The inhabitants of Lowestoft, as soon as they were informed of Oliver’s approach were exceedingly alarmed, and exerted their utmost efforts to put the town in a state of defence, and to dispute his entrance; and in order to this purpose, two pieces of cannon were placed at the south end of the town, and two at the head of Rant’s score, but one of the principal inhabitants (Thomas Mighells, merchant, who died in 1695) foreseeing the improbability of a design of this nature being attended with success, and also representing the extreme rashness of attempting it with so inferior a force, as well as the great damage which the town would probably sustain from an unsuccessful opposition, so far prevailed with the inhabitants and members of the association that they declined the resolution of opposing Oliver’s entrance into the town. The sum of twenty pounds was paid by the City of Norwich to Sergeant-Major Sherwood’s volunteers for their service at Lowestoft, where a design was discovered of a counter-association on the King’s behalf, made by Sir John Pettus, Sir Edward Barker, and other loyal gentlemen; and was carried so far, that Colonel Cromwell was in danger of his person, and was very near being taken, had not these volunteers rescued him, by sending for one hundred soldiers from Norwich and also one hundred more afterwards.
In consequence of pacific measures being adopted, Cromwell entered the town without any opposition, and fixed his head quarters at the Swan Inn. While he was here he sent for Sir John Pettus, who accordingly waited on him. After that Oliver had interrogated him very closely respecting the designs of the counter-association, requested that he would inform him to which party it was that he intended to engage himself during these disputes, Sir John, without any duplicity or reservation, declared that he should act for the King. Oliver, so far from shewing the least resentment against Sir John for his ingenuousdeclaration, highly applauded his frankness and sincerity, and dismissed him with assuring him, that he sincerely wished every man in the kingdom would be as open and sincere in declaring his real sentiments and intentions.
Cromwell by the surrender of the town became possessed of a considerable quantity of ammunition, saddles, pistols, and several pieces of cannon; as many as were sufficient for arming and supplying with necessaries a considerable body of forces.
This unfortunate event exceedingly discouraged the King’s friends of Norfolk and Suffolk; and it appeared afterwards, that, however artfully Cromwell might conceal his resentment on this occasion, yet, he was far from being sincere, or that those resentments were wholly suppressed by the surrender of the town. For he not only declared that had the inhabitants and those concerned in the counter association attempted to fire upon him when he entered the town, he would have put them all to the sword, but also suffered his soldiers, in a great measure, to plunder the town and live at free quarters. The tradesmen in Lowestoft suffered the greatest injuries by Oliver’s soldiers plundering them of their stocks-in-trade, as far as they were useful to the army, without making them any recompense. This misfortune, which happened in the year 1643, together with the terrible fire in 1644, which consumed £10,000 worth of property; the Dutch wars, which followed soon after, and the tedious and expensive law-suit with Yarmouth concerning the herring fishery, almost ruined the town.
In the year 1663 a petition was presented by the town of Lowestoft to the Duke of Albemarle, requesting that the four pieces of cannon then in the town might remain there, in order to guard the coast against any attacks of the enemy.
In consequence of this petition, the four pieces of cannon were permitted by Government to remain at Lowestoft, for the defence of the town; accordingly the inhabitants at their own expense, mounted the same on a platform, and also purchased ammunition necessary for their own security. But this platform being afterwards destroyed by the sea, the town was obliged to present a petition to the Earl of Suffolk, Lord Lieutenant of the County, requesting assistance, in order to enable them to erect another platform which petition was granted.
In 1744 a battery of six pieces of cannon, eighteen pounders, was erected at the south end of the town, for protecting ships in the south roads, and guarding the passage of the Stanford. The cannon were given by Government, but the ammunition was furnished by the town.
On the 14th October, 1745, in consequence of the rebellion in Scotland, a subscription was opened in Lowestoft for the defence of his Majesty’s person, the support of the Government and the peace and security of the county; when the sum of £200 was subscribed, advice was received of the victory obtained over the rebels, 16th April, 1746, by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, only £20 of the subscription was paid.
In 1756 a battery of two pieces of canon, eighteen pounders, was erected upon the beach at the north end of the town, near the ness. These pieces were taken from the battery at the south end of the town. They were never of any great service to the town, for vessels belonging to the enemy seldom approach so near to the coast as to come within reach of the guns. On the 7th of April, 1778, Lord Amherst, accompanied by his brother, came to Lowestoft and examined the forts in consequence of the survey they were making by order of the Government, of the state of all the fortifications on the coast.
In 1782, when England was involved in a war with France, Spain, Holland, and America at the same time, was under apprehension that the British Navy was unable to maintain its superiority as mistress of the sea, when threatened by such numerous and powerful enemies, the county of Suffolk held a general meeting at Stowmarket, where it was agreed to open a subscription throughout the county, in order to raise a sum sufficient for building a man-of-war of the line, of seventy-four guns, to be presented to the Government. The town of Lowestoft subscribed £38 6s. 6d. The sum proposed to be raised was £30,000. The utmost efforts were exerted to obtain the money, and weekly accounts were published in the papers of the success that attended it in theseveral parts of the county; but it appearing, at the close of the year, that the whole subscription amounted to only about £20,000, it was apprehended that the zeal of the county was nearly exhausted, and that the subscription had arrived at almost its utmost limits. In the beginning of the year 1783, the war being terminated in a general peace, a further subscription became unnecessary, and consequently the subscribers were not called on for their subscriptions.
In the beginning of the year 1781, when the war broke out between England and Holland, there were quartered at Lowestoft two companies of the East Suffolk Militia commanded by Col. Goat, which in the May following were succeeded by a party of the 19th Regiment of light horse. Government seemed to have been apprehensive of this war, and also sensible of the necessity of having recourse to such methods as were proper for securing the eastern part of the kingdom against any attacks of the enemy.
On the 31st of July Lord Amherst, Commander-in-chief of his Majesty’s forces in the Kingdom, in his survey of the fortifications on this coast, after being met at Kessingland by a party of light dragoons from Lowestoft, was escorted to Lowestoft, where he surveyed the forts, which were found to be in a very ruinous condition. On the 13th of August the town was alarmed with the appearance of a fleet of large men of war in the offing, steering a direct course for Lowestoft, supposing them to be Dutch ships, but on a nearer approach they were found to be Admiral Parker’s fleet returning from a sharp engagement with a Dutch squadron, commanded by Admiral Zoutman on the Dogger Bank, the 5th August. On the 4th September there arrived in Lowestoft a waggon loaded with powder, shot, &c., guarded by a party of the Huntingdonshire and East Essex Militia, from the camp at Hopton, in order to prove, before General Tryon, four pieces of cannon then lying at the old fort, at the south end of the town, in order to discover whether they were serviceable or not; when, after charging each of them with 16lbs of powder and an 18lb shot, one of them burst, and flying in various directions, part of it struck a boy on the arm, who happily received no material injury. One part of the cannon, weighing between two and three hundred weight, was thrown into a field at a distance of 175 yards. On the 11th October following, Colonel Deibeig proved also the guns lying at the old fort, near the ness, which had laid there since the reign of Queen Anne, when three of them burst. This month the party of the 19th regiment of light horse quartered at this place, left the town, and were succeeded by two companies of the East Suffolk Militia, commanded by Captain Delane, who continued here till the May following.
Government being acquainted with the ruinous condition of the forts at Lowestoft, and the defenceless state of this part of the coast, immediately formed a resolution to erect several new fortifications at this town, and the principal one to be situated at the north end of the town, on the same spot whereon the old fort formerly stood; and also to have it much larger. But the premises on which the fort was designed to be erected being town land, Government was under the necessity of hiring it by a lease for a term of years, and also to purchase of different proprietors about three-quarters of an acre of land to add to it, the former spot not being large enough. Half an acre of this land was purchased of Mr. Robert Reeve, and the other quarter of an acre of Mr. Henry Lucas.
