The New Hand-Book to Lowestoft and its Environs Part 4

THOMAS ANNOT, merchant of this town, also left money for founding a grammar school at Lowestoft; and by a decree, given in Gillingwater, it is ordered "that the same school shall consist of a schoolmaster, learned in the art and knowledge of grammar, and able to instruct and teach the rules and principles thereof, and the Latin tongue, and other things incident, necessary, and belonging to the said art, to be master, tutor, and teacher of the scholars in the said school, consisting of forty scholars and not above, to be taught and instructed within the said school."

Henry Wilde, known by the name of the Arabian Tailor, was master of this school. He was a great proficient in the oriental languages, and was sent by Dean Prideaux to Oxford, where he gained a poor living by teaching languages; he afterwards removed to London, where he died. Mr.

Rogers is the present master.

The British School is a neat building, on the south turnpike, which was opened in 1844, on the liberal principle of educating the children of all, without distinction of sect or party. It is princ.i.p.ally supported by the Independents and Wesleyans, a.s.sisted by the munificence of S. M.

Peto, Esq. M.P. Mr. M. Hinde is the efficient master.

Sabbath Schools are connected with most of the places of worship in the town.

THE FISHERIES.

At present there are two fishing seasons during the year.

The Herring season begins about a fortnight before Michaelmas, and continues till Martinmas. At the beginning of the season the boats sail off to sea, about thirteen leagues north-east of Lowestoft, to meet the shoals of fish. Having arrived on the fishing ground, the fishermen shoot their nets, (extending about 2,200 yards in length, and eight in depth, which, by simple means, are made to swim in a position perpendicular to the surface of the water,) in which the fish are entangled. As soon as the fish are brought on sh.o.r.e they are taken to the fish houses and salted; they remain in salt two or three days, are then washed; then spitted; (_i.e._ an osier wand, about four feet long, is thrust through the gills of as many as can hang freely upon it,) the spits are then hung upon rafters, with which the upper part of the fish houses are fitted up; fires of oak billet are made on the floors of the houses, by which the fish are at once dried and smoked; the herrings hang thus about a fortnight, and then they are fit for market. {56}

The Mackerel season begins about the middle of May, and continues to the end of June. At the beginning of this season the boats sail to the north-east, in order to meet the fish at the beginning of their annual revolution round the British Isles. A bl.u.s.tering stormy season is best suited to the successful prosecution of this fishery, for only then do the fish rise in large quant.i.ties, within reach of the nets, the meshes of which are larger than those used in the herring fishery. The fish are generally brought in every day.

Small boats called 'along sh.o.r.e boats,' generally the property of those who use them, are employed in catching whatever fish will come to their nets; these are speedily brought into the town, and disposed of for the consumption of the inhabitants.

There were formerly two other fisheries, the North sea and Iceland fisheries, but they have long since been entirely neglected.

THE t.i.tHE OF FISH.

The vicar of the parish makes a claim of half a guinea from each boat on its return from the herring fishery; and half a dole,-_i.e._ one three-hundredth part of the whole catch-from the mackerel boats at the close of their season. The legality of these claims is disputed, and, in the case of the latter, legal proceedings were inst.i.tuted in 1845, by the Rev. F. Cunningham against Mr. John Roberts, who declined payment of the demand. Those persons who are interested in the affair may obtain a sight of the argument, as maintained by the legal adviser of the plaintiff, in Suckling's History, _in loco_; and of the argument, as maintained by the defendant, in a Lecture delivered and published at the time, by the Rev. J. Browne.

THE BATTERIES.

Before Kett's insurrection in the year 1549, there were six pieces of cannon for the defence of the town; these were carried off by the insurgents to batter the walls of Yarmouth. To replace these, Queen Elizabeth presented to the people of Lowestoft four pieces of cannon and two slings; these appear to have been carried away by Cromwell in 1643, but afterwards he found it necessary to build a fort and plant four guns upon it; some time after, the platform on which these guns were placed was destroyed by the sea, but the guns were rescued; after which, another platform was erected which shared the same fate; on this occasion also the guns were preserved.

