12.*—“A few days since the Russian Countess Mengdon arrived at her newly-purchased seat, called New Place, Thetford, late the residence of Mr. James Mingay.”
18.—One of a pair of eagles was shot at Cantley. The extended wings measured 7 feet 4½ inches, and the bird was 2½ feet in height.
22.—A two days’ race meeting commenced in Blickling Park. A ball and supper were given by Lord Suffield.
—The Norwich Battalion of Volunteers, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Patteson, and the City of Norwich Battalion of Volunteer Infantry (Lieut.-Col. Harvey) were inspected by Major-General Milner. “A portion of the latter corps proceeded from the Castle ditches to Mile End in waggons, fitted up with seats, and provided throughout the county pursuant to general orders.”
Under the Additional Force Act, Norfolk raised this month 248 men to supply vacancies occasioned by those who had enlisted out of the Militia into the regular Army.
2.*—“The Sheriff of Norwich, Mr. J. H. Yallop, is the fortunate holder of a sixteenth share of the ticket drawn for a prize of £3,000. In the lottery of 1803, Mr. Yallop also shared a prize of £2,000, and in 1804, part of the £20,000 prize.”
7.—Intelligence was received of the battle of Trafalgar, which was fought on October 21st, and of the death of Nelson. “The bells were rung and fired throughout the day, but all the joy that would have arisen from the victory was wholly absorbed in sorrow and regret for the death of the Hero of the Nile and Trafalgar.” Great rejoicings afterwards took place, and addresses of congratulation to his Majesty were unanimously voted by the Corporations of Norwich, Yarmouth, Lynn, &c.
30.—A county meeting was held at the Shirehall, Norwich, when an address to his Majesty on the victory of Trafalgar was agreed to. It was also resolved to open a subscription for erecting a memorial to perpetuate the memory of Lord Nelson’s victories.
3.—The Duke of Norfolk arrived at Norwich, and visited the Cathedral, St. Andrew’s Hall, and other public buildings.
—Thanksgiving day. Collections were made in the churches for the relief of the families of those who fell, and for those who were wounded. At Aylsham, there was a “grand naval procession,” barrels of beer were drunk in the Market Place, and a display of fireworks took place at night.
17.—A grand fête was held at the Norwich Assembly Rooms, in honour of Nelson’s victory. Upwards of 450 ladies and gentlemen of the county and city were present at the ball and supper, and the rooms were decorated with transparencies and brilliantly illuminated. The arrangements were carried out by the Norfolk Society, established in 1770.
Among the Acts of Parliament passed this year was one to enable Mr. Daniel Henry Woodward, his sons, and their descendants to use the surname and family arms of Mr. Henry Lee Warner, late of Walsingham.
4.*—(Advt.) “To be sold, a Proprietor’s Share in the Norwich Theatre, with or without transferable ticket, which will admit the holder to the Yarmouth, Ipswich, and Colchester Theatres.”
—*“A man of the name of Baxter, formerly a respectable farmer at Buckenham, who took a rash resolution of refusing any kind of sustenance but water, which he continued to do for 38 days at the White Horse at Kenninghall, was induced to give up the same on Monday last by the offer of a noble lady to settle an allowance upon him. He some time ago persisted in the same mode of existence for 19 days.”
9.—The church bells in city and county were tolled from twelve o’clock to two o’clock, on the occasion of the funeral of Lord Nelson at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
12.—A subscription was made for the relief of the poor in Germany, who were suffering under the combined miseries of war and famine. About £300 was collected.
14.—A meeting was held at the Guildhall for the purpose of opposing the Norwich Paving Bill, and a petition against the measure was signed by 1,600 owners and occupiers. On February 8th, the Mayor (Mr. Rigby) announced that “the respectability of the signatures to the petition in favour of the Bill, and the large sum raised to defray the expenses of the application to Parliament, could not but determine its supporters to persevere firmly in promoting it.” On February 24th, the aldermen, by ten votes to eight, ordered the city seal to be affixed to the Bill. Leave was given on March 7th for the insertion of fresh notices in the Bill, in order that it might be carried before Parliament that Session. The Bill was read a first time on April 21st, and was in due course transmitted to a committee of the House of Commons. The taking of evidence for and against the Bill concluded on May 21st, and on June 13th it passed both Houses of Parliament and received the Royal assent. The first election of Commissioners under the Norwich Paving Act took place in July, and the first meeting of Commissioners was held on July 15th, when the Deputy-Mayor (Mr. Rigby) was appointed chairman; Mr. Elisha De Hague, clerk; Messrs. Harvey and Hudson, treasurers; and Mr. John Roots, surveyor.