On January 7, 1782, the new fort, at the south end of the town was begun under the direction of Captain Fisher, one of His Majesty’s engineers. About 300 men (including fifty of the East Suffolk militia), were employed in this work. This fort consisted of a ditch about eighteen feet deep, fifteen feet wide, mounted with chevaux de frize. Over this ditch was a drawbridge between four and five feet wide. The inside of the south-west angle measured seventy feet; the width of the other angles were 95, 140, 100, and 249 feet. The terrace before the embrazures was four feet wide. The embrazures were eighteen feet wide and eight high. Next the sea was the glacis, extending about sixty-five yards. There was also a breastwork to defend the bridge, about eighteen feet thick and eight feet high. At the north-west angle of the fort was the magazine, it was thirty feet long and twelve broad; it was sunk beneath the surface of the earth, and was bomb proof, and contained 300 barrels of powder. In the centre of the fort stood the guard house; thiswas a handsome sashed building, about seventy feet long and twenty-six wide, having a spacious parade in front. At the south-west angle stood the flag staff, fifty-five feet high on which was hoisted an English jack. The battery mounted thirteen pieces of cannon, ten thirty-pounders, and three eighteen-pounders. The whole battery was finished on the 21st December, 1782. The south battery was distant from the north, three quarters of a mile, and from the east battery upon the beach, seven furlongs; and the distance of the north battery, near the distance of the north battery, on the beach three furlongs.
On the 4th April in the same year (1782) the erection of the fort at the north end of the town was commenced about one hundred yards to the north of the light-house. This battery consisted of a breast-work, having four angles, each of them about thirty feet wide. There was a guard house adjoining, about twenty feet long, and sixteen feet broad. Also a magazine, about six feet-square, which was paled round. This battery mounted four eighteen-pounders, and was intended to act with another battery, purposed shortly to be erected upon the Beach near the Ness.
A descent on this coast was so much apprehended about this time that a party of soldiers patrolled through Lowestoft every four hours during the night, in order, if necessary, to give an alarm.
And on the 23rd April following they began to erect the eastern battery upon the hill. It was surrounded by a ditch about fifteen feet wide and twelve deep, over which was a draw-bridge about four feet wide. The south-west angle measured eighty-three feet; the other angles ninety-six, eighty-three, fifty-eight, and twenty-nine feet. There was also a block-house erected, about fifteen feet square, the upper part of which was a guard house. The terrace round the inside of the ditch was four feet broad. The embrazures were eighteen feet wide and four feet high. The magazine was six feet square, and the glacis (which was next the sea) was fifty-three feet broad. This battery mounted six pieces of cannon, four thirty-two pounders, and two nine pounders; and was finished, as was also the north battery, on the 21st December, 1782, just time enough to fire (as it happened) for the general peace concluded the 20th January, 1783. On the 12th August, 1782, in honour of the Prince of Wales’s birthday, nine guns were fired from the south battery, four from the north, and four from the east battery; which was the first time of the cannon being exercised. The camp on East Heath also fired three volleys on the occasion.
The real cause, most probably, that hastened the finishing of these forts, was the information which Government had received of a descent intended to have been made on this coast.
In consequence of this intelligence, on the 23rd March, 1782, Captain Fisher, of the engineers, came to Lowestoft, and afterwards went to East Heath, near Mutford Bridge, and marked out the ground for an encampment.
On the 27th following, the Captain requested a meeting of the inhabitants of the town to know whether a sufficient number of men could be raised in order to work the guns at the batteries, provided that a party of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, then quartered in the town, should undertake to teach them their exercise. On the Captain offering this proposal, a subscription of upwards of £100 was immediately entered into by the principal inhabitants, with a design of carrying the proposal into execution, but not being sufficiently encouraged it came to nothing.
On the 29th March, Colonel Deibieg arrived at Lowestoft, and informed the inhabitants that Government had received undoubted information of an intended invasion shortly to be made at three different parts of the kingdom at the same time, namely at Torbay, Newcastle, and on the coast near Yarmouth; and therefore requested to be informed whether the town was able to furnish two hundred men to work the guns at the batteries. On this application a meeting was called of the inhabitants to take the same into consideration, when the answer was, that by reason of the great number of sailors belonging to the town being at that time employed in the navy, it was impossible to obtain the number of men required.
On June 23rd, Lord Townshend, Commander-in-chief of the camp at Warley common, and the coasts of Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, came toLowestoft, and surveyed the works carrying on there, and also the ground intended for the encampment on East Heath. On the 24th his Lordship, accompanied by his aide-de-camps, went to Oulton, and surveyed the dyke there, in order to discover whether that part of the river was fordable by the enemy in case of descent.
July 22nd, the 20 regiment of Light Dragoons, commanded by General Philipson, encamped on East Heath, at the bottom of Fidlers’ hill, near Kirkley bridge. And on September 10th, they were reviewed on the Heath by Lord Townshend, the Earl of Orford, General Tryon, and General Philipson.
September 11, eight pieces of cannon passed through Lowestoft for Benacre, to be placed there, along the coast to Harwich as signal guns.
September 25, General Conway, Commander-in-chief of his Majesty’s forces, arrived at Lowestoft; and being attended by Lord Townshend, General Tryon, General Morrison, and their Aide-de-Camps, surveyed the batteries in Lowestoft, and afterwards reviewed the regiment of Dragoons from East Heath; the regiment of foot and Cambridgeshire militia from Hopton; and the West Norfork militia from Castor, on Fritton Heath.
On the 28th September Captain Heigington’s company of the 10th Regiment of Foot came from Hopton Common, and encamped near the Battery at the north end of the town, to be in readiness, in case of necessity, to assist the artillery at the fort, commanded by Captain Marlow.
On the 14th October his Grace the Duke of Richmond, master of the ordnance, arrived at Lowestoft, accompanied by his son Lord George Lenox and surveyed the works.
In February, 1782, Lord North, Prime Minister, and all the other officers of State belonging to his administration, were under the necessity of resigning their respective employments on account of the American war. The many miseries which the nation was involved in, in consequence of this unhappy war, and the opposition which ministers met with in the House of Commons, as being the authors of these calamities, occasioned an entire new ministry to be formed. The Marquis of Rockingham was made Prime Minister; who, dying soon after was succeeded by the Earl of Shelburne; Admiral Kepple was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, in the room of Earl of Sandwich; General Conway was made Commander-in-chief of His Majesty’s forces in the room of Lord Amherst; and the Duke of Richmond master of the Ordnance in the room of Lord Townsend. These circumstances are necessary to be remembered, as they account for the different noblemen and officers visiting the town in so short a space of time, in order to survey the works and review the troops.
Among the various methods made use of in order to alarm the coast on the approach of an enemy were the following: July 18, 1782, about ten at night General Tryon caused skyrockets to be let off at the several places of Caister, Gorleston Heights, Lowestoft East Battery, Pakefield, and Covehithe, intending thereby to communicate an alarm from Caister and Covehithe, the two most distant places, in the same manner as was practised by lighting up beacons. This method was found to answer exceedingly well, as intelligence could by these means be communicated from Caister to Covehithe in two minutes. September 5, another experiment was made use of by the General to convey an alarm in case the enemy should approach in the night near Lowestoft; which was to set fire to a stack of about fifty faggots of furze, upon a hill, in the bounds of Gunton, and to let off four large skyrockets, so as to be seen at Caister, Hopton camp, Somerly Hall, (the head quarters) and East Ness. September 16, another experiment made, was by firing a signal gun from the East Battery at Lowestoft; to set fire to a stack of furze in the Church lane, and let off some skyrockets. The same methods were made use of at Bawdsey Cliff, and at the several different stations between here and Caister (one of which was the foregoing at Lowestoft) when it was found that an alarm was conveyed in this manner from Bawdsey to Caister, fifty miles, in eleven minutes. September 17, an experiment by daylight was made in making a great smoke. This signal was answered from the camp at Hopton. Another signal was given from the East battery to East Ness, by flash of gun, September 25, an experiment was made to convey an alarm to Norwich fromthe coast, the camp on East Heath, and from the camp at Herringfleet, by firing skyrockets and cannon, which were answered by other rockets, and platoons of musketry upon Mousehold Heath, Norwich. After which, beacons of piles of wood, were set fire to on Herringfleet and Mousehold Heath. October 9th a similar experiment was made at seven o’clock in the evening. A chain of signals, by skyrockets and fire beacons, were displayed successively from Coxford lodge, near Houghton, Swanton Novers, near Melton Constable; the heights above Attlebridge; and Mousehold Heath, Norwich; to Herringfleet (near the head-quarters at Somerly). These several modes of conveying alarms, in case of an actual invasion, were the most practicable and speedy that could then be made use of in this part of the country.
