Lowestoft had been a market town for more than a hundred years, but it does not appear that the market was ever much of a success. There was no large population like that of Yarmouth requiring a large supply of provisions and vegetables in addition to the produce of the townspeople’s own gardens and the neighbouring farms. Nor could a place with only half the environment of an ordinary inland town be a convenient centre for the sale of general agricultural produce, particularly with another large market at Beccles. POPULATION. While furnishing information as to the character of the town, the register supplies us with trustworthy evidence of its size and population in Elizabeth’s time. A comparison of the numbers of marriages, christenings, and burials for the two periods of 21 years comprising our period, shows no evidence of increase during Elizabeth’s reign, while a comparison of the entries in this period with the corresponding entries for the 21 years, 1754–1774, shows that there was no material increase in the population after a lapse of some 200 years. Marriages. Christenings. Burials. 1561–1581 278 1,033 923 1582–1602 {72} 295 973 1,052 1754–1774 321 1,276 1,010 We know from actual survey that in 1775 the population was 2,235, and the number houses 445. This population, compared with the number of burials shown above, gives a death-rate of 21 per 1,000. The mortality in Elizabeth’s time was probably much higher. Putting it at 26 per 1,000, the average number of burials stated above would represent a population of about 1,800. I think we may regard this number as a safe estimate of the population of our town during Elizabeth’s time, and that the number of houses would be about 360. In 1801 the population was 2,332, and I am inclined to think that there was very little difference in the size and character of our town in the 16th century compared with what it was at the beginning of the present century. DUTCH REFUGEES.