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Joe
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Interesting Lowestoft.
Many people feel that Lowestoft is boring & doesn't have a lot going for it. The idea of this thread is to challenge that view. Obviously what makes a town interesting is subjective, but if others help me we should find something for most people.
I'll start this properly tomorrow, this is just to remind me!
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malcolm
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I like this and think it will be a good topic.
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Forever Yellow
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snowdrop
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i think it due to paper article some years ago Brentwood and LT were voted that.i can understand brentwood even so they have some really good clubs and few gay bars,to my knowledge LT has not Oh well bbc 3 top gear from LT on at the moment see what clarckson got say about us
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snowdrop
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just seen old jeremy cross bascle bridge and sun coming up ness point looked lovely.
i saw program today about secret rivers and there one from stowmarket to the orwel parts were breathtaking parts dreadful,the river gubby guppy something like that.lowestoft apparently got secret riveres aswel do anyone know what and where
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snowdrop
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thread about intresting things in LT i trying hard think about them.but river is good place as any.Proves a point flipping river runs through area and nobody knows it there.so joe right.Since joe put thread up i see bit of LT on top gear and now know there a river in kess.how beutiful sun looks early in morning from ness point.
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Trigger
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I haven’t heard of a river that actually ran through Kessingland - however, there is the River Hundred which is just south of Kessingland. As you leave the bypass, the A12 slowly drops down and, as the road, curves - the river can be seen. I found this info: “The Hundred River is a real river that enters the sea near Kessingland. Divided into numerous streams, it saunters through our countryside, sometimes full and brimming over, sometimes appearing still or dried-up, often bubbling away secret and hidden” and is from a site entitled “The River Hundred Benefice” and the text starts: “THE HUNDRED RIVER BENEFICE is a group of nine Church of England parishes in the north Suffolk countryside, between Beccles and Halesworth.” Link to site.
This could be the river referred to. I only know of this as my father - Kessingland born-and-bred - talked of going fishing there as a boy.
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Jamesw82
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No 2 towns are the same, Lowestoft like every other town, city or village has it's own very interesting features, history and stories. The people who say the town is rubbish and borings have lived here for so long they've forget what the town is special for.
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Jamesw82
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Kessingland does have its sewage works - closest thing you're going to get to a river in the village! 
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malcolm
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Yes Sd Jeremy gave the town some good publicity.
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Forever Yellow
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snowdrop
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not going see kingfishers there then.nice see bridge down when he flew across it
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Meg
Global Moderator
Lowestoft Online Addict
Gender: 
Posts: 11279
I love Lowestoft but I love Oklahoma more!
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I know other towns have the sea and beaches but that's what I miss most since I live 1500 miles from either the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.AlsoSparrow's Nest,Bell View park and Everitt's park ar such nice places and then we have the broads so close also.
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funkychick
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No 2 towns are the same, Lowestoft like every other town, city or village has it's own very interesting features, history and stories. The people who say the town is rubbish and borings have lived here for so long they've forget what the town is special for.
Wrong James the people that say Lowestoft is boring are the ones who ve moved here more recently from places where there is crime on every corner and road rage at every turn (exciting!) or the people who have never been out of Lowestoft to see places far more boring, grubby, crimeridden or downright unpleasant ( the grass is always greener) The people who have been here a long time never cease to love their town whilst realistically hating the powers that try to spoil it
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funkychick
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A lot of the interesting parts of Lowestoft have been lost pulled down in the name of progress but what about the beautiful parks Fen Park,Kensington Gardens, Belle Vue, Sparrows Nest, Normanston and Nichols Everitt to name a few. They all have a vivid history and that also makes them interesting, not just the flowers and trees
Did you know there used to be flamingos and monkeys in Fen Park, bands in Nicolas Everitt, and a beautiful Japanese gardens in Kensington I think I may have some pics to scan
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Trigger
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The people who say the town is rubbish and borings have lived here for so long they've forget what the town is special for.