November 11th, 1784, the camp upon Hopton common broke up, and the Cambridgeshire militia having joined the Light Infantry that had been encamped upon the common at Southwold, went into the winter quarters in Cambridgeshire. At the same time the camp also at Caister broke up, and went into winter quarters at Lynn. And on the 12th the camp upon East Heath broke up, when the troops, together with the 10th Regiment of Foot from Hopton, went into winter quarters at Yarmouth, Gorleston, and Lowestoft. The enemy had not once attempted to carry their intended descent into execution. As the war was terminated on the 20th January following, by a general peace, the fortifications which had been so lately erected in Lowestoft, at a great expense, were allowed to fall into decay.
On the 23rd July, 1785, at four o’clock in the afternoon, Major Money, of Crown Point, near Norwich, ascended from the public gardens in that city, in a car suspended from an air balloon. When arrived at a considerable height, he was not only carried above the clouds, but by a change in the current of air, was driven over Lowestoft, and forced many miles over the sea. About six o’clock, the Major with the balloon fell upon the water, where, after experiencing the most astonishing dangers with the greatest fortitude and presence of mind, he was taken up by a cutter between eleven and twelve o’clock that night, about eighteen miles to the east of Southwold; and the next morning landed safe at Lowestoft, to the great surprise and joy of his friends and the country in general.
Therise and progress of the herring fishery have been previously mentioned and further discussion would be superfluous, were it not to represent more clearly the attempts that were made by some new adventurers, who resided at Dunbar, Caithness, and other places in Scotland; at Liverpool, in the western part of England; and at the Isle of Man, in the Irish Channel; in order to deprive the town of the benefits arising from this antient fishery, and to monopolise them wholly to themselves.
The declining state of the herring fishery at Lowestoft was apparent about the year 1776, that the inhabitants began to entertain alarming apprehensions concerning it. This decline may be attributed to the new adventurers and the war with France and Spain.
The merchants at Lowestoft, in the year 1776, had formed a scheme for sending boats to the coast of Scotland, to fish for the large fat herrings which frequent those seas in great quantities, with the design of bringing them to Lowestoft, to be dried and cured, in the manner practised with herrings caught on the Lowestoft coast. By this means an intercourse was opened between the Lowestoft and Scotch people. In consequence whereof, inquiries were made respecting our mode of curing herrings, and the advantages which we received from the fishery; premiums were offered to our fishermen to entice them to repair to Scotland, during the herring season, to instruct those people in the methods of catching and drying the herrings; and persons were also sent from Scotland to Lowestoft to take dimensions of our fish-houses, their manner of construction, etc., and as they had obtained every information necessary for their purpose, fish-houses were immediately erected in Scotland, the fishery was established there and prosecuted with vigour, and Lowestoft was threatened with the annihilation of its antient branch of commerce, which had been its support for many centuries. The adventurers at Liverpool and the Isle of Man having at the same time formed a design of introducing the art of drying and curing herrings at those places, the same as in Scotland, the like methods were practised by them as were made use of by the Scotch. But all these designs of the Scotch, however alarming they might appear at first, were of short duration; for the heat of the weather during the fishing season, and the fat and oily quality of their herrings, rendered the fish difficult to cure, and unpleasant to the taste; and consequently their schemes were frustrated. But at Liverpool, and particularly at the Isle of Man, the case was very different. In these places the fishery continues a considerable part of the year, the herrings are taken in prodigious quantities at a small expense, and are not of that oily quality as those are which frequent the coast of Dunbar and Caithness, and consequently are capable of being better cured than those which are caught on the eastern coast of Scotland.
Nevertheless it was generally allowed that the western herrings, though preferable to those caught on the coast of Scotland, in that they were more capable of being properly cured, were yet greatly inferior in quality to those either of Lowestoft or Yarmouth. But notwithstanding the superior quality of the Lowestoft herrings, considerable orders were given for the western fish; and in consequence of the low price they could be afforded at, found a more speedy sale than those from Lowestoft, not only at all themarkets in England, but at those also of the different Italian ports in the Levant. The diminution of the price of herrings, especially when accompanied with an increase of their size, were recommendations which had so great an influence with the generality of purchasers of that commodity, that they more than balanced the far superior qualities of richness of colour and excellency of flavour, which have always so remarkably distinguished the Lowestoft herrings above those from any other place.
This success of the western adventurers greatly alarmed the merchants at Lowestoft. The great quantity of fish which they caught, the proficiency they discovered in curing them, together with the greatest success they had met withal at market, exhibited but a melancholy prospect to the inhabitants of Lowestoft.
It was computed that in the year 1776, six thousand barrels of herrings were cured only at the Isle of Man; and in 1777 there were sent from the same place four thousand barrels to the London market only, exclusive of those that were sent to the other places. There were also sent to market that year twenty thousand barrels from Liverpool, and a considerable quantity from Scotland. These prodigious quantities of fish, offered also to the public at the reduced price which those merchants could afford them at (namely, Lowestoft herrings at £15 10s. per last, and herrings from Liverpool at £11 per last) so extremely distressed the Lowestoft merchants, that they were obliged to export the greater part of their herrings at Leghorn, and other ports in the Mediterranean on a venture. But even here also they found that ships from Liverpool, with herrings, had arrived there before them; and in consequence thereof were obliged to deposit their herrings in warehouses till the following year, when they were sold at a great loss. The Lowestoft merchants were also in the same predicament respecting the herrings that remained unsold at the London market; and therefore a meeting of merchants was held at Lowestoft, in order to consult about the most eligible methods of disposing of those herrings, and it was agreed to lodge them also in warehouses there till the succeeding year, which resolution was attended with the same misfortune as that respecting the herrings at the Italian ports to the great injury of the Lowestoft merchants.
Notwithstanding the great success which had hitherto attended these competitors with Lowestoft for the herring fishery, yet it was but of short continuance; for the large size of their herrings, and the fat and oily quality they possessed, though perhaps in a lesser degree than those caught on the coast of Scotland, were such great obstacles to their being properly cured, as could not be surmounted, and evidently proved that they were wholly unfit for exportation, and could only be sent to our English markets, and were not saleable even there, unless they were brought for immediate consumption; and consequently the herring fishery established at Liverpool and the Isle of Man experienced the same ill success as attended that at Dunbar and Caithness, that of being totally abolished, at least so far as respected the curing or making red herrings.
The attempts of these new adventurers have evidently demonstrated that the herrings caught on the eastern coast are the only ones that are capable of being properly cured for red herrings; the colour and flavour of these herrings are superior to those from any other place, and they retain their excellent qualities to a longer period and are preferable to any others either for a foreign or home consumption.
The second cause, which, about the year 1777, greatly retarded the success of the herring fishery at Lowestoft, as well as embarrassed the merchants was the war with France and Spain. By this event the intercourse which the English merchants had formerly maintained with the different ports in the Mediterranean was greatly interrupted, and particularly at the time when the siege of Gibraltar by the Spaniards was turned into a blockade. The usual methods formerly made use of by the merchants at Lowestoft in exporting herrings to the Italian and other ports in the Mediterranean, when we were engaged in a war with France or Spain, was, to convey them to those ports in foreign bottoms; particularly in ships from Holland; but the Dutch, at this time being suspected of carrying English property, were more narrowly watched than formerly as they passed the Straights of Gibraltarand consequently were in the most imminent danger of being captured. But in the year 1780 this difficulty was in a great measure, removed by the treaty of “The Armed Neutrality.” This treaty was entered into by most of the commercial powers on the Continent, in order to protect any ships belonging to those powers from the interruptions and depredations they had lately been exposed to, under the pretence of carrying warlike stores, etc. By this treaty foreign vessels were permitted to pass the Straights of Gibraltar without being searched, or suffering any other interruption, but unhappily for the Lowestoft merchants, they not being apprized of the treaty being ratified before the usual time of selling their herrings, and consequently were apprehensive of being liable to the same dangers and inconveniences they had before been exposed to, they at the beginning of the season, sold the greater part of the fish which they should catch this year to the fishmongers in London, whereby they sustained a very considerable loss.
The herring fishery at Lowestoft appears at this time to be established on the most lasting and permanent foundation; such as promises not only to be advantageous to the inhabitants, and beneficial to the public, but also, as a nursery for seamen, very useful to Government. In fact it is a wise policy of all great maritime powers to establish and encourage, as much as possible, fisheries of every denomination; they being not only of the greatest benefit to individuals, but of the utmost utility to every naval power; for not only the English, but also the Dutch, French, and other foreign nations, from the encouragement of their fisheries, have given evident demonstrations of the truth of this assertion. For this reason the British Legislature has always encouraged and protected its fisheries as much as possible; and the herring fishery has been particularly favoured, but in former reigns as well as the present, with signal instances of its indulgence and protection; as is manifest, not only from the many wise laws, interpositions and regulations of preceding kings, but also from the Act passed in the 26th year of his Majesty King George III., for granting a bounty on herrings, under certain restrictions therein mentioned.
