A walk from Kesslingland to Lowestoft.....

Saturday 15th August 2015

We set off for another walk along the beach heading towards Lowestoft, passing Pakefield. The beach was empty except for a fellow walker passing us in the other direction and a few dog walkers. Underfoot was part sand and shingle. Quite tiring !

 A cluster of fishing boats came into view and then the village of Pakefield.  St. Margaret's & All Saints Church sits nervously on top of a the clifftop, well, more like a grassy slope. There is much evidence of land lost to the sea.

Lowestoft Beach

We carried on, and as we approached Lowestoft, we noticed the beach was a golden sand and looked like it had recently been swept and levelled. 

Lowestoft is a typical Victorian english seaside resort with B and B's,  piers, amusements, go-carts, ice cream and donuts ....

We carried on walking through the town over the bridge crossing the River Waveney that appears to divide Lowestoft. 

A cup of tea was in order, we chose The Flint House, the next oldest building in Lowestoft.  Business appeared to be slow, the new owner (of only six months) confirmed that trade was a struggle but in conjunction with other traders in the old town they were trying to organise events and market days to encourage more custom.  

Come on Waveney District Council, give them more support !! 


The Town Hall stands on the High Street, with a note pinned on its main entrance, advising the public that they have moved to new premises on Riverside Road. 

Apparently, various forms of local government have met or been based on this site since 1570. The present building was built in 1857 and later altered and extended in 1869-73. It houses the town clock and the curfew bell, which dates from 1644. 

Looking around the old town, it should have been the heart of the town but it looked tired.....

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We don't see too many of these today!

We had come across the name Peto repeatedly and decided to find out more about him. 

He was a prosperous entrepreneur and a MP. Samuel Morton Peto bought a property near Lowestoft in 1843. In doing so, he brought about a change in Lowestoft's fortunes. He built a railway connecting Lowestoft to the country's rail network thus stimulating the further development of the fishing industry and the Port of Lowestoft in general. It was an exciting time for Lowestoft, he even helped to establish the town as a flourishing seaside holiday resort. He was referred to as 'The father of Modern Lowestoft'.

Peto Place the beginnings of the Lowestoft seaside holiday resort, built by Peto, on once 'wasteland', south of the River

Born in our neck of the woods, in Surrey, in 1809 he had been an apprentice to his uncle Henry Peto, a builder in London. Morton was of outstanding diligence and energy, he claimed to be able to lay 800 bricks in a day and showed great talent as a draughtsman. 

His uncle died in 1830, the same year Morton Peto completed his apprenticeship, and left his business to Morton and his cousin Thomas Grissell. Within 16 years this partnership was responsible for the building of Hungerford Market at Charing Cross, the modern prison at Clerkenwell, The Reform Club in Pall Mall, Lyceum Theatre and the St James, Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square and the New Houses of Parliament to name just a few......

He then turned his attentions to railway building with several different business partners throughout his working life. His work can still be seen today, his legacy is national and worldwide. One of his achievements I would like to mention, is in 1854 he organised the construction of the railway in the Crimea. In order to aid the english military based there at the time. He received a Baronetcy from Queen Victoria, in recognition of his services. 


Surprise, surprise, we had a day out with my sister recently. We visited The Peto Garden at Iford Manor near Bradford on Avon, Wilts. The name Peto seems to be following us around!

I was curious and looked him up and found out he was Harold Ainsworth Peto (1854 - 1933) who created the garden, he was the eighth son of Samuel Morton Peto.  Harold spent his youth in East Anglia at the family home at Somerleyton Hall. He was educated at Harrow and began his career by training and qualifying as an architect. At 22 years old he went into partnership with Ernest George.
Theirs was a successful practice for sixteen years. Thereafter Harold concentrated on garden design and interior design.

Harold Peto was a great traveller and kept diaries of his travels around the world. He purchased Iford Manor in 1899 and with his collection of architectural treasures bought on his travels especially Italy and together with his architectural and garden design skills he created a beautiful garden. 

I was interested to learn that another good example of Harold Peto's garden architecture can be seen at West Dean Gardens, West Sussex. I must check that out.....

He also created a Japanese Garden influenced by his world trip that included Japan.

Japanese Garden