7.—Intelligence was received at Norwich of the birth of a Prince (Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, Duke of Edinburgh). The bells of St. Peter Mancroft were rung, and the Town Council in due course sent to the Queen a congratulatory address.
9.—Great festivities took place at Ellingham, near Bungay, in celebration of the return of Col. Smith from active service in India.
12.—The opera of “The Bohemian Girl” was performed at Norwich Theatre for the first time. The principals included Miss Rainforth, Mr. Harrison, and Mr. Stretton, of Drury Lane Theatre; Mr. Gilbeigh, Mr. Duval, &c. The numerical strength of the orchestra was more than trebled by the services rendered by professional and amateur instrumentalists of the city. The conductor was Mr. C. F. Hall, one of the leaders of the Drury Lane orchestra “Norma” was also produced. The week’s performances received very inadequate support.
19.—Killed at Sekerran, Borneo, aged 39, George Steward, youngest son of Mr. Timothy Steward, of Great Yarmouth. He was in the East India Company’s service, and volunteered to accompany Capt. Keppel, R.N., in his expedition against the pirates of Borneo. While ascending a river in a native boat he was surrounded by the enemy and slain.
—Died at Bracondale, Norwich, aged 78, Mr. Roger Kitson, a schoolmaster, who sixty years previously succeeded Mr. Massingham at the then well-known academy in St. Andrew’s Broad Street. He had a talent for poetical composition, and belonged to the Confraternity of United Friars and other literary societies.
21.—The Norwich Mechanics’ Institute was dissolved. On October 27th its surplus funds, amounting to £120, were handed over to a new society, known as the Athenæum, in which the Rev. A. Bath Power, Mr. J. J. Gurney, and other gentlemen were interested. The society met at rooms in the Market Place.
24.*—“The operation of Lord Brougham’s Act, for the abolition of imprisonment for debt, has had the effect of clearing the Norwich Gaol of all the debtors except one. Its operation will be very disadvantageous to the prisoners sentenced by the Court of Conscience or Requests, as they had laid a part of their time, and a very few days more would have exempted them from future liability, whereas now they go out subject to other proceedings and executions against their goods.”
28.—A shocking accident occurred at Dereham Theatre, to Mr. Dillon, one of the performers. He had just dressed for his part, and approaching too near to a lighted candle, the inflammable material which he wore immediately caught fire, and he was enveloped in flames. He ran about the stage in terror, and some of the audience, rushing forward, endeavoured to extinguish the fire, but they did not succeed until he had been seriously injured.
31.—Among Norwich improvements completed during the preceding twelve months were mentioned at this date the building of Victoria Street, the erection of new houses in place of old and unsightly ones near St. Giles’ Gates, and the widening of the street in that locality; the reconstruction of the Wensum Street and Tombland Corner; and the construction of the embankment between Foundry Bridge and Carrow Bridge.
9.—Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kean appeared in “Hamlet” at Norwich Theatre, and on succeeding evenings played in “The Gamester,” “Macbeth,” “The Lady of Lyons,” “Richard the Third,” and “The Stranger.”
—The Royal squadron escorting the Queen on her voyage to Scotland was off the Norfolk coast from 7 a.m. to 12 noon. The coastguard fired rockets at various points, which were answered from the Royal yacht.
11.—Died at Cheltenham, the Ven. Henry Bathurst, Archdeacon of Norwich and rector of North Creake.
12.—The organ at St. Nicholas’ church, Great Yarmouth, was reopened after renovation. The instrument was built in the 18th century, by Abraham Jordan, and repaired in 1812 by G. P. England. It was finally repaired by Messrs. Grey and Davison, of Gray’s Inn Road, London.
19.—At a meeting of the members of the medical profession in Norwich, held at the Guildhall, under the presidency of Mr. J. G. Crosse, approval was expressed of the registration clauses in Sir James Graham’s Bill for the better regulation of medical practice in the United Kingdom.
26.—The new chapel, dedicated to St. Edmund, at Walpole St. Peter, was consecrated by the Bishop of Norwich.
—A meeting was held at the King’s Arms Hotel, East Dereham, in furtherance of a scheme for constructing a railway from Wymondham to that town, with extensions to Lynn and Downham. Lord Sondes, on October 7th, presided over a meeting at the Guildhall, Norwich, at which the undertaking was approved. It was estimated to cost £10,000 per mile. (See December 7th, 1846.)
10.—Died at Norwich, Mr. Thomas Turner, “a well-known amateur on the river.” “Agreeable to the wishes expressed by the deceased, he was conveyed from Carrow to Thorpe on board a sailing-boat, from which he was carried on the shoulders of six boating men in blue jackets and white trousers to his last resting-place in Thorpe churchyard.”
16.—Van Amburgh’s Circus and Menagerie were exhibited in a large marquee erected in Chapel Field, Norwich.
17.—Dereham and Swaffham Theatres were advertised to be sold by auction, “under the will of the late Mr. David Fisher.” After this date there are no further records of the Norfolk and Suffolk Company of Comedians, so long under the management of the Fisher family.
—Mr. Rush, “a respectable farmer,” of Hevingham, was accidentally killed by the discharge of a gun “left in the kitchen of his house by his son, James Blomfield Rush, auctioneer and farmer, of Wymondham.”
18.—M. Jullien gave the first of three concerts at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich.
26.—In the Arches Court, the Rev. William Henry Henslowe, perpetual curate of Wormegay, was suspended from the ministry for three months, for refusing on two occasions to bury the corpse of Sarah Bowden, a parishioner who had been baptised by a minister of the Primitive Methodist persuasion. The case was brought before the Court by letters of request from the Bishop of Norwich.
9.—Sir William Foster, Bart., was elected Mayor, and Mr. John Betts appointed Sheriff of Norwich.
24.—Died at his residence, St. Catherine’s Cottage, St. John de Sepulchre, Norwich, aged 73, Mr. Jonathan Matchett, senior proprietor of the Norfolk Chronicle. He had been connected with the journal for 51 years, and became its head on the decease of his father-in-law, Mr. Stevenson, in 1821.
27.—Died at his house at Costessey, aged 69, Mr. Richard Mackenzie Bacon, principal proprietor and editor of the “Norwich Mercury.” Mr. Bacon was the editor also of “The Quarterly Musical Magazine and Review.”
28.—Mr. Tom Cross, the celebrated “gentleman whip,” driver of the Lynn and London coach, delivered at the Assembly Rooms, Lynn, a lecture on Shakespeare.
3.—Died at Swaffham Vicarage, aged 92, the Rev. William Yonge, vicar of the parish and Chancellor of the Diocese.
5.—Mr. Edward Stracey, of St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, the respondent in a suit respecting the tenancy of a pew in the parish church, was taken into custody and lodged in the City Gaol by a process of the Norwich Ecclesiastical Court, because of his refusal to pay the costs imposed by the Court.
14.*—“The winter has set in most severely, with an intense ground frost and the wind in the east. The navigation of the river between Norwich and Yarmouth and from that port to Beccles, Bungay, and Aylsham, has been stopped by ice, but not a particle of snow has fallen.”
5.—The Rev. Charles Chapman, who was elected vicar of the parish on November 5th, 1832, preached his farewell sermon at St. Peter Mancroft church, Norwich. The Rev. Thomas Wilson, M.A., was elected to the vacant living.
7.—At Norwich Quarter Sessions, before the Recorder (Mr. Isaac Jermy), John Dover, the notorious Chartist leader, was found guilty of receiving stolen silk, &c., the property of William Martin and others, and sentenced to fourteen years’ transportation.