15.—The vane and spindle of the “antient and beautiful spire” of St. Gregory’s Church, Norwich, were blown off during a severe gale.
3.—On opening a vault at the church of St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, a live bat was found therein, of a greyish colour, where it had probably lain in a torpid state more than 32 years, the distance of time since the vault was before opened.”
8.*—(Advt.) “A main of cocks will be fought on Wednesday, February 19th, at the Red Lion Inn, Fakenham, between the gentlemen of Fakenham and the gentlemen of Foulsham. Eleven mains, two byes, and one turn out for five guineas the battle, and ten guineas the odd. Feeders, George Syder for Fakenham; David Lamb for Foulsham.”
9.—James Coleman, bricklayer, of Swardeston, was tolling the bell at the parish church, “when the crown and cannons broke from the bell, and she came down through both floors, killing him on the spot.”
13.—Married, at St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, Henry Robert Bowles, acting-manager at the Theatre Royal, to Miss Aickin, of the same theatre.
16.—Died, at St. George Colegate, Norwich, Thomas Troughton, aged 88. “He was a member of the corps of Artillery raised for the internal defence during the Revolution of 1745, and is believed to be the last survivor of that loyal corps.”
22.*—“The interior of the Cathedral is about to undergo a thorough cleaning and repair. It is sixty years since a similar repair was done.” It was re-opened November 22nd.
24.—At a quarterly assembly of the Corporation of Norwich an address was ordered to be presented to his Majesty, “expressive of their gratitude for the paternal affection he has shown to his subjects by waiving every consideration for the public good in the appointment of men of the first abilities in the country to the high offices of State.” A county meeting was held at the Shirehall, Norwich, on March 28th, when a similar resolution was adopted, congratulating his Majesty on the appointment of an administration “in whom the nation feels a well-grounded confidence.” Like addresses were presented by the Corporations of Yarmouth and King’s Lynn.
27.—Landed at Yarmouth, on their return from the Continent, the 4th, 23rd, and 28th Regiments of Foot, and 300 riflemen, comprising the brigade commanded by General Paget.
1.*—“Lately, died, at the age of 113, Mrs. Roope, of Tharston, near Long Stratton. She lived to see her fifth generation.”
5.—A troop of the King’s German Legion (heavy cavalry) arrived at Norwich from Yarmouth, and on the following day proceeded on their march to Scotland.
7.—A public concert was given at Chapel Field House, Norwich. Vocalists: Mr. Vaughan and Mrs. Vaughan (formerly Miss Tennant); leader of the band, Mr. Parnell; at the pianoforte, Mr. Beckwith.
11.—The Board of Agriculture voted their gold medal to Mr. Thomas William Coke, “for his extensive and successful mode of irrigation, by which he has converted a track of unprofitable boggy land in Norfolk into sound and excellent water meadows.”
—The Marquis Townshend’s 85th birthday was celebrated by a dinner at the Crown Inn, and by a ball and supper at the Red Lion Inn, Fakenham.
15.—At the Norfolk Assizes, held at Thetford, before Mr. Justice Grose, was tried the case, the King v. Anthony. This was an information filed against the defendant by the Attorney-General for assaulting John Stevenson, an officer of Excise, while in the execution of his duty. Stevenson called at the White Horse Inn, Edgefield, on December 2nd, 1805, and found smuggled liquor in panniers belonging to the defendant, whose ostensible trade was that of a vendor of oysters. The officer seized the panniers, but defendant, in regaining them, committed an assault. He was found guilty, and the case was remitted to the King’s Bench for judgment. (No further record appears.)
—*(Advt.) “A main of cocks will be fought at the Maid’s Head Inn, Norwich, on Tuesday, the 25th inst., and two following days between the gentlemen of Norwich and the gentlemen of Yarmouth. To show 31 mains, and ten bye-cocks, to fight for ten guineas a battle, and 50 guineas the odd battle. There will be five pits. Feeders, David Lamb for Norwich; Thomas Cox for Yarmouth.”
16.—Died, at his house in Surrey Street, Norwich, John Manning, M.D., upwards of 30 years physician at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.
17.—Died, at Snettisham Lodge, Mr. Thomas Daniell, Attorney-General of Dominica.
24.—Intelligence was received at Norwich of Vice-Admiral Duckworth’s victory over the French squadron in St. Domingo Bay. Col. Patteson’s Volunteers fired a feu de joie in the Market Place, and the bells of St. Peter Mancroft rang until midnight.
27.—Mr. Heath caught in Panxworth Broad a pike weighing 31 lbs., and measuring 45 inches in length, and 25 inches in girth.
