Lowestoft's Heritage and the Sea

The over-arching theme of the Vessels Festival is Lowestoft's relationship with the sea.

Lowestoft is one of the oldest, if not THE oldest, settlement in the UK. Even before there was a seaside, there were ancient peoples and wooly mammoths walking over the land bridge of Doggerland and across our fields to live here. When the sea washed Doggerland away, that didn't stop us and ancient humans kept coming. There is physical evidence of human habitation here that goes back to the Bronze age and earlier. We have evidence of Romans, early Iceni, and Vikings. We are listed in the Domesday book and our name is etched deep in the history of our nation. While we don't have any great castles or fortifications, what do we have is thousands of years of people making a living from the sea and interacting with the wider world.

We are an old, old town and our ancient history is written deep in our DNA.

While the arts are a vessel for the human imagination, it is our shared history and the common human connection that gives meaning to our art. To know our history is to know who we are and the Vessels Festival will celebrate our heritage and its deep ties to the sea.

They are inseparable.

Reenactors

Do you want to meet a Viking? A Roman? A Bronze Age mammoth hunter or a soldier from the Civil War or an Edwardian holiday maker? All have lived in Lowestoft had have had a story to tell and reenactors who can set up a display, dress the part and entertain and inform will be a big part of the Vessels Festival heritage offer.

Craft and Skill Demonstrations

Watch skills crafts people show "how it was done". Try your own hand at making a net or gutting a herring or throwing a pot.

Manufacturing and Industry

The fishing industry in Lowestoft has a fascinating and rich history. The Trawl Docks have working fishing boats, fish auction houses, and smoke houses. This idustry goes back a thousand years, yet is working towards a revitalised future. Come and see the glory days of the past and learn about the industry of today. Demonstrations and exhibits will show how fishing has changed and will change as it moves to a sustainable future.

Lowestoft has contributed to the modern world with innovations in areas as diverse as porcelain, food processing and canning, and electronics. Demonstrations and displays about a suprising industrial heritage will entertain and educate.

Visit Lowestoft Museums

Right on the Festival site you can visit four museums and displays from two others. On the South Pier you can visit the Lifeboat Museum. At Sparrow's Nest the Maritime Museum, Royal Naval Patrol Service Museum, and the Lowestoft War Memorial Museum will be open. Displays from the Lowestoft Museum and the East Anglian Transport Museum could be on site. You can see, feel, hear, taste Lowestoft history at our interactive displays.