13.—Cooke’s Royal Circus was opened at the Amphitheatre, Victoria Gardens, Norwich. During the season various “horse spectacles,” pantomimes, farces, and burlettas were produced.
18.—Died at his house near St. Giles’ Gates, Norwich, Mr. James Bennett, a man of great scientific attainments. By trade a watchmaker, “he invented an instrument for performing the operation of the trepan, which was mentioned with much praise by Sir Astley Cooper in his lectures, and ever afterwards used by that distinguished surgeon. He was the first man who made an electrical machine in Norwich. To different societies he sent original contributions, and presented articles of value, particularly the splendid anatomical preparations of the late Mr. Stevenson, veterinary surgeon, Castle Meadow, which were given to a museum in London. He took great interest in witnessing surgical operations, and could dissect an eye very beautifully. He was an adept at music and drawing, and was one of the original members of the Hall Concert.” Mr. Bennett served the office of Sheriff in 1826, and by virtue of seniority was “Father of the Common Council.” He was the oldest surviving “brother” of the intellectual and benevolent confraternity, the College of United Friars, and was for many years a member of the Castle Corporation.
25.—The Norfolk Chronicle published the results of an inquiry into the state of the manufactures of Norwich, and in its comments stated: “Norwich has lost its former prominence as a manufacturing city, partly in consequence of the high price of coals compared with the North and West, and partly from improvements in machinery being tardily introduced. We regret that while 8,000 persons are employed in or connected with our factories and mills, a large number are constantly without work, and this is likely to be the state of things for some time to come.”
26.—On this date occurred the highest tide ever recorded at Yarmouth. The depth of water on the bar was 19 ft. 6 in. A severe gale prevailed, and several vessels were in distress. The Phœnix yawl, which went out to the assistance of a brig stranded on the north end of the Scroby Sand, was lost, and seven of her crew drowned.
19.—Died at his residence, Northrepps Hall, Cromer, Sir T. Fowell Buxton, Bart. He was in his 59th year.
23.—Died at St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, Mr. Thomas Stannard, engraver, aged 55.
24.—The Hon. W. B. Baring, M.P., who had accepted the office of Paymaster to the Forces, was re-elected without opposition member for the borough of Thetford.
28.—Mr. Samuel Lover, author of “Rory O’More” and other Irish tales, gave, at the Assembly Rooms, Norwich, his “Irish Evening, illustrative of the national characteristics, legends, superstitions, mirth, and melody of his country, entitled, ‘Paddy by Land and Sea.’” The entertainment was repeated on the 29th.
—At an inquest held at Costessey, by Mr. Pilgrim, one of the County Coroners, upon the exhumed body of a woman named Jane Mary Lovett, who was alleged to have died in childbirth, in consequence of improper treatment by a medical man named Gaches, a verdict of manslaughter was returned. Mr. Gaches contrived to escape from the custody of Inspector Barrett, concealed himself in the park, and ultimately absconded from the neighbourhood. He was re-arrested on March 29th, in a railway carriage at Shoreditch, and at his trial at the Norfolk Assizes on April 8th the jury, by direction of Mr. Justice Patteson, returned a verdict of not guilty.
5.—Died at his residence in the Upper Close, Norwich, Dr. Warner Wright, aged 70. He was founder of the Norwich Dispensary, and in 1804 was chosen a physician of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, a position which he resigned in 1840. For many years he was visiting physician to the Norfolk County Lunatic Asylum, and to the Norwich Bethel, and was placed upon the commission of the peace for the city in 1836.
12.—John Tawell, indicted at Aylesbury Assizes for the murder of Sarah Hart, at Salt Hill, by poisoning her, came of a respectable Norfolk family. “Augustus Metcalfe, who served the office of Mayor of Norwich in 1716, was the maternal grandfather of Tawell’s father. Thomas Tawell, uncle of John Tawell’s father, served the office of Sheriff of Norwich in 1723, and died during his shrievalty. Tawell’s father was a shopkeeper, and had resided in several places in the neighbourhood of Norwich.” The convict, who was a Quaker, was executed on March 28th.
15.*—“The frost has now continued, with few intermissions, for eighteen weeks, a longer period than has been remembered for the last thirty years.”
19.—A meeting of the principal inhabitants was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, under the presidency of the Mayor (Sir William Foster), “to determine on the steps to be taken for arresting the progress of the epidemic diseases so extensively prevailing, and for mitigating the sufferings of the afflicted poor.” It was stated that between 1,500 and 1,600 persons had been attacked by small-pox, measles, scarlet fever, and typhus. The attention of the authorities was directed to the insanitary condition of the city, and a fund was started for cleansing and disinfecting the houses of the poor.
26.—Sir James Graham’s Bill for the amendment of the Law of Settlement was considered at a public meeting held at the Guildhall, Norwich. Disapproval of the measure was expressed. The Court of Guardians and other public bodies passed resolutions in opposition to the Bill, which was received unfavourably in other parts of the county.
29.*—“A salmon trout, measuring 23 inches in length and weighing 5 lbs., has been taken while fishing for pike in the river Wensum, near Hellesdon.”
1.—Died at Winfarthing, aged 80, Mr. Philip G. Browne. “He was author of ‘The History of Norwich,’ &c., &c., and was parish clerk of Winfarthing for upwards of fifty years.”
7.—At Norwich Assizes, before Mr. Baron Parke, George William Wilson, formerly cashier of the Norwich Court of Guardians, was charged with embezzling various sums, amounting to £1,245, the property of that body. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty. A further charge of stealing a book belonging to the Guardians was deferred to the Summer Assizes, on which occasion no evidence was offered, and the prisoner was discharged.
—At the Norfolk Assizes, before Mr. Justice Patteson, Robert Richard Royal, James Barnard Hall, and James Mapes were indicted for the murder of Harriet Candler, at Yarmouth, on November 18th, 1844. The principal witness was a man named Samuel Yarham, who had turned Queen’s evidence. The jury acquitted the prisoners. (See March 27th, 1846.)
8.—Bawdeswell church was consecrated by the Bishop of Norwich. The church became dilapidated in 1740, but a portion of the ruined building was fitted with pews and used until 1843, when it was found necessary to rebuild the church, at the cost of £1,400. Mr. J. Brown, of Norwich, was the architect, Mr. William Gillham, of Rainham, contractor, and Mr. Francis Cushing, of North Walsham, sub-contractor.
14.—The east wall of the chancel of St. Julian’s church, Norwich, fell with a tremendous crash, which greatly alarmed the neighbourhood. The church was re-opened on January 18th, 1846.
19.—The foundation-stone of the new church of St. John, King’s Lynn, was laid by the Bishop of Norwich. The building was consecrated by his lordship on September 24th, 1846.
21.—Died at his official residence, Woolwich, Colonel Sir George C. Hoste, C.B. He was the third son of the Rev. Dixon Hoste, rector of Tittleshall, and was gazetted lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on December 20th, 1802. He was attached to the expedition to the Mediterranean commanded by General Sir J. Craig, and was present at the battle of Maida, and distinguished himself on other occasions in Sicily, Egypt, and Calabria. He was employed in the two attacks on Antwerp in 1813, and gained the rank of brevet-major for the skill and gallantry which he displayed in leading the Guards at the storming of Bergen-op-Zoom. At the battle of Waterloo he was attached to the corps led by the Prince of Orange, and was subsequently upon the personal staff of the Duke of Wellington. For his services during this campaign he received the distinction of C.B.
