Chapter II: Part 2

The church is with good reason supposed to have been built by the funds supplied from the treasury of the priory of St. Bartholomew, to which establishment the impropriation of the town belonged. The dimensions of the church are as follows:—Its length, 182 feet; width, 62 feet; height, 43 feet. It comprises a nave, chancel, two aisles, north and south porches, and a square tower, surmounted by a tapering spire of timber, covered with lead, the extreme height of which is 120 feet. On the roof of the south porch are to be seen the popish emblems of the Holy Trinity, and of our Lord’s passion; and over the porch is a room called the “maids chamber,” formerly inhabited by two maiden sisters who lived a recluse life, and who left money for the sinking of two wells, situated between the church and the infirmary, called the Basket Wells; Basket being a corruption of Bess and Kate, the names of the donors. Under the chancel floor is a well wrought crypt of stone, entered by a winding staircase from the interior of the north wall; and at the west end of the nave is a long narrow arch, supposed to have been originally used as a penitent’s porch, agreeably to the custom of the ancient church.

The great east window is filled with stained glass, painted, and presented by Mr. Robert Allen, a bookseller of Lowestoft, whose first attempt at staining may be seen over his shop, in the High street, now occupied by Mr. Thos. Crowe.

A large brass eagle, formerly used as a lecturn, stands with outspread wings in the chancel, supporting an old Black letter Bible.

The Font is very elegant, but has been much defaced. The rich series of figures with which it was, and still is, partially adorned, were mutilated by one Francis Jessope, who, with a commission from the Earl of Manchester to take away from gravestones all inscriptions on which he found “_orate pro anima_” (pray for the soul), tore up most of the ancient brasses which were in the church, and visited the images of the saints with his peculiar displeasure.

One inscription escaped his search.

Orate p.aia dne Margarete Parker qe obitt po
die marciz ao dni mo bco bizo cui aie ppiciet de.

It has frequently been our lot to hear the most opprobrious epithets applied to the Iconoclasts of the times of Reformation; but, however much we may regret the indiscriminate manner in which they performed their mission, we must remember, that “their backs were yet sore with the burdens which had been laid upon them; their indignation fierce at the impostures and rapine which they had actually witnessed: theirs would have been a lukewarm zeal indeed, had it not urged them to abolish even the innocent memorials of that wickedness, which had been wrought in their eyesight, on every hill and under every tree. Another period succeeds, in which the vices of a system are no longer distinctly remembered, and contemplated only through the softening medium of antiquity, and the services of the Iconoclast and the motives on which he acted are all forgotten; and he is regarded with mere horror as an incarnate spirit of destruction.” {48}

In the chancel lies buried Thomas Scroope, Bishop of Dromore in Ireland, and vicar of this parish. His effigy in brass, habited in his episcopal robes, with a crosier in one hand, and his pastoral staff in the other, was formerly to be seen on a large stone, surrounded by a circumscription, and ornamented with divers heraldic devices, but all have long since disappeared.

He was first a monk of the order of St. Benedict; passed to the profession of a Dominican; then became a Carmelite, and preached the gospel in hair and sackcloth round the country; then became an Anchorite and so continued twenty years; was made Bishop of Dromore by the Pope; then quitted his bishoprick; came into these eastern counties, and went abroad in the neighbourhood barefoot, preaching, teaching, and dispensing alms; and died in Lowestoft, January 15th, 1491, at the age of a hundred years.

In the church there are many Monuments, the inscriptions of which will interest and amuse the reader; some are simple narrative, others are written in the inflated style peculiar to the age in which they were composed; most of them tell their own tales, it is not necessary, therefore, to transfer them to our pages. One, however, very short, begs to be noticed; it is found in the middle aisle; a small brass simply bears the initials,

[Picture: Brass with initials R. I.]

On the stone which bears this brass, there was formerly the effigy of a person standing in a praying position, with an inscription underneath, but these brasses are all stripped from their matrices. This is most probably the index to the grave of Robert Inglesse or Ingloss, Esq., who died in 1365, and was buried in this church. This, from its antiquity, is worth a special notice.

“In the churchyard are a few flowers and much green grass; and daily the shadow of the church spire, with its long tapering finger, counts the tombs, representing a dial plate of human life, on which the hours and minutes are the graves of men.” Here is the tomb of John Barker, Esq.; {50} the resting place of Sir J. E. Smith, the celebrated botanist; the grave of the Rev. James Alderson, a dissenting minister; and the dust of the Rev. B. Ritson, an estimable clergyman: here, all ranks and conditions of men mingle their undistinguishable dust; here, are high and low, rich and poor, together; here, it seems as though all strifes are hushed and discords forgotten—one stone, however, close to the wall, on the west side of the churchyard, lifts its querulous head to perpetuate the remembrance of a family disagreement; it is raised to the memory of Charles Ward, and informs the visiter, who goes to meditate among the tombs that his heart may be made better, that “it is not erected by Susan his (_i.e._ Mr. Ward’s) wife; she erected a stone to John Salter, her second husband, forgetting the affection of her first husband,” it moreover begs that “no one may disturb his bones.”

