Lowestoft Swing Bridge

The railway swing bridge crossing Lake Lothing, at the western end of this stretch of water, carrying a small section of the track running between Lowestoft and Ipswich and allowing shipping to pass through if and when needed. The whole of the line itself was another of Samuel Morton Peto’s gifts to the town (following on from the creation of his earlier link to Norwich in 1847) and opened in 1859. Just as the track to Norwich enabled Lowestoft to be connected with the Midlands and the North of England, the one to Ipswich enabled London and the South of the country to be reached.
 

The first two end-of-line stations in the Capital were Bishopsgate and Fenchurch Street, but these were superseded by Liverpool Street in 1874. Coincidentally, although Peto had largely retired from commercial and public life by this time (because of financial difficulties) his close associates of the 1840s, 50s and 60s, Lucas Brothers, were still active in the building trade and producing bricks on a large scale at the Somerleyton works - which they had originally leased from Peto in about 1850, while he was living at Somerleyton Hall and holding the manorial title there. A report of the official opening of Liverpool Street Station in the Illustrated London News of 24 July 1875 informed its readership that “the material used on the general face of the several elevations is white Suffolk brick” - and the Somerleyton brickyard, of course, was noted for its “whites”, which were so widely used in Lowestoft: Royal Hotel, Railway Station, Esplanade Villas, Marine Parade and Wellington Terrace, as well as other smaller projects.

Turning now, specifically, to the swing bridge seen here, Christopher Brooks - Chairman of the Jack Rose Old Lowestoft Society - noted (in a comment made regarding the 29 September “post”) that the original hand-operated single-track bridge - engineered by George Bidder - was replaced by a double-track electrically driven one in 1904. On reading that, the writer could not help but feel that it was a pity that the whole line from Lowestoft to Ipswich hadn’t been laid down as double-track right from the word go! But it wasn’t - and it isn’t likely to happen, now. On the credit side, this particular secondary railway line (as it is classed) was under consideration for closure by the “Beeching axe” during the main period of decommission (1963-70), but gained a reprieve in 1966. And, for that, we must all be grateful! Returning briefly to the particular stretch of water seen here, it always used to be referred to as “the Salt-side” (contrasting with the fresh water of the broad on the other side of Mutford Lock) - but the term is no longer heard as much, these days. Such is the effect of the onward march of time in consigning once common expressions to a state of neglect and redundancy.