arnolds, the Ashbys, the Leakes and the Mighells.

Recorded on Suffolk Heritage Explorer (Internet) as Monument record LWT 368.

Centring on OS 1:25000 Series Map reference TM59 539939.   

In some ways, buildings are every bit as much historical documents as written sources and can inform the observer of many aspects of human activity in days gone by. Where they have survived in original form, they have much to say of former economic and social conditions – be they domestic, ecclesiastical or industrial in nature. And, if altered and converted at different times, there is just as much to be learned from them. Let us take three of Lowestoft’s buildings, covering these three categories, and consider each one of them in turn within its context.

A small house (early 18th century) 

John Cousens (carter) lived with his wife Mary in a three-roomed house somewhere in the side-street area to the west side of the High Street. Their son, Benjamin (aged twenty-four years) had left home, but their daughter, Mary (aged twenty years) was possibly still living there. When the inventory of Cousens’s goods was made on 6 June 1711, his total estate was valued at £73 8s 9d. Out of this sum, £50 consisted of good debts and a further £16 17s 0d. of his working equipment and horses.

One of the most interesting features of local landscapes during the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods in any community (and Lowestoft was no exception) was the presence of areas not used for agriculture – usually because the soil was unsuitable for crops or too difficult to work, for one reason or another – and being generally referred as either common or waste. The former term referred to the land being available to people for various kinds of use and the latter derived from the Latin word vastus, meaning “empty” or “open”.

A good deal has been written about the scores over the years - not all of it accurate. What follows here is an account of these footways, working from north to south, and looking at them in both a topographical and historical context. The main sources used for the study are a Manor Roll of 1618 (which gives a complete account of landholding in the parish, together with location and tenancy stated) and a series of Manor Court minute books dating from 1582-85 and 1616-1756.

Faith and Duty opposing Earthly Ambition - A Local Story

Introduction

The top end of Rant Score – with the road still bearing the name of a family which held all the land between what is now 80 High Street and the score itself, from the end of the 16th century until the middle of the 17th. Looking at both road signs, at the top - with the smaller blue one advising motorists to “Beware oncoming Cyclists” - it is hard to imagine how cars going down the slope would ever be met by cyclists “tanking up” that gradient at any real turn of speed!

[First published as the last chapter in the writer’s book The Last Haul (2020).]

Were you ever down the Congo river?  
Blow, boys, blow. 
Where the fever makes the white man shiver. 
Blow, my bully-boys, blow.

(Traditional American capstan song: Blow, Boys, Blow)

The collection of superstitions which follows is not seen, in any way, as definitive. It simply records a number of the more commonly held beliefs once current in East Anglian fishing communities. Not all of them were peculiar to fishermen only; some had (and may still have) currency among seafarers in general, while others can be traced well inland. But no matter how extensive their area of circulation, all of them are interesting for what they tell us of the human mind and the way it works when faced with natural powers beyond either its understanding or its control.

Introduction

The Church of England, as it stands today, is an organisation which originated in the need for a Tudor monarch (Henry VIII) to produce a male heir and secure his family’s tenure of the Crown and which then became part of a North European, Protestant, theological revolution. It is currently undergoing one of its periodic phases of change.

Money Received by Captain Andrew Leake towards the Rebuilding of the Chapel (1698)

An ink-and-wash study of the Town Chamber, with Chapel to the rear, executed by Richard Powles in 1784. To be found in the Isaac Gillingwater collection of local illustrations c. 1807 - Suffolk Archives, Ipswich, 193/2/1.