TheRev. Alfred Suckling, L.L.B., in his “History and Antiquities of the Hundreds of Blyth and part of Lothingland,” writes:—“There being no parsonage-house at Lowestoft, in consequence of the fire in 1606, the Rev. John Tanner, who died in 1759, left by his will £100 towards purchasing a residence for that at purpose: on condition, however, that his successors advanced another £100, and the purchase was made within a limited time. But Mr. Arrow, who succeeded Mr. Tanner, not complying with the terms of the will, the legacy became void; and Mr. Arrow, in 1762, purchased a very handsome and commodious house on his own account, towards the north end of the town, on the east side, in which he resided during the residue of his life. Mr. Arrow died in 1789, and was succeeded by the Rev. Robert Potter, upon whose institution, Dr. Bagot, the then Bishop of Norwich, and patron of this vicarage, revived the idea of purchasing a parsonage-house; and Mr. Potter and the inhabitants approving the measure, and Mr. Arrow’s house, then on sale, being thought a proper residence for the vicar, it was accordingly purchased for the purpose, in 1789, for the sum of £550. To accomplish the purchase, the trustees of certain charity lands in Lowestoft, the rents whereof are applicable for matters appertaining to the church, advanced £100; Dr. Bagot was pleased to give £20; and £430, the residue, was borrowed by the vicar, under the authority of the Act of Parliament to enable rectors and vicars to build or purchase parsonage-houses in those parishes where there are none. It was also thought desirable, that a garden, the property of the late Mr. Arrow, and not far distant from the house, should be purchased; the purchase-money for which was £120, but included in the £550 given. The deeds of conveyance executed on this occasion are in the possession of the vicar.”
In 1831, the Rev. F. Cunningham purchased part of a garden and right of way, which cost £77 7s. 3d., which he presented to the vicarage, and likewise put the vicarage-house into a thorough state of repair.
The river Waveney in ancient days sought its junction with the Ocean through Lake Lothing, between Lowestoft and Kirkley. Its channel, which is proved to have been shallow, by the discovery of fossil elephants’ teeth, as already related, was open in Camden’s time, who calls Kirkley a haven town. Reyce, who wrote his account of Suffolk a few years after, describes it as still navigable, for he says, “and then Leystoffe, until you come to that part of Yarmouth which is on the south side of the river Hiere, do finish the number of our havens.” The sea, however, aided by the fury of the eastern gales, gradually raised a barrier of sand and shingle about a quarter-of-a-mile wide, by which all navigation was finally interrupted. Still, whenever a violent storm arose from the north-west in conjunction with a spring tide, the sea would flow into Lake Lothing with great rapidity, and threaten the adjacent low grounds with inundation. To guard against these irruptions, and prevent the consequent damages, a break-water was formed on the sandy isthmus, between Lowestoft and Kirkley, as a security for the marshes which lay contiguous to the river. It is not, however, apparent when this embankmentwas first complete; for, in a Commission of Sewers, held in February, 1652, a levy was made to repair the breaches effected by the ocean in this bank or walls. These operations must have been imperfectly conducted, for even so late as 1712, a shallow channel was still maintained between the sea and Lake Lothing; for it was then customary for a man to stand there with boots on, to carry children through the water, who went from Lowestoft to Pakefield fair. Subsequently, the barrier was so greatly strengthened, that all apprehension of damage from the ocean had vanished, when, on the 14th of December, 1717; the sea forced its way over the beach with such irresistible violence, as to carry away Mutford Bridge at the distance of two miles from the shore. The writer has been led to assert, in his introduction to the Hundred of Lothingland, from false information, that this was the last attempt of the ocean to regain its ancient passage to the lake. Such, however, is not the fact, for on the 2nd of February, 1791, a remarkable high tide once more burst over the isthmus of sand, and again carried away the bridge at Mutford, built in 1760. On this occasion the salt water flowed over every surrounding barrier, and forced the fishes into the adjoining fields, where they were found, weeks afterwards, sticking in the hedges.
In 1814, Mr. Cubitt, a county engineer, was employed to make a survey, “with a view of ascertaining whether or not it was practicable to open a communication with the sea at Lowestoft,” so as to enable vessels, drawing eight feet of water, to pass into the lake, and thence by a navigable canal, to Norwich. In 1821, he published his report, strongly recommending the plan, but estimating the cost at £87,000. After much opposition from the inhabitants of Yarmouth, and the gentlemen whose property lay adjacent to the line of the proposed navigation, a Bill was carried through both Houses of Parliament for making Lake Lothing navigable for sea-borne vessels by a new cut, connecting that lake with the ocean, from Lowestoft to Norwich. The Bill received the Royal Assent, May the 28th, 1827, and the works were commenced in the same year. Though not finally completed to Norwich till September 30th, 1833, they were sufficiently advanced for the admission of the sea, and the reception of shipping, in 1831. On Friday, the 3rd of June, in that year the engineer having made the necessary arrangements for the purpose of bringing vessels into the harbour, theRuby, a beautiful yacht of fifty-one tons burden, and drawing nine feet water, belonging to the writer, entered the lake from the sea under full sail, with her colours flying; and having on board the Chairman, Colonel Harvey, and other Directors. She was followed by theGeorgianayacht, of forty-eight tons, belonging to John Fowler, Esq., of Gunton Hall, and by several pleasure-boats and vessels of a smaller class. Some of the circumstances attending the junction of the salt and fresh waters, in the first instance, were remarkable. The salt water entered the lake with a strong under-current, the fresh water running out at the same time to the sea upon the surface. The fresh water of the lake was raised to the top by the irruption of the salt water beneath, and an immense quantity of yeast-like scum rose to the surface. The entire body of the water in the lake was elevated above its former level; and on putting a pole down, a strong under-current could be felt, bearing it from the sea, and at a short distance from the lock next the lake there was a perceptible and clearly defined line where the salt water and the fresh met; the former rushing under the latter; and upon this line salt water might have been taken up in one hand, and fresh water in the other. Lake Lothing was thickly studded with the bodies of pike, carp, perch, bream, roach, and dace; multitudes of which were carried into the ocean, and thrown afterwards upon the beach; most of them having been bitten in two by the dog-fish, which abound in the bay. It is a singular fact, that a pike of about twenty pounds weight was taken up dead near the Mutford end of the lake, and on opening the stomach, a herring was found in it entire. The waters of the lake exhibited the phosphorescent light peculiar to sea water, on the second or third night after the opening. This harbour and navigation afterwards fell into the hands of Government, and were purchased of the Exchequer Loan Commissioners in 1842, by Messrs. Cleveland, Everitt, Lincoln, Hickling, and Roe, of Lowestoft; who expended considerable sums in repairs. They continued in their possession until October, 1844, when they were sold to S. M. Peto, Esq. The presentAct, entitled “An Act for making a Railway from Lowestoft to Reedham, and for improving the Harbour of Lowestoft,” was obtained in 1845; and the works commenced in the spring of 1846. The plan is to form a basin outside, or seaward, of the old lock, and entrance, by means of piers, consisting of a frame-work of timber piling—the timber being creosoted by Bethel’s patent process to keep out the worm. The frame-work will be filled in with large blocks of stone, varying in weight from one to six tons each block, brought from Kent and Yorkshire. The piers will be about 1,300 feet in length, 800 feet apart, and the entrance 160 feet wide. The basin, so formed, will enclose twenty acres, and the depth of water will average at the top of the tides twenty-four feet. The piers will be finished, and the harbour available for every description of vessel navigating the coast, at all times of tide, in June next. In addition to the formation of the outer basin or refuge harbour, the inner harbour has been dredged; and wharfs, three quarters of a mile in length, are in the course of construction: eight coke-ovens have been erected, and upwards of thirty acres of land levelled for the erection of storehouses, &c. Parallel with the wharfing, a sea-wall, upwards of a quarter of a mile in length, is being built on the south side of the harbour, as a protection to the works; and an esplanade, a large hotel, and lodging-houses, will be erected as soon as the season permits. An Act to enable trustees of certain charity and trust estates at and near Lowestoft, to carry into effect a contract for a sale of parts thereof to the Lowestoft Railway and Harbour Company, and to grant leases for long terms of years, for building purpose, received the Royal Assent on the 13th of August, 1846.