26.—At a meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, held at the Shirehall, Norwich, Mr. J. J. Gurney called attention to a new form of life-preserver made and presented to the society by a reporter of the Norfolk Chronicle. “It consists of a linen jacket covered with oblong pieces of cork. The head is put through a circle, and the jacket falls down at the back and the front of the person wearing it, leaving the arms perfectly free, being suspended from the shoulders and strapped round the body. There is a semi-circular thick cork collar in front and coming under the chin, so that the jacket is not only calculated to keep any person afloat in the water, but also to keep his head at a sufficient elevation. It was agreed that the jacket should become the property of the society.”
2.—An appalling loss of life was occasioned at Yarmouth by the fall of the Suspension Bridge, which had been the subject of so much litigation between Mr. Cory and the Yarmouth and Norwich Railway Company. A clown named Nelson, belonging to Cooke’s Equestrian Circus, had announced that he would perform the feat of sailing in a tub drawn by four geese from the old Draw Bridge to the Suspension Bridge. Thousands of persons assembled to witness the spectacle, and upon the bridge itself there were between 400 and 500. The bridge, which was the chief means of transit from the railway terminus to the town, and had been widened to admit of increased traffic by a footpath constructed on either side, was suspended from two piers. Just as the clown was entering the Bure, at ten minutes to six o’clock, there was a rush to the south side of the bridge, the suspension rods snapped, the chains gave way, and “the bridge fell on that side like the leaf of a table let down,” pouring the crowd upon it into the water. A terrible scene ensued. As many as possible were rescued and conveyed to the Vauxhall Gardens, but notwithstanding the efforts made by watermen in boats and upon the river banks, there was fearful loss of life. An inquest was opened at the Church Hall on the 3rd, when Mr. Cooke, the proprietor of the circus, intimated that he would at once withdraw his company from the town. The inquiry was adjourned from time to time, and at the last sitting Mr. James Walker, C.E., who had been sent down to examine into the cause of the disaster, reported: (1) the immediate cause of the accident was a defect in the welding of the bar which first gave way; (2) that the quality of the iron and the workmanship were defective, and the accident would not have happened had the work been properly examined at the time of construction; (3) the widening of the bridge appeared to have been made without sufficient reference to its original strength and the weight which it had to support; and (4) that in the original construction of the bridge the casualty of a great load all on one side did not appear to have been contemplated. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with Mr. Walker’s conclusions. The number of dead bodies recovered was 77; some, however, were supposed to have been carried away by the current. Nearly all the sufferers were children or very young persons, but it was related as “a very extraordinary circumstance” that “Mr. Thomas Bowles, aged 84, who was on board the Royal George when she sank, and who is probably the only living survivor, should have been on the Suspension Bridge during the late accident. He was precipitated into the water, but was once more miraculously saved.”
3.—The Norfolk Yeomanry Cavalry assembled at East Dereham in stronger force than on any previous occasion, for eight days’ permanent duty.
—The last troop of the 4th Dragoons marched from Norwich Barracks, and were, on the same day, replaced by the 7th Hussars.
5.—Died at West Somerton, aged 74, “Mr. William Hales, father of nine children, whose united heights amount to 57 ft. 6 in., including the Norfolk giant and giantess.”
7.—The experiment was made at Norwich Theatre of still further reducing the prices of admission to 2s. 6d. for dress boxes, and to 1s. 6d. for the upper circle.
8.—Mr. Walter Morgan, aged 23, of the firm of Messrs. Morgan, of the King Street Brewery, Norwich, met with his death by falling into a vat of beer.
10.*—“A handbill has been published in Norwich showing that out of 1,664 persons who have had small-pox, 1,536 had not been vaccinated, and only 128 were vaccinated. Out of 506 who had escaped the disease altogether, only 84 had not been vaccinated, and 422 vaccinated. Of 141 who had died from small-pox, only four had been vaccinated, one a man 93 years old; the other three were suffering from teething or were otherwise ill when vaccinated.”
24.*—“The Hanworth Hall estate, comprising a mansion, cottages, and 1,465 acres of land, has been disposed of by private contract to Mr. William Howe Windham, of Felbrigg Park, for £65,000.”
26.—A series of lectures on phonography was commenced at the Assembly Rooms, Norwich, by Mr. Joseph Pitman and Mr. Reid. “Mr. Reid appears to have mastered the system so far as to be able to follow a speaker, but no reporter has yet adopted it.”
2.—Mr. Macready, accompanied by Mr. Ryder, “a highly respectable actor,” commenced a three nights’ engagement at Norwich Theatre. He appeared in the characters of Hamlet, Richelieu, and Macbeth.
21.—Miss Fitzwilliam appeared at Norwich Theatre in the Assize week performances. She took the leading parts in “The Belle of the Hotel,” “My Little Adopted,” “Foreign Airs and Native Graces,” &c. At the conclusion of the season, on the 26th, Mr. George Smith announced to the audience that he had resigned the management of the circuit. “He had been,” he said, “thirty-one years a member of the Norwich Company. He had witnessed the drama in its high and palmy state; he had seen its gradual decline. Many had been the causes assigned for this decay—the increase of Dissent and fanaticism on the one hand, errors of management on the other, and the reduction of prices.”
29.—A prize-fight took place on Mousehold Heath, Norwich, between Jim Woods and Ben Clarke, “the Norfolk Slasher,” for £5 a side. Woods was the favourite, at 5 to 2, and obtained “first blood,” but in the second round Clarke struck him a severe blow on the temple and felled him. In the third round Clarke put in another blow, and as his opponent was falling, struck him behind the ear and laid him senseless. Clarke was declared the winner, after a contest which lasted only five minutes.
—The Norfolk Railway was opened. The directors ran a special train from Trowse to Cambridge, by which about 200 guests, including the Dean and Mayor of Norwich, were conveyed. A special train from London brought a like contingent to Cambridge, where luncheon was served, under the presidency of the chairman of the Eastern Counties Railway, Mr. Henry Bosanquet. One of the first projects for a long line was the proposal to construct a railway between London and Norwich, via Thetford, with a continuation to Yarmouth. A prospectus was printed and partially circulated in 1825, but the scheme was abandoned. In 1835 the prospectus of the Eastern Counties (or Grand Eastern Counties) Railway appeared. The requisite notices were published in November of that year, application was made in the ensuing session of Parliament for a Bill, and the first Act for the construction of the works received the Royal assent on July 4th, 1836. Up to 1840 this line was opened only as far as Warley Lane, between Brentwood and Warley Common. In 1843 it was completed as far as Colchester, but as the original capital was more than expended in carrying the line that distance, all hope of proceeding to Norwich was abandoned. In 1839 two Acts connected with the Northern and Western Company were passed, and received the Royal assent on July 19th. The first was for the purpose of extending the time for the purchase of land as far as Bishop’s Stortford, and the second was chiefly to confirm an agreement with the Eastern Counties Company as to the terms, &c., for passing over their line. In 1840 another Act was passed, receiving the Royal assent on June 4th, for reducing the joint stock capital to £700,000, giving the company power to raise £240,000 on debentures so soon as one moiety of the capital should be paid off, and abandoning that portion of the line between Bishop’s Stortford and Cambridge. In 1840 the idea of railway communication between Norwich and the Metropolis was revived, and it was resolved to form a company, to be styled the Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridge Railway Company. It was afterwards known as the East Anglian Railway Company. It received the support of the landowners’ committee in Norfolk, and the expense was estimated as follows: From Bishop’s Stortford to Cambridge, 22 miles, £572,000; from Cambridge to Norwich, 63 miles, £1,126,695; from Norwich to Yarmouth, 18 miles, £291,512. After the opening of the Yarmouth and Norwich line according to the plan of Mr. Stephenson, the project for the East Anglian Railway was dropped for a time, and was revived by the promoters of the Norwich and Brandon Railway, the prospectus of which was published in 1843. The capital to be raised was stated to be £380,000, in 19,000 shares of £20 each. In the Session of 1844 an Act was applied for and received the Royal assent in the month of June. The line in connection with that from Yarmouth and with that from Ely to Brandon resulted, and it was known as the Norfolk Railway. Messrs. Grissell and Peto were the contractors, and Messrs. Stephenson and Bidder the engineers in chief. The works were commenced at Wymondham on May 17th, 1844, and finished on July 1st, 1845. The first through train to London started from Trowse on the morning of July 30th. At that date the swing bridge at Trowse had not been completed. Of the travelling it was said it “cannot be rendered more comfortable than it is upon the Norfolk Railway.”
