Chapter XX: Section XIII

IN a Hand-book to Lowestoft, published by Mr. Thos. Crowe, in 1853, is the following:

Lowestoft is, happily for the peace and cordiality of its people,
neither a parliamentary Borough nor a corporate town: so that
political and party feuds in no degree embitter the charities of
private life. These are advantages of which its inhabitants are
fully sensible; and if they are disposed to forget them, they are
abundantly admonished by the example of a town nine miles to their
north, which is a prey to the dissensions Lowestoft is so luckily a
stranger to. Another reason for the complete absence of those
quarrels and bickerings which are usually found in country towns, is
the fact, that the inhabitants of this parish are not called upon to
pay church-rates, the lands belonging to the church being amply
sufficient to keep it in repair. Many of these unseemly
disagreements common in other and less fortunate localities are thus
avoided. The Vicar, however, makes a claim for a tithe of fish—about
half a guinea on the return of each boat; but with his well-known
good nature he has only taken this step _pro formâ_, his unbounded
charity and benevolence being one of the “great facts” of the
locality. Amongst the other immunities and privileges enjoyed by the
inhabitants may be mentioned exemption from payment of toll, service
upon juries, &c., granted them by charter of Henry VI., in 1442, and
confirmed by Elizabeth and Charles I.

Adjoining the pier is the Royal Hotel, forming the commencement of
one of the finest of terraces, which strikes the attention of the
traveller from its elegance and architectural beauty, as the reader
will have no great difficulty in discerning through the aid of the
artist.

This superb establishment, the Royal, having been recently erected,
with an entire disregard to expense, and under the ablest supervision
in every department, comprises all the latest improvements in the
cellerage, _batterie de cuisine_, and dormitories; while the coffee
and dining rooms and suites of private apartments are most admirably
adapted for their respective uses, combining in singular perfection
all the desirable characteristics of a first-class hotel and family
mansion, without the least encroachment of the one upon the province
of the other. The house comprises within itself almost every comfort
that can be needed by the valetudinarian, or desired by the luxurious
pleasure-seeker. Situate on the very edge of the sea, and the tide
receding but very few feet during the day, out of door bathing is
nearly at all times practicable at will, the neighbourhood being in
every way favourable for it; while salt water baths, at every
temperature, are within doors, as well as all the ablutionary
appliances available under Mahmoud at Brighton, or the most eminent
professors of human detergency at Scarborough or elsewhere. A
billiard room of noble dimensions, a large conservatory, partly
filled with exotics, and partly with native plants, chiefly
indigenous to the horticulture of East Anglia (a district peculiarly
rich in this respect), and a well supplied news room, offer potent
antidotes to _ennui_. If with these accessories, added to the
auxiliaries of a most _recerché_ refectory, the attendance being at
once unobtrusive and assiduous, and everything which the experience
of a long skilled and discerning _maitre de hotel_ can suggest for
the regalement of his guests, a sojourner at the Royal Hotel,
Lowestoft, do not discover a true specific against the blue devils,
he must belong to the category of Sir Charles Coldstream’s
hypochondriacs in _Used Up_, who could find neither tranquillity in a
domestic Elyseum, nor excitement in the crater of Vesuvius. Perhaps
it may be supposed that the _agremens_ we speak of are materially
qualified by the undue “inflammation of one’s weekly bills.” But not
so. The pecuniary administration at the Royal is conducted as nearly
as possible on the model of the most approved Metropolitan Clubs,
combining the maximum of service with the minimum of charge
compatible with the high character of the house and the completeness
of its appointments. The present proprietor, Mr Samuel Howett,
possesses peculiar facilities for conducting it with advantages on
this score denied to any other person. As owner for several years of
the Royal at Norwich—one of the finest establishments of the kind in
England, as the Festival visitors can testify, and as is demonstrated
by the constant patronage of the officers of the troops stationed in
that city—he has had large local experience of the district, enjoying
the respect of many of the resident families, and well known for his
business habits, urbanity of manner, and liberal-handed management of
all public banquets or private entertainments committed to his
supervision. With such a commissariat for head-quarters, as the
Royal at Norwich, the Royal at Lowestoft becomes, in his hands,
adequate to almost any exigency that can arise, especially as, since
last Autumn, its former great capacity for accommodation has been
very considerably extended. The view in our illustration is on too
small a scale, and is taken from too remote a point to give an
adequate idea of the extent or peculiarly commanding position of the
Royal; but still it will serve to show that it is a sumptuous-looking
pile externally, and we can assure the reader that its interior is of
fully corresponding excellence in every possible respect. Another
story has recently been added to the original building, and an
entirely new wing erected, affording a large number of additional
bed-rooms, sitting-rooms, and other appliances of comfort and luxury,
all of which are furnished and adorned with unusual taste and
elegance. The pictorial establishments will especially attract the
attention of the artistical. The accommodation for guests now so
ample, however large their number, and the servants’ department so
well ordered and efficient, that there is no over-crowding,
confusion, or inattention. In securing order, regularity, quietness,
and promptitude on the part of his domestics, Mr. Howett has proved
himself an admirable tactician, and has made his hotel a model of
comfort in these important respects. When full of guests it has more
the air of a private mansion than an hotel. All conveniences for
visitors of rank, such as carriages and horses, &c., are provided in
great variety and abundance, the extensive and handsome mews being a
very noticeable feature of the Royal. Amongst the recent
improvements we may add, that the restaurant has been enlarged and
redecorated. Public banquets, or private dinner parties, must be
large indeed, if stinted for space in this noble apartment.
Connoisseurs assure that for extent, variety, excellent taste in
selection, and samples of the choicest vintage, Mr. Howett’s wine
cellars are unequalled in this part of the kingdom.