Onthe 8th of January, 1832, a public notice was given at church of a town meeting to consider the propriety of building a new and more convenient chapel for the use of the inhabitants; to appropriate for its site a portion of the town land, and to provide the necessary funds. In pursuance of which notice the inhabitants of Lowestoft met on Thursday, the 12th of January following, when it was resolved, that the present chapel having been found unsuitable in size and situation for the accommodation of the inhabitants, it was expedient that a new chapel be erected. That in the impossibility of enlarging the present site, if one more suitable cannot be found, application be made to the Church Building Commissioners to purchase a portion of the town land, opposite Back Street, and abutting on the Beccles road. That the new chapel should contain not less than 1,209 sittings, and that in order to provide a fund for the erection and fitting such chapel, subscriptions be collected; in respect of which, pews and sittings be allotted to the subscribers upon the terms after mentioned; that application be made to the Society for Building and Enlarging Churches, for aid; and lastly, voluntary contributions be collected from the public. That 300 sittings be disposed of under a faculty to be obtained from the Ordinary. That subscribers of £25 each be entitled to one sitting for every £5 subscribed. The pews and sittings to be allotted to each subscriber by ballot, &c. That no expense be incurred relative to providing such a site for building new chapel, until the necessary funds, which were estimated at £2500, be subscribed and raised; and that a committee of inhabitants be formed to carry these resolutions into effect.
Subscriptions for pews were immediately entered into, which amounted to £790, besides donations of £130; of which the Rev. F. Cunningham, the Vicar, gave £100. On the 13th of January, at a meeting held in the town chamber, it was further resolved, that personal application should be made throughout the town for subscriptions and donations, and that applications should be made to different architects for plans and estimates. On the 16th of February, the site of the proposed building was determined on, and the draft of an application to the Incorporated Society for promoting the enlargement, building, and repairing of Churches and Chapels, was prepared; which Society shortly after announced a grant of £600 towards the purposes required.
On the 17th of May, an application was made to Mr. Kitson, the Bishop’s Secretary and Registrar, inquiring whether the Marriage Act would allow of the publication of banns and celebration of marriages in the new chapel intended to be erected at Lowestoft, and if so, whether the Bishop would be willing to grant a license for the above purposes. Mr. Kitson’s reply stated, that the intended new chapel not being one “having a chapelry thereto annexed,” nor, “one situated in an extra-parochial place,” did not come within the provisions of the Marriage Act of the fourth of Geo. IV, cap. 76; and therefore that publication of banns and solemnization of marriage cannot be authorised to be performed therein. On the 24th of May, in consequence of the exertions of the Vicar and the principal inhabitants of the town, a sumof very nearly £2,500 had been raised, including the grant from the Incorporated Society; and four days after, Mr. Brown, the architect selected by the committee, attended at Lowestoft with his plans, which were examined and approved, with a trifling exception. After divers tenders and propositions, that of Mr. John Bunn, of Norwich, to build the chapel with white brick, including the palisades, fencing, and boundry wall, for £2,626, was agreed on, and signed on the 30th of July; at which time the sum of £75 was ordered to be paid to Messrs. Reeve, Elph, and Cleveland, the trustees appointed by the feoffees of the town land, as the piece of the site for the chapel; and the further sum of £10, being the charge of the Solicitor of the Treasury, relative to the conveyance.
On Monday, August the 6th, 1832, the first stone of the new chapel was laid in the presence of a vast concourse of the inhabitants and visitors. The committee, the contractor, and architect, met at the vicarage-house, whence they proceeded to the ground. Two hundred and forty children—the Sunday and endowed schools belonging to the established church—had also been brought together. After an explanation of the object of the meeting, the Vicar laid the first stone, in which was deposited a piece of money, of the coinage of William IV., and a plate engraven as follows:
LOWESTOFT.THE FIRST STONE OF THISCHAPEL,TO BE CALLED BY THE NAME OFSAINT PETER,AND ERECTEDBY SUBSCRIPTIONS AND VOLUNTARYCONTRIBUTIONS, WITH THE AID OF THEINCORPORATED SOCIETY FORBUILDING AND ENLARGING CHURCHES,WAS LAID ON THE6TH DAY OF AUGUST,IN THE3RD YEAR OF THE REIGN OF HISMOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY,WILLIAM THE FOURTH;1832;BY THEREV. FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM, M.A., VICAR.JOHN BROWN, ARCHITECT.
LOWESTOFT.
THE FIRST STONE OF THISCHAPEL,TO BE CALLED BY THE NAME OFSAINT PETER,AND ERECTEDBY SUBSCRIPTIONS AND VOLUNTARYCONTRIBUTIONS, WITH THE AID OF THEINCORPORATED SOCIETY FORBUILDING AND ENLARGING CHURCHES,WAS LAID ON THE6TH DAY OF AUGUST,IN THE3RD YEAR OF THE REIGN OF HISMOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY,WILLIAM THE FOURTH;1832;BY THEREV. FRANCIS CUNNINGHAM, M.A., VICAR.
JOHN BROWN, ARCHITECT.
After this the Vicar offered up a prayer composed for the occasion, and the whole assembly sang the 100th Psalm. On the 15th of August, 1833, Dr. Charles Sumner, Lord Bishop of Winchester, under a commission given to him by the Bishop of this diocese, proceeded to the act of consecration. Prayers were read by the Vicar, and the sermon preached by the Bishop; the text being taken from the 122nd Psalm, and 7th verse.
The subject of the Prelate’s sermon was thePeaceattendant upon a knowledge of the truths of the Gospel:—that Peace beautifully promoted by the various services of our church, and an application as to the possession of this Peace on the part of those present. A collection was made after the sermon of £56 13s. 6d. On Sunday August the 25th, the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was administered for the first time at the communion table to 140 persons.
On the 15th of October following, a certificate was forwarded to the Secretary of the Incorporated Society, informing him, that the chapel had been completed in the substantial and workmanlike manner, and was capable of accommodating 1215 persons, including 900 free sittings. In consequence of subsequent arrangements, these sitting have been increased to 1263; of which 939 are free.
It appears that upon the completion of the work, and the putting up of a bell, weighing about 6 cwt., a sum of £196 6s. 5d. was required for the payment of all the bills and expenses, which the vicar generously consented to advance by way of loan. Of this debt £140 18s. 9d. were repaid; so that the final deficitpaid by Mr. Cunningham was £55 7s. 8d. It should be recorded, that an offer was made by Mr. Robert Allen, an inhabitant of Lowestoft, to present to the chapel, glass for the east window, painted by himself at the advanced age of eighty-seven, representing the king’s arms, &c. But on consulting the architect, it was judged that this glass was not in character with the design of the building, and that, therefore, plain glass would be adopted to prevent the glare to which, otherwise, the congregation would be exposed. A copy of the original faculty for erecting this edifice is deposited in the chest of Lowestoft, and the opinion of Dr. Lushington and Mr. Kitson, respecting the faculty pews are in the hands of the Vicar; from whose careful and well-arranged minutes of the proceedings adopted throughout the whole business, the preceding remarks have been extracted.
Among the notes attached to these records, it stated that “the proposition is to build a chapel in a parish, where there is a parish church, but so distantly situated from the town, as, under any circumstances, to be of no use, and occasionally insufficient.” The particulars are as follows:
The parish church of Lowestoft was placed upwards of 500 years since in its present situation, under the impression as it is supposed, that if nearer to the sea, it might, at no great length of time, be destroyed by its encroachments. But the sea, instead of advancing, has continued to recede, and now a new town has sprung up on the beach, and the church is left, even in fine weather, out of the reach of a considerable part of the population. In the inclement weather to which so frequently the easternmost point of England is exposed, the church is not opened, and it would be highly inexpedient to hold an evening service in it, at any time. In order to meet the actual necessities of the place, part of a town house has been used by a license of Bishop Parkhurst, as a chapel, since the year 1572, on occasions, ‘hiberno præsertim tempore,’ according to the original document—when the people cannot without great inconvenience get to church. But this expedient is found insufficient. The chapel will hold between three and four hundred persons, but it is usually so filled, that when it is used, numbers do not attempt to go at all; and many who at all events, will attend a public service, are driven to the Dissenting Meeting Houses. Some peculiar circumstances, connected with the town, make a new provision for public worship absolutely necessary. In the bathing season the church is not sufficiently large for the congregation, and then it would be expedient, if circumstances permitted, to open a second place of worship. Moreover, a harbour, for which the Government is about to grant a loan of £50,000, will, at no distant period, be opened; and Lowestoft, in the course of a short time, will become a commencing point to a navigation, which is likely to extend through a large part of Suffolk and Norfolk. For the persons attendant upon this harbour the church is most inconveniently situated.