At the east side of the churchyard and towards the northern corner, may be found two or three versions of the sailor’s favourite epitaph, wherein “Boreas’s blasts” are very powerful ingredients.

The other building in which worship is conducted in the Episcopalian mode, is St. Peters Chapel, which is a neat building, in the street leading from the south part of the town to the Beccles road. The first stone was laid on the 6th of August, 1832, by the Rev. F. Cunningham, the vicar of Lowestoft. The building was consecrated by Dr. C. Sumner, Lord Bishop of Winchester, on the 15th of August, 1833.

Church rates are not levied in this parish, the lands belonging to the church being amply sufficient to keep it in repair. This being the case, those unseemly feuds, which frequently arise in parishes where this obnoxious tax is imposed, do not trouble the inhabitants. Suckling wishes it to be understood that “church rates have been occasionally raised,” and quotes only one instance, and that, as far back as 1716: the memory of this might as well have been buried in the “tomb of all the Capulets.”

The deceased Vicars of note, are Scroope, before mentioned; William Whiston, who succeeded Sir Isaac Newton at Cambridge; John Tanner, brother of Bishop Tanner, who purchased the impropriation; Robert Potter, the translator of the three great writers of greek drama.

2. _The Independents_ have long had a place of worship in the town. Before the erection of their present chapel in 1695, they worshipped in a barn, situated in the Blue Anchor lane, where the Rev. Mr. Emlyn, a learned man, was for a short time minister: since that time there has been a long succession of ministers, and the congregation has experienced many vicissitudes. The chapel has, within the last few years, been altered and greatly improved, and has now a very respectable appearance. It is situated in the High street, near the old market plain.

3. _The Wesleyan Society_ in this town was formed in 1761, under the auspices of the Rev. John Wesley, who first preached on a spot of ground in Martin’s score, near the Star hotel.

In 1776 their present place of worship was opened on November the 19th, when the Rev. John Wesley preached in the morning, from Rev. xx. 10; and in the afternoon, from Isaiah lxvi. 8 and 9. The society is in a flourishing condition. Their place of worship is situated in Frary lane, at the back of the Crown and Anchor hotel.

4. _The Baptists_ have a chapel opposite the vicarage. It was built in 1813, chiefly through the generosity of R. Kemp, Esq. of Yarmouth. S. M. Peto, Esq., M. P., has taken great interest in the prosperity of the cause, has built a commodious school room, and contemplates the erection of a larger chapel in a more convenient situation. The Rev. J. E. Dovey is the present minister.

5. _The Primitive Methodists_ have a place of worship situated on the beach, (near the bottom of Denny’s score,) among that class of the inhabitants who are generally least disposed to go in quest of religious instruction, and here they usefully employ themselves in their important work.

SCHOOLS.

The Public Schools in the town provided for the poor are numerous, and generally well conducted. The principal are Wilde’s, Annot’s, and the British School.

JOHN WILDE left several estates, together with the rents and profits thereof, to be applied for a virtuous and learned schoolmaster, who shall teach forty boys to write and read and cast accounts, and shall also teach them the Latin tongue.

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 principally supported by the Independents and Wesleyans, assisted 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 shore 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 blustering stormy season is best suited to the successful prosecution of this fishery, for only then do the fish rise in large quantities, 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 shore 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 TITHE 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 instituted 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 Institution 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’ INSTITUTION

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 Institution.

THE REPOSITORY SALE.

Annually a Bazaar is held in the bath rooms, to which the ladies in the neighbourhood contribute principally 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 amusement, 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 assisted 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 assail 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 destitute of attractions, and, in its vicinity, visiters may enjoy many pleasant rides and rambles.

To the north is Gunton, with its neat little church and churchyard, the pleasantest approach to which is by the first lane leading out from the road which skirts the common on the west. The church has been repaired and refitted under the direction of the Rev. F. C. Fowler, the present Incumbent; a fine specimen of the Norman doorway, on the north side, deserves notice.

In the vicinity of the church are the remains of Gunton Old Hall, now much altered and improved; at a short distance from which, is the new Hall, the residence of R. C. Fowler, Esq. On leaving the churchyard, a road to the right will conduct the pedestrian to the turnpike road again.