12.—The foundation-stone of the Leicester monument was laid in Holkham Park by Lord Coborne, in the presence of a large gathering of the nobility and gentry and of the tenant-farmers of Norfolk.
15.—Died at his residence in Golden Ball Street, Norwich, aged 78, Mr. John Angell, who served the office of Sheriff in 1825 and of Mayor in 1830.
16.*—“Within the last few days no less than 500 coach horses have been sent for sale at Aldridge’s Repository, owing to the further opening of the Northern and Eastern Railway from Bishop’s Stortford by way of Ely and Thetford to Norwich, and the consequent discontinuation of coaches.”
6.—The Brundall estate, consisting of a mansion and 143 acres of land, the property of the Rev. L. B. Foster, was sold by Mr. Spelman, of Norwich, for £12,500, to Mr. T. G. Tuck.
—The Newmarket mail coach was overturned at Cringleford Gate, and of the six outside passengers, all of whom were more or less cut and bruised, a lady had her arm broken and a gentleman sustained a fractured collar-bone and dislocated arm.
10.—The museum at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital was opened, under the presidency of the Lord Bishop of Norwich.
11.—A cricket match commenced at Swaffham, between the Marylebone Club and the Norfolk Club, and concluded on the 12th. “Fuller Pilch, the hope of Norfolk, was beautifully caught for seven runs. A great damper was thrown on their spirits by this untoward event, and the rest of the side did little to retrieve the misfortune.” Marylebone, 162; Norfolk, 42-83.
16.—Died at Yarmouth, aged 69, Mr. Richard Sutton. “He was very eccentric, and had such a love for mathematics that though extremely poor he had often been known to sell his dinner in order to procure some old book on mathematics.”
16.—The Norfolk and Norwich Triennial Musical Festival commenced. The principal vocalists were Madame Grisi, Madame Caradori Allan, Miss Dolby, Miss Poole, Sig. Mario, Sig. F. Lablache, Mr. Hobbs, Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Machin, Mr. Bradbury, and Herr Standigl. Mr. T. Cooke was leader of the band, Mr. Benedict conductor, and Mr. Turle organist. The programme included selections from the “Stabat Mater,” “The Seasons,” “Il Don Giovanni,” Purcell’s “Jubilate,” Mozart’s “Requiem,” “Calvary,” “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and “The Messiah.” On the 19th a ball took place at St. Andrew’s Hall. The gross receipts amounted to £5,432 9s. 6d., and expenses to £4,180 10s. 9d. The Sheriffs of London (Mr. Hunter and Mr. Sidney) attended the Festival, and were, on the 19th, entertained at dinner at the Royal Hotel.
27.*—“The Yarmouth and Norwich Railway Company has reduced the charge for the use of the telegraph and dispatching a messenger to any part of Norwich from 4s. 6d. to 2s. 6d.”
7.—A meeting of the Wesleyan Methodists of the Norwich circuit was held at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, for the purpose of raising a consolidated fund to redeem the chapel debts, amounting to £6,900. It was proposed to create a capital to be raised in 6,900 shares of £1 each, the payments to be made at intervals of three months during the ensuing five years.
13.—Died “that excellent and philanthropic lady,” Mrs. Fry, who for many years “devoted her time and her purse to ameliorate the miseries of the inmates of our various prisons.”
14.—Lord Suffield was installed Grand-Master of Freemasons in the province of Norfolk.
1.*—“Mr. Charles Fisher, who for the last two or three seasons has been a general favourite on the Norwich circuit, has accepted an engagement at the Prince’s Theatre, London.”
—*“The North Walsham Theatre, which eighteen years ago cost Mr. D. Fisher £1,800, has lately been sold for about £400, and is to be converted into a school, to be conducted on the National system.” The school was opened on May 25th, 1846.
4.—A prize-fight took place near Harford Bridges, between Ben Clarke and Smith. After a contest lasting twenty minutes, the former was declared the winner.
6.—Large numbers of birds were attracted by Happisburgh light during stormy weather on this date. Forty-five dozen larks, eight and a half dozen starlings, and many other birds, were taken.
7.—Trowse Swing Bridge, erected from a design by Mr. Bidder, was swung across the river for the first time. It underwent Government inspection on December 9th, and the first trains ran over it on December 15th.
7.—Sir Lawrence Jones, Bart., of Cranmer Hall, was murdered by robbers at Macri, in Turkey. He was in his 29th year. On July 8th, 1846, his remains were interred in the family vault at Sculthorpe.
10.—Mr. John Betts was elected Mayor of Norwich, and Mr. Jeremiah Colman appointed Sheriff.
16.—Died, aged 72, Gregory Robinson, of the Bull’s Head Inn, Ber Street, Norwich. “The deceased in early life entered the Navy, and was with Lord Howe on June 1st, 1794, and in several other engagements. He was one of the crew of the St. George when that vessel was wrecked on the coast of Jutland, on December 24th, 1811.”
3.—A public meeting was held at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, to consider the propriety of memorialising the Government to open the ports of Great Britain and Ireland for the admission of foreign grain free of duty, in consequence of the apprehended scarcity of food. The Mayor presided, and Mr. Tillett moved that a petition be presented to Parliament for the immediate repeal of the Corn Laws. A similar petition was adopted by the Norwich Town Council on the 9th.
12.—In the Arches Court, Sir H. Jenner Fust gave judgment in the suit Kitson v. the Rev. Arthur Loftus, vicar of Fincham St. Martin and rector of Fincham St. Michael. The case came before the Court by letters of request from the Bishop of Norwich, and the articles, in substance, charged Mr. Loftus with gross immorality. Sentence of deprivation was passed.
—A “remarkable and unprecedented” occurrence took place at the meet, on Mulbarton Common, of the Norfolk Subscription Pack of Staghounds. A bailiff, on behalf of the Rev. J. H. Steward, of Carlton House, served notices upon all who were suspected of being about to commit a trespass. “The eccentricity of such a proceeding created much amusement, and the consequence was a change of position was ordered.”
22.—The van of a menagerie travelling through Potter Heigham overturned into a ditch, and the bars of the tiger’s cage giving way, “the animal escaped, after biting off the head of an eagle.” The neighbouring farmers, armed with guns, and the labourers with pitchforks, went in pursuit of the beast. An unsuccessful endeavour was made to entangle him in a sheep-net. “A large hamper containing a piece of flesh was then placed in his way. Upon his jumping in to seize the food the lid was drawn down and soon secured, the animal uttering the most hideous yells.”
24.—A serious accident occurred on the Norfolk Railway near Thetford. The up-train from Norwich was proceeding at a rapid rate when the engine left the line and fell down the embankment. The engine-driver, named Pickering, was killed instantly, and the stoker, Richard Eager, had both legs broken, and died shortly after his removal from the scene of the accident. None of the passengers were seriously hurt. The accident was supposed to be due to the excessive speed at which the train was travelling—fifty-five miles an hour.
