THE Rev. 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
embankment was 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, the _Ruby_, 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 the _Georgiana_ yacht, 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 present Act, 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.