If, instead of turning off in the direction of Gunton, the rambler should pursue the road on the west of the common, he will be struck with the beauty of the new marine abode of Holland Birkett, Esq., a little beyond which, is the residence of the Rev. F. C. Fowler, both delightfully situated on the edge of the cliff. The architecture of the former is a combination of the Swiss and Elizabethan styles. The garden and grounds are tastefully laid out, and will amply repay the stranger for a visit.

Further north is the village of Corton, the church of which is a ruin; public worship is, however, performed in a portion of it, which has been fitted up for that purpose. The tower is ninety feet high. To the west are the Corton Cliffs, which present a commanding view of the ocean and its shipping, of which latter there is usually a plentiful supply.

On return, the sandy beach and the rabbit warren under the cliff, offer a choice of walks; if the latter be chosen, it will lead past the Warren house, along a path as pleasant as any in the neighbourhood, and eventually bring the traveller out near the upper light-house.

The village of Blundeston lies to the west of the Yarmouth road; here are seen the house belonging to J. Chapman, Esq., and Blundeston House, the delightful residence of Charles Steward, Esq., which, with its grounds, was once the property of the Rev. Norton Nicholls, and a place admired and frequently visited by the poet Gray. The church at Blundeston is an old Norman erection with a circular tower; its roof has been lately covered with flakes of stone, about half or three-quarters of an inch in thickness; and its principal internal decoration, is a fragment of a screen on which is represented the story of St. Peter and the Angel.

Not far from Blundeston Church, to the south, Thomas Morse, Esq., has erected a substantial house in one of the most delightful situations the country affords.

From Blundeston the visiter may approach Somerleyton. Here, the principal object of interest is the Hall, the seat of S. M. Peto, Esq., M.P. It stands in a park of no very great extent, but well planted, possessing a stately avenue of lime trees which, in summer are surpassingly beautiful. Fuller in his Worthies, vol. ii. uses these words, “Sommerley Hall, nigh Yarmouth, well answering the name thereof: for here sommer is to be seen in the depth of winter, in the pleasant walks beset on both sides with firr trees, green all the year long; besides other curiosities.” This Hall was the seat of Sir John Wentworth during the civil wars; his name and place of abode occur in the histories of that period. Mr. Peto has made very extensive alterations and improvements both in the house and grounds; he has also erected a neat and commodious Chapel and a Gothic School room in this parish.

The mere, called “the wicker well,” belonging to Cammant Money, Esq., is a small lake in this parish; its banks are fringed with shrubs interwoven with tall and graceful trees, producing on the whole a very pleasing effect.

At no great distance from Somerleyton is Herringfleet, the Church of which is an interesting structure, unquestionably Norman.

St. Olave’s in Herringfleet was formerly a priory of black canons, founded by Roger Fitz-Ozbert, of Sommerley, to the honor of St. Mary, and St. Olave the king and the martyr, in the beginning of the reign of Henry III. The remains of this priory were chiefly taken down in 1784, but some parts of it are still left near the bridge, which superseded a ferry that existed here at a very remote period, which “before the reign of Edward I., was kept by one Sireck, a fisherman, who received for his trouble, bread, herrings, and such like things, to the value of twenty shillings a year;” it descended to several generations of the family. In the reign of Henry V. permission was given to Jeffery Pollerin of Yarmouth, to build a bridge ‘over the water between Norfolk and Suffolk,’ which, however, was not built. The old bridge and causeway over Haddiscoe dam were constructed in the reign of Henry VII., at the sole expense of Dame Margaret, the wife of Sir James Hobart: this bridge was repaired about the year 1770, but was steep, narrow, and obstructive to the navigation of the river: it has lately given place to a beautifully designed Iron Bow Suspension Bridge, of curious mechanism, which is in every sense an ornament to the neighbourhood.

In Herringfleet on the road to Somerleyton, the Misses Leathes have erected a beautiful Villa, of which Messrs. Lucas and Son were the builders.

* * * * *

The visiter may enjoy a pleasant ride through Blundeston, Lound, and Belton; he will then arrive at Burgh Castle, the Garianonum of the Romans.

[Picture: N.E. View of Burgh Castle, Suffolk]

“In the construction of this camp, the Romans pursued their usual
method of security in building, and practised their favourite
military architecture. It formed an irregular parallelogram, the
parallel sides of which were equally right lines, and equally long,
but the corners were rounded. Those camps which were one third
longer than they were broad, were esteemed the most beautiful; but
here the proportion is as two to one.