26.—Norwich Theatre was opened, under the management of Mr. Abington, M.A., lessee of Southampton Theatre. The circuit also included the Cambridge, Bury St. Edmund’s, Ipswich, Colchester, and Yarmouth Theatres. The old company had been dispersed, and regret was expressed that the new company was not likely to maintain the reputation of the Norwich stage.
31.—The customary peals were rung at St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich. “In the centre of the circle stood the celebrated pitcher, capable of holding seventeen quarts, which was moulded by John Dearsley in the year 1749. This the churchwardens (Mr. W. Butcher and Mr. Robert Fitch) liberally filled with punch.”
6.—The West Norfolk Agricultural Protective Association held a meeting at the Town Hall, King’s Lynn, under the presidency of Lord Hastings, “to preserve the Corn Laws from further violation.” A similar meeting was held at North Walsham on the 8th. On January 20th a great meeting took place at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, at which addresses were delivered by Mr. Cobden and Col. Thompson in favour of the repeal of the Corn Laws, and a resolution, moved by Mr. Geary, and seconded by Col. Angerstein, “that the Corn Laws and all other laws designed to restrict trade under pretence of protecting particular classes are unjust in principle and injurious in operation, and ought to be forthwith abolished,” was carried by a large majority, in face of an amendment proposed by Mr. Wodehouse, M.P., and supported by Lord Hastings, Mr. Hamond of Westacre, and other prominent Protectionists. “Reporters from all the London daily papers attended the meeting, and the proprietors engaged special trains to carry back the report of the proceedings. The first special left Norwich Station at 8.45 p.m., and reached Shoreditch at 12.40 a.m.; the second left at 10.29 p.m. and reached London at 2.38 a.m. At half-past two p.m. on Wednesday (the 21st) we received the ‘Times’ containing the speeches to the extent of rather more than four columns.”
7.—Died at Malta, aged 77, the Right Hon. John Hookham Frere, of Roydon Hall, eldest son of Mr. John Frere, formerly member for Norwich. Mr. Hookham Frere was educated at Eton, where he had Canning as a school companion. When very young he evinced a love for verse, and made, when only an Eton school boy, his clever translation of the Anglo-Saxon War Song on the victory of Athelstan, written when the Rowley controversy was at its height. George Ellis gave it a place in his historical essay before his “Specimens of the Poets,” and Scott invariably spoke of it as something more than a mere curiosity. Another of Mr. Frere’s works was a “prospectus and specimen” of his “Intended National Work by William and Robert Whistlecraft of Stowmarket in Suffolk, Hemp and Collar Makers, intended to comprise the most interesting particulars relating to King Arthur and his Round Table”—the precursor and original of Byron’s “Beppo” and “Don Juan.” “I have written,” says Byron, “a poem of 84 octave stanzas, in or after the excellent manner of Mr. Whistlecraft, whom I take to be Mr. Frere.”
17.*—“All the coaches between Norwich and London have ceased to run, the last being the mail through Bury St. Edmund’s, which was discontinued on the 6th inst. Six or seven coaches direct to London from Norfolk have been discontinued, and about 700 horses thrown off the road. There are, however, about 30 coaches constantly running from various towns to the principal stations between Yarmouth and London. There are many omnibuses, cabs, and flys. The railway has very much increased the number of horse conveyances to and from all the towns along the line. In fact, horses are dearer than ever they were and more in demand, and the consumption of oats is not likely to be diminished, but rather increased.” The adverse effects of the railway were shown in the following paragraph, published on April 25th: “During the droving season last year 9,300 beasts were housed at the Bird-in-Hand public-house, Tasburgh, and the landlord purchased for their consumption, and for horses, &c., 50 tons of hay; but so great is the diminution of the traffic occasioned by the Norfolk Railway, that during the present season only twelve beasts have been taken in, and the landlord has had occasion for only eight and a half hundredweight of hay.”
21.—The Norwich School of Design was opened by Sir J. P. Boileau, Bart.
31.*—“By order of the Mayor and magistrates of Norwich, the shop-keepers have had notice that no goods are to be exposed or sold after ten o’clock on Sunday morning, and bakers are not to sell or bake goods after half-past one o’clock in the afternoon.” Several tradesmen were afterwards charged before the magistrates for contravention of the order.
2.—A large sea-borne vessel, heavily laden with coal, and between 60 and 70 tons burden, was brought up to the head of the navigation at Norwich, the first vessel of the kind that had ever got beyond Foundry Bridge. It was a Dutch-built craft, drawing only two feet of water, and was the property of Messrs. Bullard and Watts, St. Michael-at-Coslany Bridge.
6.—Mr. D. N. Fisher gave the first of three subscription concerts at the Assembly Rooms, Norwich. The artistes included Mdlle. Schloss, Madame and Signor F. Lablache, Mr. W. L. Phillips (principal violoncello), Mr. D. N. Fisher (leader), Mr. William Sterndale Bennett (director), and Mr. James Harcourt (director of rehearsals). “The musical world of Norwich owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Fisher for introducing to them Mr. William Sterndale Bennett. As a pianist, Mr. Bennett, without the extravagance and with less fire and brilliance than Liszt, has all the expression and musical enthusiasm of that performer.”
27.—At the Norfolk Assizes, before Mr. Justice Maule, Samuel Yarham was indicted for the murder of Harriet Candler, at Yarmouth, on November 18th, 1844. The prisoner, who at the Spring Assizes in 1845 turned Queen’s evidence against three other men (Hall, Mapes, and Royal) charged with the murder, had made certain admissions which led to his apprehension at Gloucester, where he had gone to work. The jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to death. The execution took place on the Castle Hill, Norwich, on April 11th (Tombland Fair-day), in the presence of 30,000 spectators. “Eight hundred persons came from Wymondham in one train; it was found necessary to use bullock-trucks to convey the people, there not being a sufficient number of regular carriages.” The fancy fair (the Sick Poor Repository) and all business in the city was suspended during the morning. “After the execution, gongs, drums, and other instruments commenced their uproar, mountebanks and clowns their antics, the vendors of wares and exhibitors of prodigies their cries, while the whirligigs and ups-and-downs were soon in full swing. The public-houses round the Hill were crowded, and hundreds finished the day in riot and intoxication. Royal and Hall were on the Hill during the execution, and got jostled by the crowd. They were turned out of the Golden Ball public-house and other houses where they presented themselves.” Owing to the scandalous character of the proceedings, a public meeting was held at St. Andrew’s Hall on April 17th, under the presidency of the Mayor, when it was decided to petition Parliament for the abolition of capital punishment.
1.—The first general meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich Archæological Society was held at the Norfolk and Norwich Museum, under the presidency of the Lord Bishop of Norwich.
8.—Died at his residence at Lakenham, aged 81, Mr. Thomas Thurtell, formerly an Alderman of Norwich, who served the office of Sheriff in 1815, and of Mayor in 1828. “He was universally esteemed as an honest and upright man.” (See April 30th.)
11.—George Clarke, a Norwich pedestrian, commenced a walk of 1,500 miles in 1,000 successive hours, “a mile and a half at the beginning of each hour,” at the West End Retreat Gardens, Norwich. (The result was not recorded.)
16.—The Rev. R. F. Elwin, of Norwich, was presented with a silver coffee service, in recognition of “his promotion of the objects of the Norfolk and Norwich Musical Festival from its institution, in 1824.”
18.—The 7th Hussars left Norwich for Ipswich, where they joined headquarters and marched for Hounslow. They were succeeded by the 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabineers), with headquarters and staff. “This regiment received its nom de guerre from being the first corps which carried the modern carbine.”
