1750s

May 1535 - Muster Roll of Lothingland Half-hundred, dated 23rd of the month, listed and named 292 able-bodied men for its defence. Lowestoft provided 130 of these (46%), with three widows included for their late husbands’ weapons. Armaments consisted mainly of bills (a hatchet-like metal attachment on the end of a pole) and bows and arrows, with a minority of the men also possessing helmets and body armour. No firearms are recorded.
Added: 14 April, 2024
Introduction
An account of this trip, taken by two young men, from Saffron Walden to Lowestoft and back, took place between Saturday 26 August and Sunday 3 September 1797. It is written on two pieces of rag-paper 7½ inches by 63/8 in size (190mm X 162), folded to form eight pages, and with a half-piece serving as the first two – the outer one of which is the title-page itself. Originally hand-stitched down the middle of the fold (and with this either failing or being removed, at some point), the document was later secured by a single staple in the middle.
Added: 30 March, 2024
Lowestoft Porcelain Factory, between 1757 and 1802, was in production for longer than any English soft-paste porcelain manufacturer other than Royal Worcester and Royal Crown Derby, producing domestic ware such as pots, teapots and jugs. Site roughly where Crown Brushes is now in Crown Street.
Added: 23 September, 20231796 High Light fitted with "eleven Argand burners set in the focus of silvered reflectors" (p102 Lights of East Anglia by Neville Long, 1983)
Added: 23 September, 20231778 A 'spangle light' was tested for one night on Lowestoft Low Light by several Trinity Elders sailing out to sea. The design was never permanently used. A many-signed letter said the new light was 'constant, certain and regular', and seen from a greater distance than the coalfired light. In February 1779 a 'small reflector was ordered to be fixed to a triangle or beacon'. In September 1779 '...a Mr Smith was paid £6.5.o for a plated reflector, lamp and fountain'.
Added: 23 September, 2023
Huge storm. On the coast between Yarmouth and Southwold thirty ships and 200 lives were lost. Eighteen vessels washed up on Lowestoft beaches.
Added: 23 September, 2023
This book provides the reader with a concise history of the East Anglian town of Lowestoft. It includes detailed accounts of the growth and development of its fishing industry and of the events of the church.
Added: 23 September, 2023