The parish church of Lowestoft was placed upwards of 500 years since in its present situation, under the impression as it is supposed, that if nearer to the sea, it might, at no great length of time, be destroyed by its encroachments. But the sea, instead of advancing, has continued to recede, and now a new town has sprung up on the beach, and the church is left, even in fine weather, out of the reach of a considerable part of the population. In the inclement weather to which so frequently the easternmost point of England is exposed, the church is not opened, and it would be highly inexpedient to hold an evening service in it, at any time. In order to meet the actual necessities of the place, part of a town house has been used by a license of Bishop Parkhurst, as a chapel, since the year 1572, on occasions, ‘hiberno præsertim tempore,’ according to the original document—when the people cannot without great inconvenience get to church. But this expedient is found insufficient. The chapel will hold between three and four hundred persons, but it is usually so filled, that when it is used, numbers do not attempt to go at all; and many who at all events, will attend a public service, are driven to the Dissenting Meeting Houses. Some peculiar circumstances, connected with the town, make a new provision for public worship absolutely necessary. In the bathing season the church is not sufficiently large for the congregation, and then it would be expedient, if circumstances permitted, to open a second place of worship. Moreover, a harbour, for which the Government is about to grant a loan of £50,000, will, at no distant period, be opened; and Lowestoft, in the course of a short time, will become a commencing point to a navigation, which is likely to extend through a large part of Suffolk and Norfolk. For the persons attendant upon this harbour the church is most inconveniently situated.
In a notice of the new chapel, printed in the provincial journals at the time of its foundation, its architecture was said to be in the style of the Temple Church at London. Wherein the similitude consists, the writer is unable to determine; unless, indeed, the presence of long narrow windows, unaccompanied by the charming proportions and graceful decorations of the proud Crusaders’ church, be alone able to constitute its resemblance.
Ina Hand-book to Lowestoft, published by Mr. Thos. Crowe, in 1853, is the following:
Lowestoft is, happily for the peace and cordiality of its people, neither a parliamentary Borough nor a corporate town: so that political and party feuds in no degree embitter the charities of private life. These are advantages of which its inhabitants are fully sensible; and if they are disposed to forget them, they are abundantly admonished by the example of a town nine miles to their north, which is a prey to the dissensions Lowestoft is so luckily a stranger to. Another reason for the complete absence of those quarrels and bickerings which are usually found in country towns, is the fact, that the inhabitants of this parish are not called upon to pay church-rates, the lands belonging to the church being amply sufficient to keep it in repair. Many of these unseemly disagreements common in other and less fortunate localities are thus avoided. The Vicar, however, makes a claim for a tithe of fish—about half a guinea on the return of each boat; but with his well-known good nature he has only taken this steppro formâ, his unbounded charity and benevolence being one of the “great facts” of the locality. Amongst the other immunities and privileges enjoyed by the inhabitants may be mentioned exemption from payment of toll, service upon juries, &c., granted them by charter of Henry VI., in 1442, and confirmed by Elizabeth and Charles I.Adjoining the pier is the Royal Hotel, forming the commencement of one of the finest of terraces, which strikes the attention of the traveller from its elegance and architectural beauty, as the reader will have no great difficulty in discerning through the aid of the artist.This superb establishment, the Royal, having been recently erected, with an entire disregard to expense, and under the ablest supervision in every department, comprises all the latest improvements in the cellerage,batterie de cuisine, and dormitories; while the coffee and dining rooms and suites of private apartments are most admirably adapted for their respective uses, combining in singular perfection all the desirable characteristics of a first-class hotel and family mansion, without the least encroachment of the one upon the province of the other. The house comprises within itself almost every comfort that can be needed by the valetudinarian, or desired by the luxurious pleasure-seeker. Situate on the very edge of the sea, and the tide receding but very few feet during the day, out of door bathing is nearly at all times practicable at will, the neighbourhood being in every way favourable for it; while salt water baths, at every temperature, are within doors, as well as all the ablutionary appliances available under Mahmoud at Brighton, or the most eminent professors of human detergency at Scarborough or elsewhere. A billiard room of noble dimensions, a large conservatory, partly filled with exotics, and partly with native plants, chiefly indigenous to the horticulture of East Anglia (a district peculiarly rich in this respect), and a well supplied news room, offer potent antidotes toennui. If with these accessories, added to the auxiliaries of a mostrecerchérefectory, the attendance being at once unobtrusive and assiduous, and everything which the experience of a long skilled and discerningmaitre de hotelcan suggest for the regalement of hisguests, a sojourner at the Royal Hotel, Lowestoft, do not discover a true specific against the blue devils, he must belong to the category of Sir Charles Coldstream’s hypochondriacs inUsed Up, who could find neither tranquillity in a domestic Elyseum, nor excitement in the crater of Vesuvius. Perhaps it may be supposed that theagremenswe speak of are materially qualified by the undue “inflammation of one’s weekly bills.” But not so. The pecuniary administration at the Royal is conducted as nearly as possible on the model of the most approved Metropolitan Clubs, combining the maximum of service with the minimum of charge compatible with the high character of the house and the completeness of its appointments. The present proprietor, Mr Samuel Howett, possesses peculiar facilities for conducting it with advantages on this score denied to any other person. As owner for several years of the Royal at Norwich—one of the finest establishments of the kind in England, as the Festival visitors can testify, and as is demonstrated by the constant patronage of the officers of the troops stationed in that city—he has had large local experience of the district, enjoying the respect of many of the resident families, and well known for his business habits, urbanity of manner, and liberal-handed management of all public banquets or private entertainments committed to his supervision. With such a commissariat for head-quarters, as the Royal at Norwich, the Royal at Lowestoft becomes, in his hands, adequate to almost any exigency that can arise, especially as, since last Autumn, its former great capacity for accommodation has been very considerably extended. The view in our illustration is on too small a scale, and is taken from too remote a point to give an adequate idea of the extent or peculiarly commanding position of the Royal; but still it will serve to show that it is a sumptuous-looking pile externally, and we can assure the reader that its interior is of fully corresponding excellence in every possible respect. Another story has recently been added to the original building, and an entirely new wing erected, affording a large number of additional bed-rooms, sitting-rooms, and other appliances of comfort and luxury, all of which are furnished and adorned with unusual taste and elegance. The pictorial establishments will especially attract the attention of the artistical. The accommodation for guests now so ample, however large their number, and the servants’ department so well ordered and efficient, that there is no over-crowding, confusion, or inattention. In securing order, regularity, quietness, and promptitude on the part of his domestics, Mr. Howett has proved himself an admirable tactician, and has made his hotel a model of comfort in these important respects. When full of guests it has more the air of a private mansion than an hotel. All conveniences for visitors of rank, such as carriages and horses, &c., are provided in great variety and abundance, the extensive and handsome mews being a very noticeable feature of the Royal. Amongst the recent improvements we may add, that the restaurant has been enlarged and redecorated. Public banquets, or private dinner parties, must be large indeed, if stinted for space in this noble apartment. Connoisseurs assure that for extent, variety, excellent taste in selection, and samples of the choicest vintage, Mr. Howett’s wine cellars are unequalled in this part of the kingdom.The establishment is conducted on the convenient principal of furnishing the guests with the ordinary scale of charges, which Mr. H. forwards on application to any gentlemen wishing to visit his hotel. The applicant must be fastidious in the extreme if he finds any items in this scale to complain of. As evidence at once of the salubrity of the climate, and of the suitability of the Royal Hotel for the utmost requirements of its various frequenters, it may be mentioned, that Earl Cardigan makes it his occasional head-quarters, (bringing his beautiful Yacht, the famous “Enchantress,”) and assembling around him a large circle of his military and fashionable friends; and, on the other hand, the Royal is often occupied by several eminent members of the Society of Friends, to whom its quietude and methodical system of management, no less than the seclusion and healthiness of the locale, recommend it in preference to watering-places of more eminent repute among the faculty. The increasing eclât of the Annual Regatta, the number and value of the prizes, and the celebrity of the Yachts that have assembled and competed on occasion of the last Regatta or two, give promise that henceforth the most “crack” Yachts and most prominent members of the Royal Yacht Club will make anannual visit to Lowestoft, and greatly enliven the season. From its proximity to the harbour and sea, and other attractions, the “Royal” is the favourite rendezvous of the Yacht owners and Regatta patrons, and the most eminent sons of Neptune on their visit to Lowestoft; and frequently, on other occasions, contains a large and distinguished assemblage of rank and fashion.We are thus