The Sign
The sign depicts a sailing wherry on the broad flanked by transparent panels decorated with a pike among the waterweed, and reeds, bulrushes and a grey heron on the other. The lower panel is an outline sketch of the broad and the maltings from a vantage point not far from the sign.

The Name and Population
Oulton Broad was not mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. Oulton 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. Broad was added later relating to its position around the water. The population was estimated at 10,338 at the 2011 census.

Other Points of Interest
Oulton Broad first became a civil parish in 1904, having previously been split between Oulton, to the north, and Carlton Colville to the south. It lost its parish status in 1919, at which point it was absorbed into Lowestoft. Following the expansion of Lowestoft in the late 1950s, both Oulton Broad and its neighbouring parishes were joined with the town. The parish extends either side of Lake Lothing and the Broad, with Bridge Road as its main shopping street.