The question of where you come from is often one which surrounds a very specific word - heritage.

Lowestoft Journal: Lowestoft Journal reporter Conor Matchett.Picture: Nick ButcherLowestoft Journal reporter Conor Matchett.Picture: Nick Butcher (Image: Archant A(C) 2018)

'What is your heritage?' people ask. 'Do you value your heritage?'

There should really be just one answer for people from Lowestoft - an unequivocal 'yes'.

The recent Heritage Open Days Festival made that abundantly clear.

To put on more than 70 events is a phenomenal achievement, especially considering the size of Lowestoft in comparison to Ipswich, a town whose events pale into insignificance comparatively.

The town has had the highest number of events in Suffolk, and hundreds of people have turned up to places such the Port House and the basement of Dunx Cycles, both buildings which teem with the rich history of the town.

A lot has been written and said about the future of the town's record office, currently located in the library, with groups such as Save Our Record Office (whose treasurer and secretary, Wendy Brooks and Andrew Pearce respectively, appear in our letters pages this week) fighting hard against the proposed closure of the facility which was announced this year.

While Suffolk County Council have stated that a facility of some type will stay in Lowestoft it has refused to look at the possibility of all records staying in the town.

As it stands, some, but not all, records from the area will start to be moved to The Hold, Suffolk County Council's new £20m archive building, once it opens in a couple of years time.

Heritage is much more about where you're from, it's about all of the history of a place and its people, something these archives kept in the record office preserve for decades.

Losing any of them would be a terrible blow to a town built, quite literally, on its heritage.