28.—Died, at Bodney Hall, aged 49, Madame Elizabeth de Mirepoix. “Descended from one of the most distinguished families in France, she forsook the allurements of the Court for the retirement and austerity of monastic life. From the storms of the French Revolution the Benedictine Monastery (of which she had been a member 31 years and superior 22 years) sought shelter in England, and found an asylum in this county, where for the last 15 years the nuns have been occupied in the education of Catholic young ladies.”
This month upwards of £800 was subscribed to defray the cost of the erection in Norwich of a monument to the memory of Lord Nelson. Mr. Browne and Mr. Percy submitted designs and models to the committee, but insufficient support was given to the movement.
5.*—“The King has granted the dignity of Earl to the Right Hon. Horatio Baron Walpole, to be known as the Earl of Orford.” Mr. Thomas Wm. Coke was offered, but declined a peerage.
12.—At a meeting of farmers and others at Thetford, it was decided to hold a sheep and lamb fair in that town annually on September 1st.
19.—The Boreas frigate, 28 guns, was launched from the dockyard of Messrs. Stone and Custance, at Yarmouth. On the same day the Ariel sloop, of 18 guns, was launched from Mr. N. Palmer’s yard.
27.—General Milner inspected the Norwich Rifle Corps this day (Sunday); the Norwich Volunteer Regiment on the 28th; and Col. Patteson’s Battalion on the 29th.
6.—Died, in his 82nd year, the Rev. George Thomas, vicar of East Dereham and brother of Dr. Thomas, Bishop of Rochester. He was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Hyde Wollaston.
14.—The annual meeting of the Dissenters Benevolent Society, presided over by Mr. Geo. Watson, was held at the Angel Inn, Norwich.
16.—A hundred yards foot race took place on Lord’s Cricket Ground between Lord E. Somerset and the Hon. Edward Harbord. “Lord Edward had the start of Mr. Harbord, and maintained the lead about 60 yards, when Mr. Harbord gained upon and crossed him. There was a foul, and Lord Edward fell. Lord Frederick Beauclerk, who was umpire, gave his decision as follows:—That on account of the accident the race was deemed void, but Mr. Harbord is allowed the power of calling upon Lord Edward to run the race over again any time within the next six months upon giving his lordship six weeks’ notice.”
17.—The sword of the Spanish Admiral, Don Xavier Francisco Winthuysen, who died of his wounds at the battle off Cape St. Vincent, February 14th, 1797, presented to the city of Norwich by Lord Nelson, was placed in the mural monument at the Guildhall.
29.—General Milner, in a letter addressed to the commanding officers of Volunteers in Norwich and Norfolk, expressed “the high sense he entertained of the merit of the Volunteer corps in coming forward in such force, when the country, and this district in particular, was threatened with invasion by a powerful enemy.”
30.—Died, at Calabar, East Indies, in his 32nd year, Capt. Smyth, 56th Regiment, son of Mr. James Smyth, attorney-at-law, of Norwich. He served in all the campaigns in Flanders and Holland under General Coote, in Ireland at the battle of Vinegar Hill, at Gibraltar during the mutiny, and under Sir Ralph Abercromby in Egypt.
9.—Vice-Admiral Russell, accompanied by several officers of the North Sea Fleet, stationed at Yarmouth, visited Norwich.
10.—A rowing match took place between the Lion and the Dove. The course, five miles, was between Carrow and Whitlingham, and the Lion won by 100 yards in 34 minutes.
18.—Wrestling matches were contested on Panxworth Green in the presence of a large number of spectators. “Green, of Beighton, was champion of the green, and came off victorious from all his engagements.” He was eighteen years old.
19.—Norwich Guild day. In consequence of the Cathedral undergoing reparation, the Mayor and Corporation attended service at the church of St. Peter Mancroft. The Mayor, Mr. Thomas Allday Kerrison, entertained 500 guests at dinner at St. Andrew’s Hall; the ball was held at Chapel Field House.
23.—At Holkham Sheep Shearing, Mr. John Herring, jun., of Norwich, exhibited three shawls, manufactured by Messrs. John Herring and Sons entirely from the fleece of Mr. Coke’s Southdowns.
24.—Lord Waldegrave, in command of a detachment of the 7th Light Dragoons, stationed at Norwich, commenced a series of three cricket matches, “with a select number of the men under his command against a party of gentlemen of this city and neighbourhood.” The soldiers won two out of the three games. In the following month Lord Waldegrave came of age, and succeeded to a property amounting to £30,000 a year.
28.—Mr. Incledon appeared at Norwich Theatre in his entertainment, consisting of songs and recitations, “Hospitality, or the Harvest Home.” He reappeared on the 30th.