In later times it was found expedient to build three Batteries; that on the south was begun and finished in 1782. The fort consists of a ditch mounted with _chevaux de frize_; the magazine (in the north-west angle of the fort, thirty feet long and twelve broad,) is sunk beneath the surface of the earth, and is bomb proof. To the east of this fort is the promenade, and the green known by the name of the Battery Green.

In the same year a fort was erected at the north end of the town, about one hundred yards to the north of the light-house; this battery was intended to act with another erected during the same year on the beach, near the ness, the bounds and breastwork of which are still clearly visible.

THE PORCELAIN MANUFACTORY.

There was, some years since, a manufactory of Porcelain or China-ware in this town, but it has fallen away and become extinct. Specimens of the ware may be frequently purchased in the cottages in the neighbourhood.

THE SAVINGS BANK

was established in 1818, for the purpose of affording to sailors, journeymen, and others, especially to the females of Lowestoft and its vicinity, a secure place where they may deposit the small savings they may be able to make from their wages; which deposits are repaid with interest at 2 18s. 10d. per centum per annum, agreeably to certain rules.

The office for this Inst.i.tution is kept at the town chamber in the town hall, and is open every Wednesday from twelve till one o'clock. Mr. T.

Bird is the clerk.

THE MECHANICS' INSt.i.tUTION

was established in June 1843, for the following purposes-_first_, the diffusion of useful knowledge; _secondly_, the promotion amongst the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood, of that harmony and good feeling which ought to exist among all men.

The means used for attaining these objects are-a library for circulation; the delivery of lectures on literary and scientific subjects; and the adoption of such other means as, from time to time, are deemed expedient by the committee of management. The library is increasing both in the number and value of its books. The subscription is one shilling per quarter. S. S. Brame, Esq., is the President of the Inst.i.tution.

THE REPOSITORY SALE.

Annually a Bazaar is held in the bath rooms, to which the ladies in the neighbourhood contribute princ.i.p.ally articles of their own manufacture.

The proceeds of the sale are usually divided between the Church schools and the Infirmary funds.

CRICKET CLUBS.

During the summer evenings the denes usually present a very lively appearance; the members of the several cricket clubs are practising, not only for their own amus.e.m.e.nt, but that they may be prepared to meet other gentlemen who, residing in the neighbouring towns, cherish a friendly rivalry in the art of bat and ball.

THOMAS NASH

the satirist, who flourished in the reign of Elizabeth, was born at Lowestoft. He wrote a play called "Lenton Stuffe; or, the Praise of the Red Herring," published in 1599, in quarto; he was also "the author of a slight dramatic piece, mostly in blank verse, but partly in prose, and having also some lyrical poetry interspersed, called 'Summers' Last Will and Testament,' which was exhibited before Queen Elizabeth at Norwich, in 1592; and he also a.s.sisted Marlow, in his tragedy of 'Dido, Queen of Carthage,' which, although not printed till 1594, is supposed to have been written before 1590. But his satire was of a higher order than his dramatic talent. There never was, perhaps, poured forth such a rushing and roaring torrent of wit, ridicule, and invective, as in the rapid succession of pamphlets which he published in the year 1589, against the Puritans and their famous champion (or rather knot of champions) who bore the name of Martin Mar-Prelate; unless in those in which he began, two years after, to a.s.sail poor Gabriel Harvey, his persecution of, and controversy with whom, lasted a much longer time, till, indeed, the Archbishop of Canterbury (Whitgift) interfered, in 1597, to restore the peace of the realm, by an order that all Harvey's and Nash's books should be taken wherever they might be found, 'and that none of the said books be ever printed hereafter.'" {62}

ENVIRONS OF LOWESTOFT.

The neighbourhood of Lowestoft is by no means dest.i.tute of attractions, and, in its vicinity, visiters may enjoy many pleasant rides and rambles.