“The principal wall of this station, in which is placed the Porta
Prætoria, is that to the east, 14 feet high, 214 yards long, and 9
feet broad; the north and southern walls are just the same height and
breadth, and just half the length; the western side has no remains of
any wall, nor can we determine, with certainty, whether it ever had
any; the sea might, possibly, be considered as a sufficient barrier
on that side, and the steepness of the hill, as a collateral
security. Four massive round towers defend the eastern wall; the
northern has one; and another, now thrown down, stood opposite on the
southern. These towers were added after building the walls, and
served not only to ornament and strengthen them, but as turres
exploratorii; each having on the top a round hole two feet deep, and
as many in diameter, evidently designed both for the erection of
standards and signals, and for the admission of light temporary
watch-towers, under the care, and for the use of the speculatores.
The south-west corner of the station forms the pretorium, raised by
the earth taken out of a vallum which surrounds and secures it, and
which is sunk eight feet lower than the common surface of the area.
Near this was placed the south tower, which being undermined some
years since, by the force of the water running down the vallum after
some very heavy rains, is fallen on one side near its former
situation, but remains perfectly entire. The north tower having met
with a similar accident, is reclined from the wall at the top about
six feet, has drawn a part of it, and caused a breach near it. The
whole area of the station contains four acres and two roods; and
including the walls, five acres, two roods, and twenty perches.

“The mortar made use of by the Romans in this work, was composed of
lime and sand, unrefined by the sieve, and incorporated with common
gravel and pebbles. It was used two different ways; one cold, in the
common manner now in use; the other, rendered fluid by fire and
applied boiling hot. From the artful mixture of both in the same
building, and from the coarse materials of the composition, this
cement is extremely hard and durable, very difficult to break, and
for several days indissoluble in water. The Romans, raising the wall
to a convenient height with the former sort, at the end of every
day’s work poured the latter upon it: which immediately filled up the
interstices, and when cold, proved a most powerful adhesive. The
Roman bricks made use of at Burgh are of a fine red colour and very
close texture; they are about one foot and a half long, one foot
broad, and an inch and an half thick. It does not, however, appear
that the Romans had any exact standard for the size of their bricks:
in different stations their dimensions are considerably varied. We
ought, however, to observe, that either in the choice of their
materials, or in their method of preparing them, they far excel those
of later days, being much harder and less porous than ours; and for
durableness, more resembling stone, for which they were, undoubtedly,
substituted.”

* * * * *

Again starting from Lowestoft by the western outlet, passing the church, and keeping to the right, along the road leading to St. Olave’s bridge, Oulton High House will be presented to notice, an old manor house, some of the internal decorations of which are highly wrought and valuable: it dates from the days of Elizabeth. Between this and the church, which lies to the westward, is the Rectory, which has been recently built, the abode of the Rev. C. H. Cox.

The church is a curious structure, having its tower in the centre: but the objects of greatest interest are within. In the centre of the chancel floor lies the full-sized effigy of an ecclesiastic, habited in the gorgeous sacerdotal vestments of the Roman church; this is Sire Adam Bacon, presbyter. Ives supposes this to be the oldest and most magnificent sepulchral brass, placed to an ecclesiastic, now remaining in England.

On a large stone near the chancel door are the effigies of John Fastolf, Esq., and Katherine his wife, which were placed there in 1479. Gillingwater, page 275, discovers a relationship between these Fastolfs and the redoubtable Knight of the “Merry wives of Windsor,” and “Henry IV.”

Close to the church is the Hall, now the property of George Borrow, Esq., whose pleasant and retired residence is a little to the right of it, overlooking the Oulton Broad.

On the road from Oulton church to Lowestoft is the house of E. Leathes, Esq., at Normanstone, which has a fine view of the Railway and Lake Lothing, with the parish of Kirtley in the distance.

* * * * *

The road to Beccles—though in some parts of it pleasing—is less attractive than others in the neighbourhood, in consequence of the marshes on one side of it; but midway between Lowestoft and Beccles is Cove Hall, the residence of William Everitt, Esq. and nearer Beccles is the beautiful seat of the Earl of Gosford, with its park and grounds. The town of Beccles and its neighbourhood present several attractions—its fine old church with its detached tower; its nursery grounds and several gentlemen’s seats; not to mention other objects worthy of notice, will all repay examination.

* * * * *

To the south of the harbour, and through Kirtley, is the village of Pakefield, which may be approached either by the sea-side, or by the turnpike road. The church has a double nave and is neat and carefully preserved. The font and several brasses deserve attention. Beyond Pakefield is Kessingland, and between the two villages, on the beach, is a neat and new Light-house: the walk along the cliff here is very pleasant; several coins and other curiosities have been found at different times, specimens of which may be obtained of an old man who lives close by.

