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Happy Chick
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Hi all, could anyone tell me where the Empire hotel was in Lowestoft?
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JollyJapes
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Im not sure, but was that possibly where McDonalds is now?
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Happy Chick
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No I think that was the The Suffolk, the empire is featured in the journal this week, looked a beautiful building, just wondered were it was
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Meg
Global Moderator
Lowestoft Online Addict
Gender: 
Posts: 11280
I love Lowestoft but I love Oklahoma more!
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Yes that was the Suffolk Hotel and the Imperial was on the corner of Denmark Rd and Bevan street.I never heard of the Empire hotel and lived there from 1938 til 1959.
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Happy Chick
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It was opened in 1900 and was described as 1 of the finest hotels in Europe !
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Happy Chick
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Yes thats the 1, I have heard of St Lukes hospital, cant believe this building was pulled down!!!
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Meg
Global Moderator
Lowestoft Online Addict
Gender:
Posts: 11280
I love Lowestoft but I love Oklahoma more!
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I only remember it as St.Luke's hospital.
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funkychick
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Yep Meg it was The Empire before it was St Lukes before our time but thats the one, absolutely magnificent building but like all magnificent buildings gets scraped
Perhaps those who scorned why some locals were trying to save Tuttles will understand what we once had here
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funkychick
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Just to add a little history when it was pulled down in 1958 a workman was killed whilst dismanteling one of the lifts which plummeted to the ground killing him instantly
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freelance
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Perhaps those who scorned why some locals were trying to save Tuttles will understand what we once had here
A high-handed attitude. Probably understand a lot more than you realise.
Some of those "scornful" people can remember the Empire Hotel, Suffolk Hotel (where McDonalds is), Back's Imperial Hotel (about 20 yards away from McDonalds) as well as the Grand Hotel (then the Palais and now CEFAS).
I was there at the demolition of St. Lukes (Empire) and carted much of the rubble away. I took scores of lorryloads of rubble which became the foundations of Beccles swimming pool.
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funkychick
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Well I wasnt actually referring to you in my 'high handed' post FL there were some young people and those who hadnt lived here who obviously hadnt seen the lovely buildings we used to have, but if you want it to refer to you thats ok
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frankiesays
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Out of interest can you remember which company was in charge of the demolition and removal of the rubble Freelance?
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funkychick
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Icant help on that but i know the workmen pulling it down were mostly Irish I was a schoolgirl at the time and we schoolgirls used to get whisltled and waved to by the lads working on it which of coourse kept us giggling and gazing all through the next lessons
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freelance
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Funkychick is dead right that the labour was mostly Irish. It was some big firm from outside Lowestoft.
The firm contracted to transport the rubble was A & S Boardley, based at the Beach Village. Before moving onwards and upwards I "filled in" there for a while, mostly dragging loads of coal from ships discharging at the Town Quay, and tipping it at the gasworks.
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JustStu
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Was on the corner of Rectory Rd.
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I told my girlfriend I had a job in a bowling alley. She said 'Tenpin?' I said, 'No, permanent.'
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funkychick
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Its where Shaftesbury Court is now, by Essex and Suffolk Water
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funkychick
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.....that was when it became St Lukes, my mums friend came down as a nurse at St Lukes and is still in Lowestoft now at 90
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frankiesays
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One of my early memories was my father taking me there when the building had been demolished, if it was 59 I would have been 6. He worked at Harper's Transport at the time and took me down there in a works van. I thought they either had something to do with the demolition or maybe the groundwork afterwards - is that where the little new convent school was built?
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funkychick
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Not quite its where Shaftesbury Court is St Marys is next door and some of their sports field overlaps. Just out of interest its no longer a convent its a Catholic primary but no nuns or anything to do with a convent anymore they all moved away when the old Cconvent was pulled down
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