Lowestoft, Kensington Gardens History

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Location: Lowestoft

Alice Taylor

Kensington Gardens was built in 1922 in the inter-war period as a public works project for unemployed men coming back from WW1. Much of the landscaping is from reused concrete, which shows that Lowestoft was into recycling before recycling became popular.

The Japanese inspired theme was popular at the time and reflected what Lowestoft thought looked oriental, even if a real Japanese visitor would look at the garden in puzzlement. Nonetheless Kensington Gardens, with its genteel Edwardian style, peaceful atmosphere and quiet nooks to sit and ponder, is lovely by any measure.

While you're here, please enjoy the Tea Room. There's nothing finer than a lovely summer day and sitting outside with a cream tea and watching the bowlers.

You can see more views of Kensington Garden throughout the years at http://www.lowestofthistory.com/places/kensington.html

The Boating Pond

The Boating Pond has been in the Garden from the very beginning. For many years it had electric boats that children could sail around in. Now we have a family if ducks that live there who are occasionally disturbed by model boats and yachts.

No wading! Please leave that to the ducks. The bottom is slippery and uneven, so it's not safe for paddling.

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The Holocaust Memorial Tree

This tree was planted in 2012 to mark Holocaust Memorial Day (Jan. 27th) and Lowestoft's role in aiding 523 Jewish children flee the Nazis in 1938. The famous "Kindertransport" children came to the UK by boat and then on by train to Lowestoft, where they stayed at Pontin's Holiday Camp in Pakefield, before being sent on to families across the UK.

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Bridge Over the Fish Pond

The fish pond is where the ducks go to play and the fish go to hide. If you see a nesting duck napping, let her sleep and tip-toe by. She might be sheltering babies. At the end of the pond is a little shelf that's perfect for dipping and exploring.

The little ones always beg to feed the ducks, but too much bread is not good for them and fouls the pond. Remember that you are not the only one feeding them and that we have no skinny ducks.

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The Bowling Greens

The Bowls Greens have been at Kensington Gardens from the very beginning. There is a league that plays in the summer, and they are always open for new members. If you want to play a game privately, just ask at the cafe or at the Bowls Hut. There is no charge, but you must provide your own equipment.

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The Tennis Courts

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The Long Border

The Long Border is just what it says on the tin; it's a long border of flowers.

The 2019 replanting is follows the theme of "First Light" with the centre yellow and gold flowers meant to represent the sun, fading to blues and purples, meant to represent the sea.

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The Reeve Memorial

Quite a few people in Lowestoft think that the monument in Kensington Gardens is a war memorial. It is not.

Our spire is dedicated to Richard Henry Reeve, a solicitor who had purchased the title Lord of the Manor of Lowestoft. He must have been an impressive individual, at least to his own family, because when he died in 1888 his cousin, Mary E. Franey, erected the monument on the Royal Plain, where it sat there for years.

After the Great War, a real war memorial was built for the Lowestoft war dead and the Reeve monument was moved to Kensington Gardens.

We no longer have a Lord of the Manor, natural or purchased. Just a monument. What it is a monument TO, is up to you.

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The WW2 Ammo Shed

This building looks like an overgrown ice cream hut, but it's really the last vestige of WW2 coastal defences left in Lowestoft.

The photo above is of war defences being dug on the Promenade.

This was an ammo and storage bunker for anti-aircraft guns that lined the coast, waiting for the Nazi invasion. The prom was covered in tank traps, gun emplacements and barbed wire. The Claremont Pier was half destroyed to prevent it from being used as a landing dock and all of the massive tourist hotels were used for troop billets.

There were spotting stations and lookouts posted along the prom and people walking by could see and hear the Allie's naval convoys being attacked by Nazi attack "Schnellboote", U-boats, and by air. When Lowestoft and other towns suffered from the Blitz and air attacks, the people living around Kensington Gardens could take a pair of binoculars and watch the war from out of their windows.

It was a dark and terrible time for the town, and if you know where to look, you can see the scars of massive bomb damage. The reminders of the two World Wars are all around Lowestoft, to include this little bunker, and which we keep here remind us of what our families endured to keep Britain safe.

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