The establishment is conducted on the convenient principal of
furnishing the guests with the ordinary scale of charges, which Mr.
H. forwards on application to any gentlemen wishing to visit his
hotel. The applicant must be fastidious in the extreme if he finds
any items in this scale to complain of. As evidence at once of the
salubrity of the climate, and of the suitability of the Royal Hotel
for the utmost requirements of its various frequenters, it may be
mentioned, that Earl Cardigan makes it his occasional head-quarters,
(bringing his beautiful Yacht, the famous “Enchantress,”) and
assembling around him a large circle of his military and fashionable
friends; and, on the other hand, the Royal is often occupied by
several eminent members of the Society of Friends, to whom its
quietude and methodical system of management, no less than the
seclusion and healthiness of the locale, recommend it in preference
to watering-places of more eminent repute among the faculty. The
increasing eclât of the Annual Regatta, the number and value of the
prizes, and the celebrity of the Yachts that have assembled and
competed on occasion of the last Regatta or two, give promise that
henceforth the most “crack” Yachts and most prominent members of the
Royal Yacht Club will make an annual visit to Lowestoft, and greatly
enliven the season. From its proximity to the harbour and sea, and
other attractions, the “Royal” is the favourite rendezvous of the
Yacht owners and Regatta patrons, and the most eminent sons of
Neptune on their visit to Lowestoft; and frequently, on other
occasions, contains a large and distinguished assemblage of rank and
fashion.

We are thus particular in dwelling upon the Royal Hotel, not only
because it is one of the principal features in the beautiful new town
of Lowestoft, but because its character must necessarily have a
considerable influence upon those who may contemplate visiting the
place. Under the same admirable management of Mr. Howett is the
excellent secondary hotel at a short distance, called the Harbour
Inn, which is inferior to the Royal only in the splendour of its
fittings up; but in all its substantials of comfort and convenience
it is wholly impossible it could be surpassed; and it may be
recommended unhesitatingly to those of less aristocratic pretensions
than the usual inmates of the Royal. In the Old Town, also, there
are several inns of great respectability and merit, extremely
moderate in their charges, and distinguished by a _naìveté_ and
heartiness of manner in their proprietors and assistants that will
astonish a philosopher as being found at the terminus of a
railway—belonging, as those attributes do, rather to the primitive
hostelries of Addison and Goldsmith, than to the days of electric
telegraphs and _Bradshaw’s Time Tables_. In concluding this portion
of our subject, we may add, and in no town within our experience are
the lodgings, speaking generally, so good, so economic, so
unexceptionally conducted, as in Lowestoft—the cost of all household
necessaries and rural luxuries being fabulously trifling compared
with the tariff in other latitudes, whether on the south-west, the
north-west, or even on the Welch coast.

The sanitary condition of Lowestoft is most satisfactory. Unlike
some neighbouring towns, there has been no occasion here for the
compulsory clauses of the “Health of Towns Bill.” A few years ago,
an admirable plan of systematic and thorough drainage was adopted and
carried out under the superintendence of Messrs. Lucas, at a large
expense,—the situation and physical characteristics of the town
affording peculiar facilities for an effective scheme of sewerage.
In addition to this, a plan has been resolved on for thoroughly
draining the North Beach, and thereby preventing the possibility of
effluvium arising from “pulk holes” in the vicinity of the fish
houses.

Waterworks and Gasworks (at Kirtley), for supplying the south end of
the town, have been completed and in operation some time; and, in the
course of last year, a private bill received the Royal assent,
incorporating a company for supplying and erecting, at the north part
of Lowestoft, Waterworks, enlarged Gasworks, new Market Place,
Abattoirs, and other appropriate adjuncts, at an expense of £20,000,
to be raised by two thousand £10 shares. These shares were
immediately taken, chiefly by the inhabitants and promoters of the
undertaking, which promises to be a very successful one, pecuniarily,
and a signal advantage to the town.

The new Waterworks are now in progress near the “Church Lane” where
the element, according to repute and chemical analysis, is of
excellent quality and unusual purity; and the Market House, &c., is
speedily to be erected near the present Market square, and upon the
new site now occupied by the excellent Queen’s Head Hotel, and
adjacent buildings.

To the new Waterworks Mr. Clemence’s recently-erected _Soap_ Factory,
pretty near thereto, would seem an appropriate appendage. If
abundance and cheapness of soap and water will secure cleanliness,
the inhabitants of Lowestoft must not be classed amongst the “great
unwashed.”

The various comprehensive reports of the Directors of the Harbour of
the Shareholders show at a glance the progressively improving nature
of this locality, and the extent of the trade carried on. They are
all drawn up by the energetic and accomplished Captain W. S. Andrews,
for several years known as the Captain of the _Medway_ West India
Mail Steamer, and whose appointment here first as Harbour-master, and
more especially as Managing-director of the North of Europe Steam
Packet Company, has been a most important auxiliary in the
advancement of everything connected with Lowestoft, especially all
matters pertaining to the docks and shipping.