LOWESTOFT, a watering-place, seaport, and market-town of Suffolk, England, is picturesquely situated on a lofty declivity, which includes the most easterly point of land in England, 23 miles south-west of Norwich by rail. Previous to the opening of a railway, it was only a small fishing village, but since then it has risen to some importance as a seaport., while its picturesque situation, and its facilities for sea-bathing, have rendered it a favourite watering-place. The church of St Margaret, in the Later English style, with tower and spire, possesses a very ancient font. There are a town-hall, a county-hall, two foundation schools, a large general hospital, and a number of charities. Along the shore there is a fine esplanade, and a new park was opened in 1874. Two piers 1300 feet in length enclose a harbour of 20 acres, which is much used as a harbour of refuge. For the last five years the average value of the foreign and colonial imports has been over £100,000, and the exports have been valued at about £5000. The fisheries of Lowestoft are of some importance, and there are shipbuilding yards, oil and flour mills, and rope-works. The population of the urban sanitary district in 1871 was 15,246, and in 1881 it had increased to 19,597.