Totally disagree James with your comment - yes, Lowestoft has its problems - but there are places much, much worse off.
Just as a matter of interest James - how long have you lived here?
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Trigger
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funky - thank you for your last two postings - I totally agree with what you've said.
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Jamesw82
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I dont think my post was explained well, as i agree with the last 2 posts! im off to work now so will be about to post again later in the day.
Ps i've lived here all my 29 years of life and love the place to bits sadly unlike others around my age.
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East Point
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Well I moved here from South London 39 years ago and love it here. No way would I ever think of going back to London.
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They say the dog is man's best friend. I don't believe it - how many of your friends would you neuter?
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nikkai
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I am learning all the time about the town I now live in,
I call it home and do look forward to returning here each time I get leave form work.
Interesting in that although I am a newcomer to this area I am filled with happiness at being here
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There are NO strangers HERE ! Only Friends who have not yet met....
One cannot think well, sleep well,live well if one has not dinned well "virginia woolf"
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funkychick
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thats good to hear these positive points of view I had relations come down in the sumnmer from London and they were overwhelmed with the place, the beach, the peace, the quieter pace of life, the size of the houses for the money, it helped because it was lovely weather but it made me look through new eyes We are lucky, its not a bad place the beach, the broards, the closeby countryside the parks ......
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Joe
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OK, here's the first part of what makes Lowestoft interesting - some of the noteable people who have lived & worked here.
I'll start with Sir Christopher Cockerell (1910 - 1999)
Inventor of the hovercraft. Yes, Lowestoft can claim credit for this wonderful British achievement!!!
Caused his poor dad, (Sir Sydney Cockerell, curator of Cambridge University's Fitzwilliam Museum,) grief by being techy not booky, but had a brain, got a Cambridge engineering degree, then worked with Marconi as a wireless engineer and did good things in radar that helped British airmen in the War.
1950 came to Lowestoft, (well OK, Oulton Broad) on his wife inherriting a lot of money from her father. Bought a boat building / hiring company, Ripplecraft. Not sure how long he stayed there, but got an idea while there to eliminate the friction of water by raising a boat on a cushion of air. Early hovercraft models were made from a cat food tin inside a coffee tin in a bucket, powered by a vacuum cleaner!! (I love it how inventers start with things like that, makes it seem possible for the rest of us too!).
1950 to 1969 he had lots of grief and hassle getting his idea accepted - which it eventually was. He was knighted for his work in 1969, but was never rich and never felt rewarded enough for what he'd achieved. On the hovercraft part of his life he said, "Some of it was fun, but most of it was incredibly frustrating”. Another time he called invention the mother of frustration (obviously never experienced computers!). He wasn't able to retire on this invention but had to continue earning his living as a boat designer.
Nowadays hovercraft are in a bit of a decline. Some are used as high speed ferries, but they're not economically viable, they tend to wear out too quickly and usually lose money for their operators.
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Joe
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In 2007 Lowestoft College had some major new extensions built, including this building, known as the Cockerell Centre.
I believe this boat (picture 2) is the one Cockerell used on Oulton Broad while experimenting with his early hovercraft models.
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freelance
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The contents of Cockerell's workshop, which was at Somerleyton, are on permanent display in Lowestoft's Maritime Museum.
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frankiesays
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I used to fish the river hundred for pike as a kid. We used to ride along the beach to the sluice where it meets the sea and then walk down away.
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Joe
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OK, for my next interesting fact about Lowestoft I'm a big fan of The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy (by Douglas Adams).
Most Hitch Hiker fans will know of Marvin the Paranoid Android. But not many know Marvin was based on a Andrew Marshall - a Lowestoft person!
Andrew Marshall was born & grew up in Lowestoft. He went to went to Lowestoft Grammar school, (now called the Denes High School), then on to Borough Road College, London to study maths & psychology. At school he was extremely brainy (like Marvin) & took the 11 plus several years early. And, like Marvin, he was depressed too.