20.—The Norwich Board of Health was established as a permanent institution at a meeting held at the Guildhall. Among its objects was the encouragement of vaccination amongst the poor. The Bishop of Norwich was elected president, and the Mayor vice-president.
21.—Many hundreds of persons attended a steeplechase meeting at East Dereham. “The course from the Common was marked out by flags describing a circle round the country, over Mr. Greenacre’s piece, across Mr. Neale’s land, and round to the Common again, making a distance of three and a half miles in two rounds.”
—The first stone of the Cromer sea-wall was laid by the vicar, the Rev. W. Sharp, in the presence of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon and Lord Porchester. The contractors were Messrs. Wright and Cattermole, of Norwich, and the engineer Mr. J. Wright, of Westminster. On the same day the first pile of the new jetty was driven. The works were opened amid much festivity on August 7th.
23.—The North Cove Hall estates were sold at the Norfolk Hotel, Norwich, by Mr. Simpson, for £36,960.
29.—At a meeting of “The Friends of Permanent and Universal Peace,” held at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, under the presidency of Mr. J. J. Gurney, it was resolved: “That in consideration of the points now at issue between this country and the United States of America, involving, as they do, the question of war or peace, an address be presented to the magistrates and to the ministers of the several denominations of the city of Norwich in Connecticut, and generally to the people of the United States, asking them to use their endeavours to avert war.”
30.—At the Norwich Police Court, Mr. George Thurtell, horticulturist, was charged with assaulting a Mr. Riches, of St. George Colegate. Mr. Riches was the Norwich correspondent of the “Daily News,” and he had sent to that journal a notice of Mr. Thomas Thurtell’s death “and a private communication respecting one of Mr. Thurtell’s sons.” Mr. George Thurtell was greatly incensed on seeing the paragraph, more particularly as his father was not dead at the time, although he had been ill for some weeks, and meeting the complainant in the Market Place, he severely chastised him with a whip. The Bench, who considered the paragraph highly improper, imposed upon the defendant the nominal fine of one shilling. (See January 5th, 1848.)
8.—The Norfolk Yeomanry Cavalry commenced eight days’ permanent duty at Cromer.
9.*—“During the last week as many as 18 seaborne vessels, via Lowestoft, many of them of considerable burden, have been lying at Foundry Bridge, Norwich, laden with coke, coals, and other materials, for delivery at the railway station. This proves how excellent and how practical was the plan of our late fellow-citizen, Mr. Crisp Brown, and must cause universal regret that it then failed.”
18.—An inquest was opened at Happisburgh by Mr. Pilgrim, one of the County Coroners, upon the bodies of Jonathan Balls, his wife, and four grandchildren, who were believed to have been poisoned. The bodies had been exhumed, and were placed in a tent erected in the churchyard; peace officers were sworn to prevent the incensed villagers from rushing into the tent. Several other bodies were disinterred, and in nearly every instance traces of arsenic were found. At the adjourned inquiry some curious facts were elicited. Suspicion pointed to Balls as having destroyed his wife and grandchildren, and then poisoned himself. His conduct years previously had been suspicious, children having died suddenly while at his house. What number of persons had been thus destroyed it was impossible to ascertain. The jury found that, in the majority of the cases, death resulted from the effects of poison, but how it was administered there was no evidence to show.
26.—The bells of St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, were rung on the reception of the news of the birth, on the previous day, of a Princess (Princess Helena Augusta Victoria).
31.—Died at Kimberley Hall, in his 76th year, the Right Hon. John Baron Wodehouse. He was born January 11th, 1771, and married November 18th, 1796, Charlotte Laura, only child and heiress of Mr. John Norris, of Witton Park. He succeeded to the peerage on the death of his father in 1834. He was made Lord Lieutenant of the county and Vice-Admiral of the coast in the room of Lord Suffield in 1821, and he had also served as Colonel of the East Norfolk Militia, and was Steward of Norwich Cathedral. His lordship was succeeded in his title and estates by his grandson, John Gurdon Wodehouse, son of Henry Wodehouse and of Anne, only daughter of Mr. T. T. Gurdon. The deceased nobleman was a staunch Conservative. “He was of commanding appearance, both in personal figure and dignity of deportment. During the contest for the representation of Norfolk in 1806 it was remarked with perfect truth that three finer men or more perfect gentlemen than Mr. Windham, Mr. Coke, and Col. Wodehouse never presented themselves together as candidates for the electoral suffrages of a great county.”
5.—A fire occurred at St. James’s Factory, Norwich. Upwards of one thousand persons were, in consequence, thrown out of employment.
25.—The first meeting of a new archery society, known as the West Norfolk Bowmen, of which Sir William B. ffolkes was “Prime Warden,” and Lady ffolkes “Lady Patroness,” was held at Reffley Wood, near King’s Lynn.
27.—The first excursion train from London arrived at Norwich. It conveyed 800 passengers, who left Shoreditch at one p.m., and reached Norwich at eight p.m. The first excursion train from Yarmouth to London was run on June 29th. “There were 1,500 persons when it left Trowse Station at a quarter to nine, in 37 carriages. The passengers had increased to 2,000, and the carriages to 52, before it reached London, at 5.15 p.m.” The return fare was 7s. 6d. On June 30th 6,000 passengers were conveyed by two special cheap trains to Yarmouth and back. Hundreds of Nonconformist Sunday School children were taken at threepence a head, and the return fare for ordinary passengers was one shilling. Ten thousand persons assembled at Thorpe Station to witness the return of the excursionists.
3.—A cricket match was played on the Norwich Ground, between eleven resident members of the Norwich Club and the Messrs. Colman (eleven brothers). In the first innings the club headed their opponents by five runs only, and in the second innings had 50 runs to get. At eight o’clock, when the wickets were drawn, they had obtained 22 runs for four wickets. Scores: The Messrs. Colman, 87-54; the Club, 92-22. Game unfinished. The following were the Colmans:—Samuel, Joseph, William, Barnard, Thomas, Jeremiah, Henry, Edward, James, Robert, and John.
4.—The great heat on this day so affected the iron Swing Bridge at Trowse as to prevent its being opened for the accommodation of the river traffic. At the magisterial proceedings which followed, it was urged in defence that the heat caused the ironwork to expand.
9.—The first direct communication from Norwich to London was made through the medium of the electric telegraph.
—An experimental trip from London to Rotterdam was made by the railway company, via Norwich and Yarmouth. The railway journey was performed in 3 hrs. 35 mins. 15 secs., and was more successful than the trip by the steamer known as the Norfolk. On the return voyage the crew were under the influence of drink, bad weather was experienced, and the vessel got out of her course. The boiler of the engine of the return train to London burst when a mile and a half from Ely, and the excursionists alighted from the carriages and walked to that city. The Norfolk afterwards plied regularly between Yarmouth and Rotterdam.
12.—Died, Charlotte Elizabeth, wife of Mr. Lewis Tonna and only daughter of the Rev. Michael Browne, Minor Canon of Norwich Cathedral. She edited “The Christian Ladies’ Magazine,” and was the author of “Letters from Ireland,” and of many religious works.
20.—Norwich Theatre was opened, under the management of Mr. Davenport, who had become lessee of the circuit, in place of Mr. Abington. He announced that “he would be able to avail himself of the occasional services of his daughter, the eminent actress.” The company included Mr. L. Melville, Mr. Henry Loraine, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Cranfield, and Mr. J. Clarence. It was said to be better than Mr. Abington’s company, but inferior to that of Mr. George Smith.
