An archival and arts project celebrating the 175th anniversary of the railway coming to Lowestoft.
Figure 1 – Etching of Lowestoft Railway Station in 1855 (Image courtesy of Suffolk Archives, ref LRO/1300/72/47/21)
As well as bringing about repairs to historic buildings, the London Road, Lowestoft Heritage Action Zone is delivering a cultural programme of activity to encourage local people to engage in the history and culture of the town. Through the Heritage Action Zone’s cultural programme, Suffolk Archives and The Voice cLoud have been awarded funding from Historic England to deliver a cultural project celebrating the heritage of Lowestoft’s railway as part of its 175th anniversary in 2022.
The project has seen volunteers research the arrival of the railway to Lowestoft with Suffolk Archives, looking at the development of the town and the port following the introduction of the railway, as well as the influence of Sir Morton Peto on the town, and how the railway brought wealth and prosperity to the town, as well as making it a desirable seaside resort!
Figure 2 – Portrait of Sir Samuel Morton Peto (Image courtesy of Suffolk Archives, ref LRO/1300/103/23)
Figure 3 – Image of the fish market showing the busy port activity of the town (image courtesy of Suffolk Archives, ref LRO/412/Fish Market)
Creative arts organisation, The Voice cLoud has worked closely with the group of volunteers, facilitating their research and working with professional theatre makers to develop this research into a bespoke dramatised performance entitled ‘Mind The Gap’ which will also feature amateur musicians from the Voice cLoud’s other community projects as well as some of the research participants.
Figure 4 – Rehearsals taking place
The performance tells the tale of the arrival of rail to the town, the role that Sir Morton Peto played in this and the wider prosperity and tourism that it brought to Lowestoft. It also celebrates local characters and their involvement in the fishing and port industries, seaside holidays and architecture of the town from the mid-1800s to the Edwardian era, highlighting the popularity of Music Halls along the way.
Performances are taking place at the following locations:
Monday 22nd August, 2:30pm
Sam’s Coffee House, 132 Bevan Street East, Lowestoft, NR32 2AQ
Tuesday 23rd August, 2:30pm
The Kirkley Centre, London Road South, Lowestoft, NR33 0AZ
Performances are free to attend but tickets must be booked in advance. You can reserve your tickets by calling 07909 510976 or email contact@thevoicecloud.co.uk.
More details for the event can be found here.