5.—Died, at his house in George Street, Portman Square, London, Arthur Richard Dillon, Archbishop and Duke of Narbonne, Primate of the Gauls, President of the States of Languedoc, and Commander of the Order of the Holy Ghost. “This venerable prelate was uncle to Lady Jerningham, of Costessey.”
—The Primary Visitation of the Bishop of Norwich (which commenced at Thetford on May 22nd) terminated at St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich. “Six hundred and ninety-nine young persons from the adjacent parishes, and on the following day nearly 600 persons from the several parishes and hamlets of the city were confirmed. The total number of persons who had been confirmed throughout the diocese in the course of this visitation is computed at nearly 17,000.”
10.—This day “the thermometer stood at 82, exposed to the north.” On the 19th of the previous month the heat was so great that many post horses died.
12.—The Royal assent was given to an Act to enable his Majesty “to grant the Castle of Norwich, with the county gaol, Castle Hill, and certain land adjacent thereto, in Norfolk, and for vesting the same in the justices of the peace for the said county, with the use thereof.”
13.—A remarkable suicide took place at Yarmouth. “Two servant women tied themselves together with ribbon, walked into the sea, and were drowned.” They were the wives of privates in the Shropshire Militia. “Their husbands had come to see them the previous day, and, refusing to permit them to return with them, they committed the rash act.”
14.—A large concourse assembled to witness a camping match on Crostwick Common between the Hundreds of Taverham and of Blofield. Conditions:—“Play 40 minutes; candidates to be young men under 25 and unmarried. Prize, a hat of the value of 10s. 6d. for each of the successful combatants.” The affair ended in a walk over, owing to the absence of the Blofield men. “It is now 20 years since a regular camp was played at Crostwick, and that one was patronised by one of his Majesty’s present ministers, who is not more celebrated for his political talents, and the accomplishments of a liberal and enlightened mind, than for his attachment to the ancient sports and amusements of his country.” (Reference is here made to William Windham.)
17.—The annual water frolic and aquatic procession took place at Norwich, “led by Admiral Clarke in full uniform in the Apollo.”
21.—The Corporation of Norwich again granted the use of St. Andrew’s Hall to the corn merchants, as a place of exchange, at the annual rent of 50 guineas. “A letter from Mr. Opie was read, in which that celebrated artist stated that, if due care was taken to prevent persons from touching the paintings in the hall, they would sustain no injury if the hall was opened ten times a week.”
26.—Arrived, at Yarmouth, the Blanche frigate, Capt. Lavie, with La Guerriere, French frigate of 50 guns, Capt. Hubert, captured on the 18th, after a desperate action of 45 minutes. La Guerriere had taken eight Greenlandmen and one Yarmouth vessel, all of which she had destroyed.
28.—The Volunteer corps agreed to continue their services under new regulations and at reduced pay. The regulations were made in accordance with a new Act of Parliament, which provided for the military training of the population by the calling out of 200,000 men in each year.
31.—The Duke’s Palace estate in Norwich, belonging to the Duke of Norfolk, was sold in lots for £5,055, exclusive of the Public Library and house adjoining.
9.*—(Advt.) “To be seen alive (from Mr. Kendrick’s menagerie, 42, Piccadilly), in a commodious room at Mr. Peck’s, the Church Stile, in the Market Place, Norwich, a most surprising crocodile from the Nile ever seen in this kingdom. He is so remarkably tame that any lady or gentleman may touch him with safety.”
13.—The Norwich Society of Artists opened an exhibition in their room in Sir Benjamin Wrenche’s Court. The exhibitors included A. Brown, W. Browne, and Stone, architectural subjects; Crome, Dixon, Gordon, C. Hodgson, Ladbrooke, Leeds, and Thirtle, landscapes; Cooper, horses and cattle; Mrs. Coppin, Freeman, and Thirtle, portraits; and Sillett, flowers and still life. “The exhibition is such as to authorise our predicting that the seeds of genius, which have evidently taken deep root in some of the artists, will secure them most respectable places in the roll of fame.”
14.—The anniversary sermon for the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital was preached by the Bishop of Norwich at St. Peter Mancroft. The sum collected was £185 16s. 6d., and the proceeds of the dinner at the Swan Inn amounted to £41 9s. 6d.
28.—The Comus frigate, 22 guns, was launched from the dockyard of Messrs. Custance and Co., at Yarmouth.
30.—The Norwich Paving Commissioners advertised that they were “ready to contract with any person or persons for watch boxes, to be made of good and well-seasoned yellow deal, and painted on the outsides of a lead colour three times in oil. Also to receive proposals for and contract with any person or persons for 36 strong and well-made watchmen’s coats of a dark drab coloured cloth, large double collar, with belt of the same sewed to the coat, and white and strong metal buttons.”