Marshall later became a radio & TV comedy writer, he wrote stuff for Radio 4's Week Ending programme & wrote BBC 1's sitcom 2point4 children. That's probably how Douglas Adams got to know him. Marvin's character is based on Marshall's character, not, presumably, something Marshall himself wants to 'big up'. But an interesting fact for the town nonetheless.
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Joe
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Whilst on the theme of entertainment Michael Caine is another famous character with a Lowestoft connection. Caine started in "rep" in Lowestoft, and met his wife while he was in a play at the Victoria Theatre, (now Hollywood Cinema). Caine didn't own a house in Lowestoft but rented a room - a bed sit (as did most of the theatre company), his was in Kirkley Cliff Road. I don't know the dates Caine was in Lowestoft, whether his wife was a local girl, nor which house was his - anyone able to help on any of these?
Caine starred in the film The Eagle Has landed, for which the Motor Torpedo Boat MTB 102 was restored. The MTB has had a distinguished past, I think somethig very important was signed on it in World War Two. More research is needed before it gets a full entry in it's own right, but the fact that this historic vessel is now based in Lowestoft is another interesting fact about this town.
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Trigger
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Joe: I'm a bit puzzled by your reference to the “Victoria Theatre” (now The Hollywood). My recollections of its names, post war, are: The Playhouse, The Arcadia, The Theatre Royal - and then in 1962 Bingo arrived and it became the Coronet Bingo Club.
I found a brief history of the building here: http://cinematreasures.org/theater/24985/
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funkychick
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I only know it by the names you have mentioned Trigger and in my time it was mainly the Theatre Royal Max Bygraves did a show there and stayed on Kirkly Cliff the backway came out by my Nans backway Nan told me she was surprised to see him coming out the backway and his touser seat was shiney obviously, a sign of old clothes in them there days
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Joe
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Sorry, can't help you, Trigger. That information came from when I ran my own forums & was based on a post made by a member who remembered delivering newspapers to Caine. I guess the only way to find out would be to get hold of the actual dates Caine was based at Lowestoft (at a guess some time between 1953 & 1956) & then look into names that theatre may have had at those dates.
Or maybe it wasn't that threatre at all. Secondhand knowledge may not be all it's cracked up to be! Anyone got the full facts?
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snowdrop
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micheal cain in LT bet( not lot of people knew that ),sorry joe could't help that.apparently eagle landed maybe based on fact or just urban legend..micheal palin (monty python and explorer) came here for family hols.princess margaret use dine at dutch barn southwold and came down to LT more than once
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Meg
Global Moderator
Lowestoft Online Addict
Gender:
Posts: 11279
I love Lowestoft but I love Oklahoma more!
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I saw Michael Caine in many productions at the Arcadia Theatre(now the Hollywood).He married his first wife at Lowestoft Registry Office which was in Waveney Rd.It had to be 1957 or 1958 as I was married in 1959 and didn't live in Lowestoft after that.
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morty1753
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Bernie Ecclestone ( of F1 fame ) is another son of Lowestoft.
Well nearly. He was born near Bungay but did live in Denmark road for a while.
His father was a trawlerman out of Lowestoft.
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"I" before "E" except after "C"..... That's weird
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morty1753
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I saw Michael Caine in many productions at the Arcadia Theatre(now the Hollywood).He married his first wife at Lowestoft Registry Office which was in Waveney Rd.It had to be 1957 or 1958 as I was married in 1959 and didn't live in Lowestoft after that.
He was in Rep in Lowestoft 1953-1955. He married his 1st wife, Patricia Haines, in 1954.
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"I" before "E" except after "C"..... That's weird
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Meg
Global Moderator
Lowestoft Online Addict
Gender:
Posts: 11279
I love Lowestoft but I love Oklahoma more!
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Thanks Morty - I did not remember the years he was there- just a guess on my part.
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morty1753
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Thanks Morty - I did not remember the years he was there- just a guess on my part.
