Home > Suffolk > Carlton Colville > The Ship The Ship

The Ship was situated at 403 Beccles Road. This pub closed in 1957.

The old Ship Inn is located in a former small hamlet clustered around cross-roads to the north-west of the historic village of Carlton Colville which has now been subsumed in modern development around Lowestoft. The building is multi-phase, with the left hand build probably of eighteenth century date and the right hand of nineteenth century. It is clearly shown on the OS map of 1884, which suggests that the two builds were separate structures; it is also unclear if the row of terraced housing to the left (east) of the building was part of the public house. By 1927, a rear wing had been added to the eighteenth century build, still shown as separate from the right hand bay. By this time it was also no longer labelled as an inn, which is anomalous with documentary evidence that it closed as a public house in 1957. A photograph of the building taken between the World Wars indicates that a first floor opening in the eighteenth century build had already been blocked and the outshot constructed to the front, which apparently was in use as the stables. The building was entirely rendered and had two ridge stacks. The building was subsequently converted into a residence, during which time it was probably amalgamated as a structure, and interior remodelling took place. From approximately the 1960s or 1970s, it was used purely for storage and remains so to this day. The building has not been maintained recently and is in a state of disrepair with considerable ivy growth obscuring most of the back elevation and west gable end. There have been later twentieth century alterations including the replacement of the roof structure and replacement of some fenestration. It is uncertain when openings in the façade were blocked or the roof raised.

Patrick Smith (January 2025)

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