11.—Died, at the age of 100 years, Mrs. Crisp, of Loddon.
12.—Died, at Brighton, aged 76, the Right Hon. Edward Lord Thurlow, Lord Chancellor 1778 to 1793, except for a few months during the Coalition Administration in 1783, when the seals were put in Commission. He was the son of the Rev. Mr. Thurlow, rector of Ashfield, Suffolk, and was born at Braconash, Norfolk, December 9th, 1730. He was succeeded in his title and estates by his nephew, only son of the Bishop of Durham.
—Died, at Breccles, near Watton, aged 107 years and 8 months, John Stubings, husbandman. “He never occupied more than five acres of land nor received any parochial relief.”
13.*—(Advt.) “Docking Snettisham, Lynn, and Norwich Telegraph, from Docking to Lynn and Lynn to Norwich. Leaves Docking at seven o’clock on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, through Snettisham and Castle Rising, to Star Inn, Lynn. Leaves Lynn at eleven o’clock, to the Woolpack, St. Giles, Norwich, through Gayton, Litcham, Mileham, Brisley, Elmham, Bawdeswell, Lenwade Bridge, Attlebridge, and Drayton, and returns the following morning at seven o’clock.”
25.—A shark, measuring nine feet in length and weighing three cwts., was caught off Yarmouth.
3.—The bells of several parish churches in Norwich were tolled at noon, the hour appointed for the interment, in Westminster Abbey, of the remains of the Right Hon. Charles James Fox, who died September 13th.
4.*—(Advt.) “The Norwich and Yarmouth Machine runs every day from the Black Horse, Tombland, and White Hart, near the Wrestlers, Yarmouth.”
15.—Died suddenly, aged 58, Henry Bowles, the elder, formerly of the Theatre Royal, Norwich.
21.—Blickling races commenced, and afforded “the greatest sport ever known at this place.” The principal event, a sweepstake for 50 guineas for horses bred in Norfolk, was won by Col. Harbord’s bay filly Czarina.
—Launched from the dockyard of Mr. J. S. Douglas, Yarmouth, the Lord Nelson packet, 91 tons, intended for the Harwich station.
29.—A trotting match for 50 guineas took place on the turnpike road from Norwich to Watton, between Mr. King’s chestnut hone Doubtful and Mr. Jeary’s brown mare Velocity. “The horse won by about two lengths. Owing to a dispute respecting the horse galloping within the last hundred yards the match still remains undetermined. Fifteen and a half miles were covered in one hour.”
Capt. Sir Edward Berry, R.N., was this month created a baronet, in consideration of his eminent services to the country.
3.—A Parliamentary election took place at Norwich, resulting in the return of Mr. John Patteson, 1,733 votes, and Mr. Robert Fellowes, 1,370 votes. Mr. Wm. Smith, who polled 1,333 votes, was the unsuccessful candidate. On the 10th “the Norwich Battalion of Volunteers received Col. Patteson, M.P., with a general salute, and fired three vollies and gave three cheers in token of their satisfaction at his being elected one of the representatives of the city.”
—King’s Lynn election. Lord Walpole and Sir M. B. ffolkes returned unopposed.
4.—Thetford election. Lord William Fitzroy, 28 votes; Mr. James Mingay, 17 votes. Mr. Thomas Creevey, the unsuccessful candidate, polled 14 votes.
—Yarmouth election. The Hon. Edward Harbord and Mr. S. Lushington returned unopposed. A petition was lodged against the return, but the committee of the House of Commons declared it to be frivolous and vexatious, and the members retained their seats.
6.—Miss Elizabeth Bidwell, niece of Mr. Bidwell, of Thetford, arrived at Harwich from Berlin. “She was tutoress to the King of Prussia’s children, and had a narrow escape of falling into the hands of the French, and when she landed was destitute of money and change of raiment.” Miss Bidwell afterwards had an audience of the Queen at Windsor, to whom she related the details of her escape.
12.—The Sapphire sloop of war, 18 guns, launched from Messrs. Brindley’s yard at King’s Lynn.
