The Sign
The village sign is situated at the crossroads of the B1375 (Gorleston Road) and B1074 (Somerleyton Road). The sign is made of fibreglass, designed by Charles Swan and Ivan Bunn and made by Alan Balls of Ellough Artifacts, the wrought iron above the main sign are by Oulton Blacksmiths. The sign was unveiled in 1990 by children of Woods Loke and Oulton Broad Primary Schools. St Michael’s church sits on top of the sign which has eight facets depicting a shield on each as shown below. A keen eye should also see sheafs of corn/wheat or even barley underneath the village name, nestled away in the spandrels of the post.

The Name and Population
Oulton is a village and parish on the western edge of Lowestoft with an estimated population of around 4,000 at the 2011 census. The village name had various spellings in the C13th, including Aleton (1203), Olton (1220), Alton (1275) and Oulton in 1286. It means the farmstead or estate of a man called Ali, a personal name from Old Scandinavian with tun being Old English.

Other Points of Interest

The church of St Michael is situated overlooking the marshes to the west of the village. The church is Norman from the C11th when the village was probably clustered around it, and the sea levels were probably four or five metres higher than today. The tower is central to the church and has a blocked Norman north doorway.
There are replica brasses to the Fastolfs inside the church; the originals were stolen during the 1857 restoration, as well as a couple of other interesting features, including a royal arms of James II (rare for this period and were once hanging in St Margaret’s of Westminster), a local type C15th font, the rood stair still intact. There is also another replica brass of Adam Bacon, which is 6 feet in length and is dated around 1318, which is a very early brass showing vestments. St Michaels church is shown below.

Oulton St Michael's church and a replica of the Fastolf brass found in the church