particular in dwelling upon the Royal Hotel, not only because it is one of the principal features in the beautiful new town of Lowestoft, but because its character must necessarily have a considerable influence upon those who may contemplate visiting the place. Under the same admirable management of Mr. Howett is the excellent secondary hotel at a short distance, called the Harbour Inn, which is inferior to the Royal only in the splendour of its fittings up; but in all its substantials of comfort and convenience it is wholly impossible it could be surpassed; and it may be recommended unhesitatingly to those of less aristocratic pretensions than the usual inmates of the Royal. In the Old Town, also, there are several inns of great respectability and merit, extremely moderate in their charges, and distinguished by anaìvetéand heartiness of manner in their proprietors and assistants that will astonish a philosopher as being found at the terminus of a railway—belonging, as those attributes do, rather to the primitive hostelries of Addison and Goldsmith, than to the days of electric telegraphs andBradshaw’s Time Tables. In concluding this portion of our subject, we may add, and in no town within our experience are the lodgings, speaking generally, so good, so economic, so unexceptionally conducted, as in Lowestoft—the cost of all household necessaries and rural luxuries being fabulously trifling compared with the tariff in other latitudes, whether on the south-west, the north-west, or even on the Welch coast.The sanitary condition of Lowestoft is most satisfactory. Unlike some neighbouring towns, there has been no occasion here for the compulsory clauses of the “Health of Towns Bill.” A few years ago, an admirable plan of systematic and thorough drainage was adopted and carried out under the superintendence of Messrs. Lucas, at a large expense,—the situation and physical characteristics of the town affording peculiar facilities for an effective scheme of sewerage. In addition to this, a plan has been resolved on for thoroughly draining the North Beach, and thereby preventing the possibility of effluvium arising from “pulk holes” in the vicinity of the fish houses.Waterworks and Gasworks (at Kirtley), for supplying the south end of the town, have been completed and in operation some time; and, in the course of last year, a private bill received the Royal assent, incorporating a company for supplying and erecting, at the north part of Lowestoft, Waterworks, enlarged Gasworks, new Market Place, Abattoirs, and other appropriate adjuncts, at an expense of £20,000, to be raised by two thousand £10 shares. These shares were immediately taken, chiefly by the inhabitants and promoters of the undertaking, which promises to be a very successful one, pecuniarily, and a signal advantage to the town.The new Waterworks are now in progress near the “Church Lane” where the element, according to repute and chemical analysis, is of excellent quality and unusual purity; and the Market House, &c., is speedily to be erected near the present Market square, and upon the new site now occupied by the excellent Queen’s Head Hotel, and adjacent buildings.To the new Waterworks Mr. Clemence’s recently-erectedSoapFactory, pretty near thereto, would seem an appropriate appendage. If abundance and cheapness of soap and water will secure cleanliness, the inhabitants of Lowestoft must not be classed amongst the “great unwashed.”The various comprehensive reports of the Directors of the Harbour of the Shareholders show at a glance the progressively improving nature of this locality, and the extent of the trade carried on. They are all drawn up by the energetic and accomplished Captain W. S. Andrews, for several years known as the Captain of theMedwayWest India Mail Steamer, and whose appointment here first as Harbour-master, and more especially as Managing-director of the North of Europe Steam Packet Company, has been a most important auxiliary in the advancement of everything connected with Lowestoft, especially all matters pertaining to the docks and shipping.
Lowestoft is, happily for the peace and cordiality of its people, neither a parliamentary Borough nor a corporate town: so that political and party feuds in no degree embitter the charities of private life. These are advantages of which its inhabitants are fully sensible; and if they are disposed to forget them, they are abundantly admonished by the example of a town nine miles to their north, which is a prey to the dissensions Lowestoft is so luckily a stranger to. Another reason for the complete absence of those quarrels and bickerings which are usually found in country towns, is the fact, that the inhabitants of this parish are not called upon to pay church-rates, the lands belonging to the church being amply sufficient to keep it in repair. Many of these unseemly disagreements common in other and less fortunate localities are thus avoided. The Vicar, however, makes a claim for a tithe of fish—about half a guinea on the return of each boat; but with his well-known good nature he has only taken this steppro formâ, his unbounded charity and benevolence being one of the “great facts” of the locality. Amongst the other immunities and privileges enjoyed by the inhabitants may be mentioned exemption from payment of toll, service upon juries, &c., granted them by charter of Henry VI., in 1442, and confirmed by Elizabeth and Charles I.
Adjoining the pier is the Royal Hotel, forming the commencement of one of the finest of terraces, which strikes the attention of the traveller from its elegance and architectural beauty, as the reader will have no great difficulty in discerning through the aid of the artist.
This superb establishment, the Royal, having been recently erected, with an entire disregard to expense, and under the ablest supervision in every department, comprises all the latest improvements in the cellerage,batterie de cuisine, and dormitories; while the coffee and dining rooms and suites of private apartments are most admirably adapted for their respective uses, combining in singular perfection all the desirable characteristics of a first-class hotel and family mansion, without the least encroachment of the one upon the province of the other. The house comprises within itself almost every comfort that can be needed by the valetudinarian, or desired by the luxurious pleasure-seeker. Situate on the very edge of the sea, and the tide receding but very few feet during the day, out of door bathing is nearly at all times practicable at will, the neighbourhood being in every way favourable for it; while salt water baths, at every temperature, are within doors, as well as all the ablutionary appliances available under Mahmoud at Brighton, or the most eminent professors of human detergency at Scarborough or elsewhere. A billiard room of noble dimensions, a large conservatory, partly filled with exotics, and partly with native plants, chiefly indigenous to the horticulture of East Anglia (a district peculiarly rich in this respect), and a well supplied news room, offer potent antidotes toennui. If with these accessories, added to the auxiliaries of a mostrecerchérefectory, the attendance being at once unobtrusive and assiduous, and everything which the experience of a long skilled and discerningmaitre de hotelcan suggest for the regalement of hisguests, a sojourner at the Royal Hotel, Lowestoft, do not discover a true specific against the blue devils, he must belong to the category of Sir Charles Coldstream’s hypochondriacs inUsed Up, who could find neither tranquillity in a domestic Elyseum, nor excitement in the crater of Vesuvius. Perhaps it may be supposed that theagremenswe speak of are materially qualified by the undue “inflammation of one’s weekly bills.” But not so. The pecuniary administration at the Royal is conducted as nearly as possible on the model of the most approved Metropolitan Clubs, combining the maximum of service with the minimum of charge compatible with the high character of the house and the completeness of its appointments. The present proprietor, Mr Samuel Howett, possesses peculiar facilities for conducting it with advantages on this score denied to any other person. As owner for several years of the Royal at Norwich—one of the finest establishments of the kind in England, as the Festival visitors can testify, and as is demonstrated by the constant patronage of the officers of the troops stationed in that city—he has had large local experience of the district, enjoying the respect of many of the resident families, and well known for his business habits, urbanity of manner, and liberal-handed management of all public banquets or private entertainments committed to his supervision. With such a commissariat for head-quarters, as the Royal at Norwich, the Royal at Lowestoft becomes, in his hands, adequate to almost any exigency that can arise, especially as, since last Autumn, its former great capacity for accommodation has been very considerably extended. The view in our illustration is on too small a scale, and is taken from too remote a point to give an adequate idea of the extent or peculiarly commanding position of the Royal; but still it will serve to show that it is a sumptuous-looking pile externally, and we can assure the reader that its interior is of fully corresponding excellence in every possible respect. Another story has recently been added to the original building, and an entirely new wing erected, affording a large number of additional bed-rooms, sitting-rooms, and other appliances of comfort and luxury, all of which are furnished and adorned with unusual taste and elegance. The pictorial establishments will especially attract the attention of the artistical. The accommodation for guests now so ample, however large their number, and the servants’ department so well ordered and efficient, that there is no over-crowding, confusion, or inattention. In securing order, regularity, quietness, and promptitude on the part of his domestics, Mr. Howett has proved himself an admirable tactician, and has made his hotel a model of comfort in these important respects. When full of guests it has more the air of a private mansion than an hotel. All conveniences for visitors of rank, such as carriages and horses, &c., are provided in great variety and abundance, the extensive and handsome mews being a very noticeable feature of the Royal. Amongst the recent improvements we may add, that the restaurant has been enlarged and redecorated. Public banquets, or private dinner parties, must be large indeed, if stinted for space in this noble apartment. Connoisseurs assure that for extent, variety, excellent taste in selection, and samples of the choicest vintage, Mr. Howett’s wine cellars are unequalled in this part of the kingdom.