And a pretty good guess it was too.
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"I" before "E" except after "C"..... That's weird
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Joe
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I had relations come down in the sumnmer from London and they were overwhelmed with the place... the size of the houses for the money
Haha, you've stumbled on the reason I still live here! I've often thought of moving, & visit Rightmove regularly, but the truth is in most towns even equaling the place I have here is way beyond me financially.
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Joe
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micheal cain in LT bet( not lot of people knew that)
Haha, yes. 'Not a lot of people know that' is definately a Caine phrase!
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Trigger
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Re: Michael Caine and the Victoria Theatre, Lowestoft.
The Hollywood Cinema’s previous names as a theatre in the post-war years were, as I stated: The Playhouse, The Arcadia, and The Theatre Royal. I called in to the Record Office today to check this information with two members of staff - one of whom was Ivan Bunn, and they confirmed that those are the only names it had in the post-war years. It was never named The Victoria Theatre. Ivan added that, last year, he had had to research the theatre’s history and that was why he was so certain.
I have in front of me on the desk a biography by Christopher Bray entitled ‘Michael Caine - A Class Act’ - the source of the following information:
Michael Scott (his stage name before he changed the surname to Caine) early in 1954, saw an ad in the pages of The Stage for an ‘experienced juvenile’ at the Lowestoft Theatre on the Suffolk Coast - and was taken on. I mentioned this theatre name (in the book) to the Record Office staff and they both agreed that Caine had, most likely, forgotten the theatre’s name!
He was married at the Lowestoft Registry Office on 3 April 1954. The groom’s address was given as 17 Cleveland Road - and the bride’s address was that of her parents. By the end of 1954, Michael and Patricia had had enough of Suffolk Rep - and moved to London to try their luck in the major acting league.
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funkychick
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We have the Scores, the Amarda post, Oliver Cromwell riding his horse up the steps of a house in the High Street, Benjamin Britten and his Kirkley Cliff house and Black Shuck
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Joe
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Thanks for your research, Trigger.
Yes, all those - and more - are on the list, FC.
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funkychick
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Michael Foreman the great writer and illustrator is a Pakefield boy He illustrates a lot of Michael Murpugo books, amonst others. Was one of the busiest Herring fishing ports in England when herring fishing was plentiful being host to the scottish fisher girls who followed the silver darlings down the coast annually. Like it or loathe it has one of the best airshows
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snowdrop
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the first humans to walk on two legs 700.000 years ago in uk was pakefield
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snowdrop
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that was feature in national geographical
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funkychick
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.....and mammoth bones have been found in the cliffs and amber on the beach
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Trigger
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Thanks for your research, Trigger.
You're welcome.
I look forward to your report about Des O'Connor appearing for a summer season at the Arcadia Theatre.
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snowdrop
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i found amber and some fossils plus arrow head....The actress judy dench got something to do with seagull theatre
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funkychick
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She spoke up for it ,as did Stephen Fry and good job they did they helped us keep a very valuable little theatre
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snowdrop
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yes it great little threatre seen a few things there.I think anna sewel(spelling)black beauty had something to do with LT but may be wrong,this just off top of head not looked it up
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funkychick
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Anna Sewell was born at Gt Yarmouth SD
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morty1753
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I think anna sewel(spelling)black beauty had something to do with LT but may be wrong,this just off top of head not looked it up
She was born in Great Yarmouth. The house she was born in is now a cafe ( I believe ) just off the market.
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"I" before "E" except after "C"..... That's weird
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malcolm
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Next to St Nicholas church
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Forever Yellow
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frankiesays
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As a river bus skipper back in the 80's i used to love the view of St. Michael's church on the hill in Oulton. i didn't actually visit the chirch until last year - what a fabulous view in the opposite direction! Tower in the middle of the church? What's that all about then?
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freelance
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Interesting, but Yarmouth, as it has already been mentioned.
The Black Beauty Tea Shoppe.
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