Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club

Summary

The Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club is a purpose-built clubhouse built to the designs of George Skipper between 1902 and 1903.

Reasons for Designation

The Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club is listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* for its Art Nouveau style, an advanced design for its date;
* as the work of George Skipper, one of the greatest commercial architects of the late Victorian/Early Edwardian era.

Historic interest:

* as a rare example of a purpose-built Edwardian yacht club designed by a major architect.

Group value:

* for its proximity to and strong visual relationship with the Grade II-listed Statue of Triton and Lowestoft War Memorial.

History

The medieval town of Lowestoft underwent a dramatic expansion over the course of the C19. In the first half of the century, a harbour had been created alongside a man-made waterway connecting it to Lake Lothing. Sir Samuel Morton Peto (1809-1889) recognised the town's potential development for industrial and leisure purposes and as a port for Norwich. Peto employed the architect John Louth Clemence (1822-1911) to assist him in developing a master plan for a resort focused along Lowestoft's South Beach. Peto was a highly successful contractor for railways and public works, remembered particularly as a railway pioneer and identified by Brunel as the largest contractor in the world. By the mid-1860s Peto was entangled in the collapse of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway company which resulted in his bankruptcy. Despite Peto's departure, South Lowestoft flourished and continued to develop as a resort.

The Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club was established on 16 April 1859 and is the most easterly yacht club in Britain. It gained its royal warrant from Edward VII.

The first clubhouse was constructed in 1886 but was soon found to be undersized. George Skipper of Norwich (1856-1948) won the contract to design a new building. Conceived in a free style with Art Nouveau influences it is considered to be an advanced design for its date. The new clubhouse was built in 1902-1903 on land leased from the Great Eastern Railway until 1960.

At some point in the later C20, the curving two-storey verandah facing the south basin of the outer harbour was enlarged to become a glazed sun terrace.

In 2006 the clubhouse underwent a period of restoration.

George Skipper was one of the most significant commercial architects of the late Victorian/Edwardian period. He spent three years as a pupil under John Thomas Lee of Bedford Row, London. In 1879 he set up his own practice in East Dereham before moving to Norwich a year later. At first, Skipper specialised in hospitals and schools, winning several competitions. By the 1890s he was firmly recognised as one of the region’s major architects, especially for his transformative projects in Cromer (the Town Hall, the Grand Hotel, the Hotel Metropole and the Hotel de Paris). He designed many hotels and commercial buildings, including the Royal Arcade in Norwich (1899), listed at Grade II*, and the headquarters of the Norwich Union (1906), listed at Grade I. Skipper has over forty buildings on the List.

Details

A purpose-built yacht club built to the designs of George Skipper between 1902 and 1903.

MATERIALS: The clubhouse is constructed of brick covered in whitewashed render. The principal roofs are covered in plain tiles with some areas of flat asphalt roofing.

PLAN: The building has an L-shaped or butterfly plan with later extensions to the north-west.

DESCRIPTION: The building has a central square block of three storeys with two-storey wings projecting to the north-east and south-east. The inner angle of this L-shaped plan has an engaged round tower, while the outer angle has a square rooftop observation room, glazed, with a copper dome on top. There are several extensions to the north-east, one of which has a pitched roof and gabled ends.

The south front is composed of a three-storey, three-bay square block with the observation room at the top. In the centre is a low entrance porch with a panelled and glazed door flanked by a tri-partite round-headed window on each side. The windows above are casements of varying design. At the first floor is a sculptural panel of Cosseyware terracotta depicting a sailing ship in high relief. The observation room is glazed all around under a copper dome. To the right is a two-storey wing under a half-hipped roof with two tri-partite round-headed windows to the ground floor and three windows to the first floor: two round-headed casements with balconies and, to the left, a canted oriel.

The east elevation is lit through a large multi-pane Diocletian window. The upper storey through three circular windows with casements. The hip of the roof is pierced by a triangular gablet containing a sash window with glazing bars.

The north side has, between the arms of the L, a curved and glazed single-storey bow-shaped extension. Behind it rises the three-storey engaged round tower with casements to the first floor and a band of brick-dressed windows at the second floor, above which is another Cosseyware panel showing the crest of the Prince of Wales. The hipped northern arm of the L has casements with glazing bars.

INTERIOR: The entrance leads into a square central hall partly top-lit from an open ceiling well into the first floor. A concave wall separates the hall from the bar to the north-east, which is entered through bowed double doors with glazing. The restaurant in the north-west corner has double muntin doors with leaded and glazed upper panels and a segmental overlight. The closed-string staircase has tall square newels tapering above the handrail and terminating in saucer finials, in a style being developed at the time by Charles Voysey. The first floor has an octagonal open well looking into the ground-floor hall and is protected by a reeded balustrade. The doors to the two principal rooms are of muntin type with stained glass panels. The north room also has a fireplace with a three-panel overmantel.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

391354

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Websites
'Skipper, George John (1856-1948)' by A C Howe in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (published online 22 September 2011), accessed 16/02/22 from https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/67010

Other
South Lowestoft / Kirkley Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan (East Suffolk District Council, January 2022)
Goodey C: 120 Years of Sailing: Beccles: 1980-: P.12

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