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Greetings from Lowestoft

Celebrating Lowestoft’s heritage as a popular seaside resort

Take part in this project

… and contributing to its future

Over 150 postcards were submitted to the Greetings from Lowestoft postcard competition. Thank you to all the talented and creative people of Lowestoft.
Judging of the postcards took place on Tuesday 21st November to pick 6 postcards which will be reproduced and made available for free so you can send your own greetings from Lowestoft!
The winners of the competition will be announced by Suffolk poet and writer, Dean Parkin, on Friday 15th December at 5pm at East Point Pavilion where all of the postcards entered into the competition will be on display. No need to book for the event, just turn up from 5pm! The launch event will form part of the @firstlightlowestoft’s Christmas celebration where there will be choirs, performers, stalls as well as food from the wonderful traders at East Point Pavilion.
The exhibition will be in East Point Pavilion from 15th December to 19th December.
Postcards from previous workshops were used as invitations for family and friends to visit the First Light Festival 2023, a weekend of celebration and entertainment taking place on south beach.

The Festival opened with a massive parade through the town and, in addition to the postcards, Greetings from Lowestoft also produced a Bunting Activity Guide, to encourage residents to make their own celebration bunting to festoon their fences and garland their gates.

The Bunting Activity Packs can be downloaded from the Guide from our Take Part pages.

Make Your Own Tied and Pegged Bunting

Make Your Own Hapa Zome Dyed Bunting

Greetings from Lowestoft is funded through and delivered as part of the Lowestoft Heritage Action Zones (HAZ). These are heritage-led regeneration schemes which seek to enhance the appearance of the area through funding improvements to buildings; provide opportunities for more cultural activities; celebrate the town’s rich history and encourage communities to come together.

What inspired this project?

It was in 1847 that Samuel Morton Peto brought the railway to Lowestoft.

Although primarily intended to transport fresh fish out to cities such as Manchester and London, the trains also brought holiday visitors in to Peto’s new town resort, built in the rural parish of Kirkley, south of the harbour and along the south beach.

He constructed the first promenade, as well as a number of first rate villas and hotels, all of which attracted holiday makers to the town and Lowestoft quickly became a popular and successful seaside resort.

It is this rich heritage, along with the vibrancy of First Light Festival and the ambitions for the future embodied in the South Lowestoft Heritage Action Zone plan that inspired the Greetings from Lowestoft project.

I didn't realise the Parade was happening along London Road South - I will definitely get my family to come now and will use this postcard invitation to invite them along.

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A collaged postcard of 3 beach huts on a blue background and yellow foreground. Each beach hut has a black roof and there is a white dove on one of them. In the foreground are images of sandals, a beach hat and sunglasses, a deck chair and shade and a shell Blog posts

Greetings from Kirkley Pantry

A lovely session at the Kirkley Pantry, making collaged postcards to celebrate Lowestoft’s popularity as a seaside resort

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A postcard collaged with paper and wooden shapes, with a black border along the bottom, above which are cut-out shapes of sandcastles, stones and hand drawn people. Above it a strip of blue paper with two wooden fish glued and a black paper boat. The sky above is created with a strip of blue patterned paper, overlaid with white clouds and a yellow sun Blog posts

Brave Artists send Greetings from Lowestoft

A collection of wonderful postcards of Lowestoft, created by our Brave Artists

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Project contact

Fran Speight, Project Officer (she/her)
Suffolk Artlink
Units 13 & 14
Malt Store Annex
The Cut, 8 New Cut
Halesworth
IP19 8BY

Telephone 07517 426707
Email fran@suffolkartlink.org.uk

Project partners, funders and supporters

This project was delivered through the Lowestoft Heritage Action Zones (HAZ), funded by East Suffolk Council and Historic England. The HAZs are heritage-led regeneration schemes which seek to enhance the appearance of the area through funding improvements to buildings, as well as provide opportunities for more cultural activities, celebrate the town’s rich history and encourage communities to come together.
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Historic England