13.—County election. The poll was open for six days. Mr. T. W. Coke, 4,118 votes; the Right Hon. William Windham, 3,722 votes. The unsuccessful candidate, the Hon. John Wodehouse, received 3,365 votes. “On the chairing day, as well as every day during the election, there were excellent dinners provided at the White Swan and Angel, where Mr. Coke and Mr. Windham met large parties of their friends, whose convivial enjoyments were much heightened by the eloquent orations of Mr. Plumptre and the exertions of Mr. Mingay, whose good-humoured sallies and witticisms never failed to set the tables in a roar.” A petition against the return of the members was presented by Mr. T. T. Berney and others, and on February 12th, 1807, the committee of the House of Commons declared the election void. On February 26th, Mr. Coke was returned unopposed for Derby, in place of his brother, Mr. E. Coke, who had accepted the Chiltern Hundreds. On March 5th, Mr. E. Coke and Sir Jacob Astley, Bart., were returned unopposed for Norfolk, and Mr. Windham took his seat, without opposition, as member for New Romney.
24.—Died, in St. Lawrence’, Norwich, Mrs. Galey, aged 101.
30.—At the meeting of the Society of Universal Good Will, at Norwich, it was reported that 187 persons, besides weekly pensioners, had been relieved during the year, making in all 2,218 since the establishment of the institution.
4.—Mr. J. W. Robberds was elected an alderman for the Ward beyond the Water, Norwich, in place of Mr. J. G. Baseley, who died December 1st.
6.—Died, in the 63rd year of his age, Thomas Osborn, bell founder, Downham Market.
13.*—“Died, lately, in the parish of St. Mary, Norwich, Sarah Pickwood, aged 49 years. This was one of the most enormous cases of dropsy on record. In the course of about 50 months she was tapped 38 times, and discharged 350 gallons of the fluid, weighing 4,656 lbs. troy. The greatest quantity discharged at one operation measured 11½ gallons, and weighed 153½ lbs.”
18.—In the course of alterations at Ketteringham Hall, a fire occurred, which destroyed the centre of the building, with all the new work.
20.*—“Whenever a fire occurs in the neighbourhood the large travelling engine, belonging to the Norwich Fire Office, may be obtained by sending a man and two horses and applying to the sexton of St. Peter Mancroft Church, in which place the engine is deposited.”
The following Acts were passed this year:—
An Act to enable his Majesty to grant an annuity to Lady Viscountess Nelson, in consideration of the eminent services performed by the late Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson to his Majesty and the public.
An Act for settling and securing a certain annuity on Earl Nelson and the heirs male of his body and such persons to whom the title of Earl Nelson may descend, and for granting the sum of £100,000 to purchase an estate to accompany the said title; and for granting £10,000 to each of the sisters of the late Lord Nelson (Mrs. Matchem and Mrs. Bolton), in consideration of the eminent and signal services performed by the said Lord Nelson to his Majesty and the public.
An Act for amending, altering, and enlarging the powers of an Act, passed in the 42nd year of his Majesty, for paving and otherwise improving the borough of King’s Lynn.
An Act for repairing the parish Church of Great Yarmouth and rebuilding the tower thereof.
10.—J. S. Cotman advertised that he had taken a house in Wymer Street, St. Andrew’s, Norwich, “for the accommodation of those ladies and gentlemen who may favour him by becoming pupils.” Terms: In the Academy, £2 2s. quarterly. Four private lessons, £1 1s.
16.—At Norwich Quarter Sessions, William Chapman, a coal hawker, appealed against his conviction, under the Hawkers and Pedlars Act, 29th Geo. III. c. 26, for “carrying coals about the streets of Norwich to sell by retail.” Mr. Steward Firth ordered the conviction to be quashed, with costs. This case was considered of great importance to the citizens, and especially to the poor.
17.*—“Orders have been received in Norwich from the East India Company for 16,000 pieces of fine camblets.”
18.—A length of about 40 yards of the city wall at Norwich fell in Ber Street with a tremendous crash. At the Quarter Sessions on the 16th, the Grand Jury made a presentment, in which attention was called to the dangerous state of the wall.
26.—Died, at Lakenham, Mr. James Crowe, alderman of Norwich, aged 58. He twice served the office of Mayor, in 1774 and 1797. Mr. John Steward was elected in his place.
Little Dunham Lodge, near Swaffham, was this month purchased by Mr. St. George Knudson, for £20,000.
7.*—“A sixteenth share of No. 23,815, which has drawn a prize of £10,000, was sold to J. Turner, servant to Mr. M. F. Rishton, of Lynn.”
—*“The Paving Commissioners have decided to lay the first stone according to the new system of paving in Norwich, in St. Stephen’s Street.”
10.—At Harper’s Pantheon, Norwich, was exhibited a moving panorama, representing the funeral of Lord Nelson.
11.—A heavy fall of snow rendered the roads impassable. The Ipswich mail arrived at Norwich two hours after its usual time; and the Bury coach reached the city at about the same time, after having been once overturned. The Newmarket mail and the Expedition coach were unable to get through. The guard of the mail procured horses, rode across country with the mail bags, and on reaching Bury took a post chaise, arriving in Norwich at four o’clock on the 12th. The Expedition coach reached the city about eight o’clock the same night, drawn by eight horses. The Newmarket mail arrived on the 13th at 1.30 p.m.
