Bob Lawson's Lowestoft Page

Lowestoft has a long history , dating back to before the Doomsday book and has seen many changes over the years. The town has grown from a small fishing village on the beach, to at its peak, a thriving fishing, industrial and holiday resort. Unfortunately those days are past and the town like so many others has seen a decline in its traditional industries.

Despite the closure or cutbacks of many of the major employers, people still seem able to find work in the many smaller businesses although unemployment is above the national average. Although the fishing and shipbuilding have declined, the skills aquired have been put to good use in the oil and gas industry by the manufacture of platforms, modules and related equipment by ex shipyard workers and the use of converted fishing boats as standby vessels in and around the offshore oil and gas fields. The towns holiday industry still does well, our beach, being among the cleanest in the country,attracts many visitors each year.

Gone also are what for many people have been familiar landmarks and parts of the towns history, anyone who left the town some years ago would hardly recognize it if they returned now. Fortunately a lot of the towns history has been recorded and is available to all if you know where to look. There are several museums in Lowestoft each catering for a particular part of the town's past.

• The Lowestoft Museum,Nicholas Everit Park, O.B.
• The Lowestoft Maritime Museum,Sparrows Nest Gardens.
• The Royal Navy Patrol Service Museum, Sparrows Nest Gardens.
• The Carlton Colville Transport Museum.
• The Lowestoft War Memorial Museum, Sparrows Nest Gardens.

See the WHY page for more info on some of the above

Many people have produced books about the town's past, the most prolific being Jack Rose, his first book seemed to trigger an interest in old Lowestoft that has grown and grown and has inspired others to write their own books so future generations can enjoy the town's past.

If you are interested in the town's past then I recommend a trip to the town library where you will find a most comprehensive selection of books on the subject.

When I first started this site it was my intention to tell the world how good my home town was. To do this I planned to do articles about various places of interest and put them up one a month, little did I realise what I had took on. What had been planned to be a couple of scanned postcards and a few lines of text didn'd turn out like that when I got down to it. First off was copyright on pictures and maps, then a need to be accurate and interesting and lastly the time to research and produce the said articles, the last being in short supply since a change of work location meant a longer working day. So my original plans have been adjusted and articles will appear as and when I can produce them. I'm sorry but there's still only one.

Since I Started this site I have had several E-Mails from Old Lowestoftians in various parts of the world and I thank you all for your interest and comments. Adrian Bowler who now lives in Canada has suggested that I produce a page listing Old Lowestoftians around the world, this I am willing to do if there is any interest. E-Mail me if you are an Old Lowestoftian who has left the town and would like to be remembered.