27.—A match between the Norfolk Cricket Club and Marylebone commenced at Lord’s, and finished on the 28th. Marylebone, 117-122; Norfolk, 119-32. The return match was played at Swaffham on August 10th, 11th, and 12th. Marylebone, 52-149; Norfolk, 86-82.
28.—Died, aged 49, Mr. John Hill, nearly 20 years chorus-master of the Norfolk and Norwich Musical Festival.
—Died at Bath, aged 58, Lieut.-Col. Richard Brunton, youngest son of Mr. John Brunton, manager of Norwich Theatre, and brother of the Dowager Countess Craven. He entered the Army young, and went through the Peninsula War. He was several times wounded, and had his lip shot away. “He was in the same battle in which several Norwich men were wounded in the leg, one of whom was Mr. R. Blake. He was also wounded at Waterloo, in defending the baggage from an attack by the enemy. He joined his regiment (the 13th Light Dragoons) in India in 1819, and brought it home, having the command of it, about five or six years since. Whilst lying in Norwich with the regiment, in 1841 and 1842, he was universally beloved by both officers and men.” Col. Brunton married the widow of Col. Wallace, but left no family.
1.—The first consignment of foreign beasts were sold on Norwich Hill by Mr. Stephen Fromow. Dutch bullocks made £13 10s. each, and Dutch lambs from 9s. to 20s. each. “No doubt a regular trade will be ultimately established here in foreign stock, but whether to the advantage of any party except the foreign importer time must show.”
4.—Lord George Bentinck, M.P., was entertained at dinner at Lynn by “the friends of agricultural protection, as a testimony of their esteem for the public integrity and perseverance displayed by him in the House of Commons during the recent discussion on the Corn Law Importation Bill.” The Earl of Orford, High Steward of Lynn, presided, and one of the principal speakers was Mr. Disraeli, M.P., who had a most enthusiastic reception.
19.—The Provincial Medical and Surgical Association held its anniversary meeting at Norwich. Mr. J. G. Crosse was President for the year.
—Died at Ormesby, Capt. Richard Glasspoole. He was President of the Norfolk and Norwich Museum in 1844–45, and a large contributor to the zoological department of that institution.
26.—Died at Norwich Castle, in his 90th year, Mr. William Cole, formerly an attorney at Loddon. “He was committed to prison for debt in January, 1830, and remained there till the time of his death, never having been out of the walls of the prison 16 years and 8 months.”
2.—Burgh Castle, the ancient Garianonum, was offered for sale by auction at the Bear Hotel, Yarmouth, by Mr. Pettingill, and was purchased for £1,500 by Sir John P. Boileau, Bart., President of the Norfolk and Norwich Archæological Society.
17.—A meeting of tenant-farmers was held at the Norfolk Hotel, Norwich, presided over by Mr. Leamon, of Whitwell. After addresses by a deputation from the “Total Repeal Malt Tax Association,” a committee was appointed to form a district branch of the society in Norfolk.
26.—The railways from Lynn to Downham and from Lynn to Narborough were opened on this date.
9.—Mr. Jeremiah Colman was elected Mayor, and Mr. Charles Winter appointed Sheriff of Norwich.
13.—The London markets were, for the first time, “expressed by electric telegraph” in the Norfolk Chronicle. Discussing the possibilities of “this wonderful medium of communication,” that journal observed: “A division in the House of Commons after any important debate may be communicated at all stations from London to Yarmouth in a few minutes.”
16.—The first recorded canary show in Norwich was held on this date, at the Greyhound Inn, Ber Street, when 300 specimens belonging to a canary club were exhibited.
24.—A trout, weighing 9½ lbs., was captured in a net near the New Mills, Norwich.
27.—The Norwich Corporation delegated their powers to the Watch Committee “to appoint a fire brigade of six men, whose business it will be to attend all fires in Norwich with the Corporation engine, which is to be managed by the brigade exclusively. The men in the daytime are to act as common policemen, and to sleep near the station house, where the engine is kept, each night, that they may be ready in case of alarm.”
5.*—“The directors of the Norfolk and Eastern Counties Railway, with the view of giving the poorer classes greater facilities, have started a fourth class. The return fare to London is 7s. 6d.”
7.—The Wymondham and Dereham Railway was opened for goods traffic. The Bill for the construction of this railway, which was applied for by the Norfolk Company, was strenuously opposed by Norwich traders, who considered that a direct line to Dereham would be to their greater advantage. The Act authorised the Company to make an extension of 22½ miles from Dereham to Wells, with a branch line of 6½ miles to Blakeney, making the total from Wymondham 40½ miles. Messrs. Grissel and Peto were the general contractors, and the electric telegraph was established under the superintendence of the Rev. A. Bath Power. (See February 15th, 1847.)
18.—Winter set in with great severity. The Dereham, Swaffham, and Lynn coach was unable to leave Norwich, owing to the great depth of the snow.
20.—A fine specimen of the black grouse was shot at Swanton.
—A riot occurred at Pulham St. Mary Workhouse. The paupers made a preconcerted attack upon the bread store, and were with difficulty driven back by the officials. Thirteen of the ringleaders were committed to Norwich Castle for terms ranging from seven days to two months’ imprisonment. (See January 5th, 1847.)
26.—Norwich Theatre opened for the Christmas season with the play of “George Barnwell” and the pantomime “Fortunio.” Mr. Davenport, “in compliance with public feeling,” reduced the prices of admission, which had been raised on his taking over the management.
—Many of the roads in the country were stated to be “half a yard deep in mud,” and almost impassable. “Heavy goods in large quantities have lately been sent from Norwich to London and from thence to Ipswich by rail, 196 miles, instead of the direct route of 40 miles by road, the rail conveyance being cheaper and quicker. It would be a great advantage in this and other counties if a general Act were passed for widening and levelling the turnpike roads and for laying down tramways on which carriages could be drawn by horses or by engines of small power to the principal railway. Unless some measure of this sort be carried out, the common roads will soon be of little use, and not worth keeping in repair.”
1.—A new form of entertainment was introduced at this date—“Ethiopian minstrelsy,” the precursor of the Christy minstrels. The troupe appeared at Norwich Theatre. “The band consists of five harmonists, with black faces and white eyes, black coats and white cuffs, black trousers and white waistcoats, black stocks and white collars. The instruments are a violin, two ‘banjoes’ (instruments that look like guitars run to seed), a tambourine, and ‘bones’ (a species of castanet).”
4.—Died at Earlham, in his 59th year, Mr. Joseph John Gurney. He was a son of John Gurney, of Earlham, and a grandson of John Gurney who died in 1770, and had been “the connecting link by which the hand-spun yarn of the South of Ireland was brought to add its stores to the wants of our artizans.” Mr. J. J. Gurney received his early education under the Rev. M. Browne, of Hingham; he then went to the Academical Institution at Oxford. He was a great traveller. Several times he visited the West Indies, travelled twice on the Continent, made a tour in Scotland, in company with Mr. Hoare, for the purpose of inspecting the prisons, and, accompanied by Mrs. Fry, he visited Ireland in the spring of 1827, in order to personally investigate the condition of the prisons and the charitable institutions of that country. On July 8th, 1837, he embarked at Liverpool for Philadelphia on a Gospel mission to parts of North America and the West Indies. Of this tour he gave an interesting account in “Familiar Letters to Amelia Opie”; his “Winter in the West Indies” is described in “Familiar Letters to Henry Clay of Kentucky.” He was three times married; his first wife was a daughter of Mr. J. Birkbeck, of Lynn, his second a Wiltshire lady, and his third an American lady. Mr. Gurney was the author of several works in addition to those above-mentioned, and was one of the greatest philanthropists of his day. Memorial services were held at many places of worship in Norwich on the Sunday following his death, and on the day of the funeral (January 12th) business in the city was suspended. The interment took place at the Gildencroft, when the rites peculiar to the Society of Friends were performed.