11.—Several ships were wrecked during a severe gale on the Norfolk coast. His Majesty’s gun brig Snipe came ashore on the South Ham, with 30 French prisoners on board, many of whom, with part of the crew and some women, perished. In all 60 lives were lost in this ship. Twelve vessels were wrecked between Cromer and Yarmouth.
14.*—“The number of men liable to serve for this county under the Training Act is 18,152.” On April 6th, 607 persons, between the ages of 18 and 45, were drawn by ballot at Norwich to be trained and exercised for 24 days. Among those drawn were “several magistrates and other distinguished personages.”
17.—Died, at Windsor, in his 67th year, the Rev. Dr. Lancaster Adkin, rector of Belaugh and minister of St. Andrew, Norwich. “He was the first founder in Norwich of Sunday Schools, which he constantly attended and instructed for more than 21 years.”
—Orders were given for the enlargement of the courts in the Norwich Shire-house, for the repair of the bridge leading to the Castle, for providing a palisade, and for bringing a supply of river water from the main pipes in Golden Ball Lane to the county gaol.
7.—Sergt. John Parker, 3rd Dragoons, stationed at Norwich on recruiting service, was apprehended on suspicion of having committed a murder at Brighton in 1796. The extraordinary statement upon which the accused was apprehended was concocted by a man named William Cobb, of St. Martin-at-Oak, who informed the Mayor that Parker, when a private in the Somerset Fencible Cavalry, met him (Cobb), then a private in Col. Villier’s Fencible Light Dragoons, while halting at Dorking, and told him that he had murdered a woman at Brighton and had thrown her body into a well. An affidavit sent from Collumpton, in Devonshire, to the effect that Parker was there ill at the time of the alleged murder, was sufficient to procure him his discharge from custody.
9.—Died, in his 85th year, Henry Keymer, of East Dereham, “many years a respectable auctioneer and land surveyor, and late sole proprietor of Herring’s valuable antidote for the cure of the bite of a mad dog.”
11.—A bull, the property of Edward Kett, butcher, of Norwich, was baited near “Bishop Gates.” The baiting “offered very great sport; the bull was a game one, and the dogs equally so.”
24.—Died, in the Close, Norwich, aged 90, the Rev. George Sandby, D.D., 39 years Chancellor of the Diocese. He was Vice-Chancellor of Merton College, Oxford, in 1760.
28.*—“His Majesty has been pleased to appoint Wm. Firth, Esq., Steward of Norwich, to be attorney-general in the province of Upper Canada.” On his resignation of the Stewardship on May 3rd, Mr. Firth received the thanks of the Corporation, and Mr. Robert Alderson was appointed in his place. At about this date, Mr. Thomas Amyot was appointed secretary and registrar of Lower Canada.
4.—William Carter, aged 35, was executed on the “new drop,” Castle Hill, Norwich, for horse stealing.
5.—The Norwich Court of Guardians resolved to petition the House of Commons against Mr. Whitbread’s Bill for amending the Poor Laws.
9.—Died, at his house in Berners Street, London, in his 46th year, John Opie, R.A. His remains were interred in St. Paul’s Cathedral on April 20th.
13.—The Rev. James Brown was elected minister of St. Andrew, Norwich, in place of the Rev. Dr. Adkin, deceased. There were three other candidates. None but resident parishioners were allowed to vote.
16.—Died, at his house in King Street, Norwich, aged 60, Mr. James Hudson, banker. He served the office of Sheriff in 1788, was elected alderman for the Mancroft Ward in 1791, and was Mayor in 1794. Mr. Starling Day, jun., was elected alderman in his place.
4.—An election took place at Norwich on the dissolution of Parliament. Mr. J. Patteson, who polled 1,474 votes, and Mr. W. Smith, 1,156 votes, were returned. The unsuccessful candidate, Mr. Robert Fellowes, polled 546 votes.
—Lynn election: Lord Walpole and Sir M. B. ffolkes returned unopposed.
8.—Thetford election: Lord Wm. Fitzroy and Mr. T. Creevey returned unopposed.
—Yarmouth election: Mr. S. Lushington, 604 votes; Mr. W. Jacob, 341; Mr. A. Upcher (unsuccessful), 21.
12.—County election: Mr. T. W. Coke and Sir Jacob Astley, Bart., elected unopposed.