The establishment is conducted on the convenient principal of furnishing the guests with the ordinary scale of charges, which Mr. H. forwards on application to any gentlemen wishing to visit his hotel. The applicant must be fastidious in the extreme if he finds any items in this scale to complain of. As evidence at once of the salubrity of the climate, and of the suitability of the Royal Hotel for the utmost requirements of its various frequenters, it may be mentioned, that Earl Cardigan makes it his occasional head-quarters, (bringing his beautiful Yacht, the famous “Enchantress,”) and assembling around him a large circle of his military and fashionable friends; and, on the other hand, the Royal is often occupied by several eminent members of the Society of Friends, to whom its quietude and methodical system of management, no less than the seclusion and healthiness of the locale, recommend it in preference to watering-places of more eminent repute among the faculty. The increasing eclât of the Annual Regatta, the number and value of the prizes, and the celebrity of the Yachts that have assembled and competed on occasion of the last Regatta or two, give promise that henceforth the most “crack” Yachts and most prominent members of the Royal Yacht Club will make anannual visit to Lowestoft, and greatly enliven the season. From its proximity to the harbour and sea, and other attractions, the “Royal” is the favourite rendezvous of the Yacht owners and Regatta patrons, and the most eminent sons of Neptune on their visit to Lowestoft; and frequently, on other occasions, contains a large and distinguished assemblage of rank and fashion.
We are thus particular in dwelling upon the Royal Hotel, not only because it is one of the principal features in the beautiful new town of Lowestoft, but because its character must necessarily have a considerable influence upon those who may contemplate visiting the place. Under the same admirable management of Mr. Howett is the excellent secondary hotel at a short distance, called the Harbour Inn, which is inferior to the Royal only in the splendour of its fittings up; but in all its substantials of comfort and convenience it is wholly impossible it could be surpassed; and it may be recommended unhesitatingly to those of less aristocratic pretensions than the usual inmates of the Royal. In the Old Town, also, there are several inns of great respectability and merit, extremely moderate in their charges, and distinguished by anaìvetéand heartiness of manner in their proprietors and assistants that will astonish a philosopher as being found at the terminus of a railway—belonging, as those attributes do, rather to the primitive hostelries of Addison and Goldsmith, than to the days of electric telegraphs andBradshaw’s Time Tables. In concluding this portion of our subject, we may add, and in no town within our experience are the lodgings, speaking generally, so good, so economic, so unexceptionally conducted, as in Lowestoft—the cost of all household necessaries and rural luxuries being fabulously trifling compared with the tariff in other latitudes, whether on the south-west, the north-west, or even on the Welch coast.
The sanitary condition of Lowestoft is most satisfactory. Unlike some neighbouring towns, there has been no occasion here for the compulsory clauses of the “Health of Towns Bill.” A few years ago, an admirable plan of systematic and thorough drainage was adopted and carried out under the superintendence of Messrs. Lucas, at a large expense,—the situation and physical characteristics of the town affording peculiar facilities for an effective scheme of sewerage. In addition to this, a plan has been resolved on for thoroughly draining the North Beach, and thereby preventing the possibility of effluvium arising from “pulk holes” in the vicinity of the fish houses.
Waterworks and Gasworks (at Kirtley), for supplying the south end of the town, have been completed and in operation some time; and, in the course of last year, a private bill received the Royal assent, incorporating a company for supplying and erecting, at the north part of Lowestoft, Waterworks, enlarged Gasworks, new Market Place, Abattoirs, and other appropriate adjuncts, at an expense of £20,000, to be raised by two thousand £10 shares. These shares were immediately taken, chiefly by the inhabitants and promoters of the undertaking, which promises to be a very successful one, pecuniarily, and a signal advantage to the town.
The new Waterworks are now in progress near the “Church Lane” where the element, according to repute and chemical analysis, is of excellent quality and unusual purity; and the Market House, &c., is speedily to be erected near the present Market square, and upon the new site now occupied by the excellent Queen’s Head Hotel, and adjacent buildings.
To the new Waterworks Mr. Clemence’s recently-erectedSoapFactory, pretty near thereto, would seem an appropriate appendage. If abundance and cheapness of soap and water will secure cleanliness, the inhabitants of Lowestoft must not be classed amongst the “great unwashed.”
The various comprehensive reports of the Directors of the Harbour of the Shareholders show at a glance the progressively improving nature of this locality, and the extent of the trade carried on. They are all drawn up by the energetic and accomplished Captain W. S. Andrews, for several years known as the Captain of theMedwayWest India Mail Steamer, and whose appointment here first as Harbour-master, and more especially as Managing-director of the North of Europe Steam Packet Company, has been a most important auxiliary in the advancement of everything connected with Lowestoft, especially all matters pertaining to the docks and shipping.
TuesdayAfternoon, 22nd September, 1885, was the time appointed for the official reception of the Charter of Incorporation. The Town Hall was not sufficiently capacious to accommodate the large number of townsmen who sought admission.
Chairs were ticketed for the following gentlemen, namely, to the right of Major Seppings, the Mayor—Rev. T. A. Nash, James Peto, Esq., Rev. J. F. Reeve, T. Lucas, Esq., E. K. Harvey, Esq., W. F. Larkins, Esq., H. G. Woods, Esq. To the left of the Mayor—The Town Clerk, Geo. Bush, Esq., Sims Reeve, Esq., G. Keen, Esq., W. Chater, Esq., T. S. Allerton, Esq.
Amongst the Ladies were Mrs. Larkins, Mrs. Clubbe, Mrs. F. Worthington, Mrs. J. Worthington, Mrs. F. Seago, Mrs. Warman, etc. Amongst the gentlemen were Rev. Dr. English, Rev. J. Wright, Rev. H. I. Wonfer, Col. H. Leathes, Messrs. T. R. Woods, W. R. Seago, W. Youngman, B. M. Bradbeer, R. B. Nicholson, A. Lawrence, W. T. Balls, B. Preston, F. Seago, F. Peskett, J. Hobson, W. Warman, J. L. Clemence, A. Adams, H. Jefferies, R. B. Capps, S. Howett, R. W. Saul, T. Hobson, T. W. Etheridge, T. H. Leggett, A. Stebbings, W. W. Garnham, J. Swatman, W. Farrett.
The Mayor said: Ladies and Gentlemen, I regret that the capacity of our Town Hall, is not sufficient for the number of townsmen who seek admission. If we were to adjourn to the Market Place that would be only sufficiently large. However, our proceedings will not be very long. I will at once enter on the business before us. My duty to-day is to receive the Charter of Incorporation, which our Most Gracious Queen in Council Assembled has been pleased to grant us. (Applause.)
Mr. Keen, (of the firm of Messrs. Keen, Rogers, & Co.,) then rose, and was received with applause. He said: I have been honoured by Her Majesty’s Privy Council, who have entrusted me with the duty of conveying to its destination the Charter of Incorporation of the Borough of Lowestoft. In parting with it I may be allowed to hope as our native country has prospered and thriven under our Great Charter, and as the various towns and boroughs have prospered under their respective charters, so may the good town of Lowestoft go on to more and more prosperity under this its own charter. (Applause.) Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sure I am speaking the sentiments of the whole Borough when I say I could not place the charter in more worthy hands. (Renewed applause.)
The Mayor then received the black tin box containing the important document. Having taken the Charter out of the box he handed it, amid applause, to
The Town Clerk (Mr. J. E. Cook), who read the lengthy document.
BOROUGH OF LOWESTOFT.