5.—Serious acts of insubordination were committed by the inmates of Swainsthorpe Workhouse, “on the ground that they wanted more victuals.” Damage was done to the windows to the amount of £30.
14.—The use of anæsthetics—“ethereal fumes “—was introduced at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital by Dr. Hull, in the extraction of teeth. (See December 30th, 1847.)
23.—At a meeting held at the Swan Inn, Norwich, the East Norfolk and West Norfolk Agricultural Societies were amalgamated under the title of the Norfolk Agricultural Society. The first general meeting of the newly-formed society was held on the same day, when Lord Hastings was elected President. The first show took place on the Cricket Ground, Norwich, on June 18th, and for several years the exhibitions were held alternately in the city and at Swaffham.
27.—Died, aged 67, Mr. George Fisher, formerly of the Norfolk and Suffolk Company of Comedians.
31.—Died, in his 93rd year, the Rev. John Oldershaw, Archdeacon of Norfolk. He was born at Leicester, where his father practised as a surgeon, and was educated at Oakham Grammar School and at Emanuel College, Cambridge, where he proceeded B.A. in 1776, and obtained the distinguished honour of senior wrangler of his year. About this time he became private tutor to Charles Manners Sutton, who was afterwards Bishop of Norwich and Archbishop of Canterbury. He was elected a Fellow and public tutor of his College; when Sutton became Bishop of Norwich he appointed him his examining chaplain. Mr. Oldershaw married Anne, daughter of Sir John Hynde Cotton, Bart., of Maddingley, Cambridgeshire, and took up his residence at Harpley, as curate. He was presented in 1797 to the Archdeaconry of Norfolk, and was soon after nominated to the rectory of Redenhall-with-Harleston. Archdeacon Oldershaw was for many years one of the most active magistrates in the county.
5.—At a meeting held at the Guildhall, Norwich, presided over by the Mayor, it was decided to open a public subscription for the relief of the distress among the Irish peasantry, consequent upon the failure of the potato crop. For the same object collections were made in the places of worship in city and county.
6.—The warehouse in Rose Lane, Norwich, belonging to Mr. Kitten was burnt down, and its contents, consisting of barrels of grease, resin, and other inflammable materials, destroyed. Another serious fire occurred on the same premises on May 20th.
15.—The opening of the Wymondham and Dereham Railway for passenger traffic was celebrated with great festivities. Mr. Gidney, of Dereham, one of the principal promoters of the line, entertained a large company at luncheon at the Norfolk Hotel, Norwich, and in the evening a dinner took place at the King’s Arms Hotel, Dereham, in which town the day was observed as a general holiday. “Along the road from the station,” it was stated, “many new and handsome-looking houses have been built, far superior to any modern houses in Norwich.”
17.—Died at his residence in the Cathedral Precincts, Norwich, the Rev. Canon Edward South Thurlow, rector of Houghton le Spring, Durham. He was appointed Prebendary of Norwich in 1788.
25.—The Mayor of Norwich (Mr. Jeremiah Colman) turned the first sod on the Norwich extension of the Ipswich and Bury Railway. The ceremony took place on Mr. Cyrus Gillett’s farm in the parish of Markshall. Several gentlemen filled barrows with earth, which other gentlemen, including the Sheriff (Mr. Charles Winter) wheeled away—a proceeding which elicited from Mr. Willett the remark that “if they went on at that rate they would leave little work for the navvies to do.” The company then assembled for luncheon, under the presidency of Mr. A. Ogilvie, and many congratulatory speeches were made. (See November 7th, 1849.)
28.—The shop of Mr. Cooper, silversmith and jeweller, London Street, Norwich, was broken into and goods of the total value of £2,000 stolen.
4.—Died at his residence, in St. Giles’, Norwich, Dr. Edward Lubbock, aged 43. He was the younger son of Dr. Richard Lubbock, and was educated at the Free Grammar School, under Valpy. He commenced his medical studies under Dr. Skrimshire at Peterborough, became a student at Guy’s Hospital, and afterwards proceeded to Edinburgh University, where he took his degree as M.D. His devotion to the study of anatomy and physiology led him, conjointly with Mr. Nichols, to establish in Norwich, about 1830, a school for dissection. He was one of the physicians of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and of the Bethel.
10.—A public meeting, presided over by the Mayor, was held at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, “to oppose the oppressive operation of the present Law of Settlement upon the industrious poor.” Petitions were presented to Parliament praying for the abolition of the system, and demanding that the poor should be relieved out of a national fund.
15.—Died, in his 92nd year, the Rev. Stephen Allen, for 56 years minister of St Margaret’s, Lynn. “In early life Mr. Allen was a pupil of Archdeacon Paley, and by his mother’s marriage with the celebrated Dr. Burney he enjoyed frequent opportunities of mixing in that brilliant circle of which Madame D’Arblay was at once the life and the ornament.”
24.—A public fast and humiliation were observed in Norwich.
30.—An inquest was held at Tibenham, by Mr. Pilgrim, one of the County Coroners, on the bodies of Mrs. Pearson and Mrs. Everett, the wives of farmers living in that parish. Several deaths had occurred under mysterious circumstances, and in these two cases post-mortem examinations revealed the fact that death was due to arsenical poisoning. The inquiry was several times adjourned, and on May 13th the jury returned a verdict to the effect that the women died from poison wilfully administered by some person or persons unknown.
3.—The new road from the bottom of Long John’s Hill to Lakenham Mills, with the bridges and viaduct beyond the mills, was completed by the contractors, Messrs. Watson, Wright, and Cattermoul, from plans prepared by Mr. J. Brown.
17.—A brig of 150 tons, named the Countess of Leicester, and intended for the southern trade, was launched from Mr. Tyrell’s shipyard, at Wells-next-the-Sea. She was classed A 1 for twelve years, and was the finest ship ever launched at Wells.
22.—The new County Court, for the recovery of small debts, was held for the first time, at the Guildhall, Norwich, before Mr. T. J. Birch, the Judge. In consequence of the jurisdiction of this Court, the old Court of Conscience was abolished.
30.—St. Mark’s Schools, Lakenham, erected from designs by Mr. J. Brown, were opened.
1.—The remains of the Hon. Isabella Stafford Jerningham, who died at Genoa on January 1st, were interred in the family vault beneath the altar in the chapel at Costessey Hall. At the same time was interred the body of the Hon. Frances Stafford Jerningham, who died at Paris in May, 1838. It was placed by the side of the remains of her twin sister, the Hon. Georgiana Stafford Jerningham, who died at Leamington in 1841.
3.—Mr. Davenport, lessee of the Norwich Theatre, was fined by the magistrates in a nominal sum for assaulting a man who was selling tickets outside the Theatre under the regular prices of admission. The sale took place upon what was known as a “ticket night.” Mr. Davenport alleged that by this system, which was allowed in no other town, the former manager, Mr. Smith, had lost in twenty years £6,000 from the treasury of the circuit.
15.—The Norfolk Yeomanry Cavalry commenced its annual training at Wells-next-the-Sea. The drills took place in Holkham Park, where the regiment was hospitably entertained by the Earl of Leicester.
11.—The Norwich Small Tenements Bill was referred to a Committee of the House of Commons. On the 12th the Committee settled the clauses determining that the owners of cottages of the annual value of £6 and under should be rated at one-third of the yearly value or rent.