Through Kessingland lies Covehithe; the ruins of its church covered with ivy, and venerable in its decay, are thus described by Davy in his architectural antiquities. “These splendid ruins attest the former wealth and populousness of a place, which now ranks among the poorest and meanest parishes in the county. All the ancient part of this once stately pile is now in complete decay; but divine service is performed in a small edifice erected within the nave of the old one, though it does not occupy one half of it. This, as appears from an inscription on a stone in the north wall, was completed in the year 1672. The three grand arches at the east, still retain their position, though much mutilated, and, for magnitude and form, may vie with the noblest specimens of the kind in the county. The tower, which appears of a more ancient date than the rest of the ruined fabric, still remains as a landmark for travellers.”

Miss Agnes Strickland, who resides at Reydon hall, not many miles distant, has thus sung the melancholy fate of Covehithe:—

“On gray Covehithe mild eve has cast
A soft and mellow ray;
But o’er its glories time has pass’d
With dark destroying sway.

“All roofless now, the stately pile,
And rent, the arches tall,
Through which, with bright departing smile,
The western sunbeams fall.

“The ivy wreaths unheeded twine
In wild profusion there,
And oft with summer flowers combine
To crown the oriel fair.

“The choir is hush’d, and silent now
The organ’s thrilling sigh;
Yet swells at eve, from many a bough,
The linnet’s lullaby.

“The grass-grown aisle all green and lone,
No musing footsteps tread;
And even o’er the altar stone
The mantling brambles spread.

“Tradition’s voice forgets to tell
Whose ashes sleep below,
And fancy here unchecked may swell
And bid the story flow.”

But we are trenching now upon the proper domain of Southwold, which is a pleasant watering place beyond Covehithe, to which, if the visiter should wish to rove, we advise that, on his return, he should take the road to Wrentham, thence proceed along the turnpike road past Benacre Hall, the seat of Sir T. S. Gooch, and so through Kessingland to Lowestoft again.

We have now performed our task, and heartily wish our readers health and happiness through the season, in the enjoyment of which they cannot fail to appreciate the pleasures afforded by the works of Him whose is the sea, for he made it; whose hand also fashioned the dry land.

* * * * *

THE END.

* * * * *

* * * * *

LOWESTOFT:
PRINTED BY T. CROWE, HIGH-STREET.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

FANCY REPOSITORY, HIGH STREET, LOWESTOFT.

* * * * *

T. CROWE,
PRINTER, BOOKSELLER, STATIONER,
MUSICSELLER, BOOKBINDER,
ENGRAVER AND SILVERSMITH.

* * * * *

BERLIN AND OTHER WOOLS,
_Patterns_, _Silks_, _Cords_, _Canvass_, _Needles_, _Frames_, _Rolio_,
_etc._,
KNITTING COTTONS, PINS, MESHES.

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Footnotes

{14} For a very minute account of this strife, and for the merits of the case, see Gillingwater’s History IN LOCO.

{16} Suckling has asserted that this was a piece of Cromwell’s “usual duplicity.” The reader is referred to “Cromwell’s Letters and Speeches” edited by Thomas Carlyle, for a splendid refutation of the ungenerous calumny.

{26} Names of the persons who composed the crew of the “Frances Ann” Life-boat:—Lieut. T. S. Carter, R.N.; H. B. Disney, James Stebbens, James Titlow, pilots; Thomas Aldiss, Henry Smith, Thomas Butcher, William Hook, William Gurney, James Taylor, John Browne, William Francis, Robert Chaston, Edmund Boyce, Thomas Humsley, Nathaniel Killwick, James Robinson, and William Butcher.

{27} The persons who composed the crew of the Life-boat were, Henry Beverley Disney, Henry May, David Burwood, James Cullingham, pilots; Cornelius Ferrett, William Ayers, Samuel Spurden, John Spurden, Robert Watson, James Websdale, Samuel Butcher, Batholomew Allerton, James Farrer, Peter Smith, George Burwood, Matthew Colman, Edward Ellis, and James Stebbens.

{29} This poor man was a teetotaller, and although left on the wreck some hours longer than the rest, when brought on shore was found to be less exhausted than they.

{48} Edinburgh Review, Jan. 1840.

{50} The interest of £1000 is left to keep this tomb in repair; the surplus is given to the poor.

{56} This is the orthodox time; we believe the merchants now perform the whole process in a much shorter period.

{62} Craik’s Sketches of the History of Learning and Literature in England.