—At a county meeting a committee was appointed for the purpose of forming a club for the independent freeholders of Norfolk. It was a revival of the Norfolk Club, and met three times a year in Norwich, namely, in the Summer Assize week, in the Michaelmas Sessions week, and in the Easter Sessions week. The first meeting was held at the Angel Inn, on October 6th, when Sir John Lombe, Bart., presided.
14.—The birthday of the Right Hon. Wm. Windham was celebrated by a dinner at the Angel Inn, Norwich, under the presidency of Mr. Wm. Smith, M.P.
25.—A rowing match took place, from Carrow Abbey to Whitlingham, between the Victory, four oars, and the Britannia, six oars. The course was 4½ miles, and the time of the winning boat, the Britannia, 33 mins. 50 secs.
1.—Died, at Worstead, Mrs. Ann Miller, formerly of Yarmouth, aged 102 years.
4.—His Majesty the King entered upon the 70th year of his age. There were great rejoicings in Norwich. The Mayor and Corporation attended service at the Cathedral, the troops—Regular, Militia, and Volunteer—paraded in the Market Place, fired a feu de joie, and marched past. The Mayor gave a dinner, and the several corps dined at their respective inns.
16.—Mr. Robert Herring was sworn into office as Mayor of Norwich, and gave a dinner to 150 guests at Chapel Field House. “The Mayor’s wine being of the first flavour and quality, the festivity of the day was kept up till past one o’clock the next morning.”
22.—Holkham Sheep Shearing commenced. The implements exhibited included an improved Norfolk plough, invented by Mr. Balls, of Saxlingham. Mr. Herring, jun., of Norwich, produced goods of his manufacture, and stated that 117 shawls had that year been made by his firm from 224 lbs. of Mr. Coke’s Southdown wool. Mr. Paul, of Norwich, showed some beautiful specimens of shawls manufactured by himself, “including a flowered shawl, a very close imitation of India, made wholly of Mr. Coke’s marino wool.” The best implement shown this year was an ingenious device by Mr. Paul, of Starston, for catching turnip fly.
29.—Mr. Bannister appeared at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, in “Bannister’s Budget, or an Actor’s Ways and Means.” The entertainment was repeated on July 4th.
3.—Died, at Ferney Hill, Gloucester, Mrs. Cooper, widow of the Rev. Dr. Cooper, of Yarmouth, and daughter of Mr. James Bransby, of Shotesham. She was the author of several well-known works, namely, “Fanny Meadows,” “The Daughter,” “The School for Wives,” and “The Exemplary Mother.”
7.—Died, at Heydon House, aged 53, William Earle Bulwer, Colonel in the Army and Brigadier-General of Volunteers.
9.—An action for crim. con. was heard in the Court of King’s Bench, in which Sir G. B. Brograve, of Worstead Hall, Lieut.-Col. of the East Norfolk Militia, was plaintiff, and Capt. Elwin, of the same regiment, defendant. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, damages, £2,000. At Doctor’s Commons, on November 21st, 1808, the court granted a divorce a mansâ et thoro, prayed for on the part of Sir Geo. Brograve against Lady Brograve.
8.—Capt. Manby, barrack-master at Yarmouth, made several experiments with his life-saving apparatus in the presence of Admiral Douglas and other officers of the Navy, who expressed satisfaction with the invention.
—A single wicket cricket match was played at Thetford between two gentlemen of that town and two of Newmarket. The former won, with 37 runs to spare.
11.—Died, at Lady Fenn’s, East Dereham, aged 67, Mr. John Frere, of Roydon, Norfolk, and of Finningham, Suffolk. He was member for Norwich from 1799 to 1802.
15.—Mr. Paul, of Starston, exhibited a machine for removing lice from peas. Two men, in four hours, caught 24 pecks of lice, and in the afternoon took 16 pecks in 2½ hours.
16.—Died, aged 81, Mr. Peter Finch, who for many years held the office of Clerk of the Peace for the county.
23.—A fleet of 24 sail of the line assembled in Yarmouth Roads, under the command of Admiral Gambier, who, with Vice-Admiral Stanhope, sailed on the 26th with 16 sail of the line, 10 frigates, 10 sloops, 9 gun brigs, &c., for the Baltic. Sir Sidney Smith sailed in the Prince of Wales, of 98 guns, Admiral Gambier’s flagship. A strict embargo commenced on the 24th. The remainder of the fleet afterwards sailed. An expedition, under Lieut.-General Sir David Baird, sailed from Harwich about the same time. On September 16th, intelligence was received of the surrender on the 7th of Copenhagen, with the arsenal and the whole of the Danish Navy, to the British forces, under the command of Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart and Admiral Gambier. The British fleet, which sailed from Yarmouth, sustained but comparatively trifling loss.
27.—At the Norfolk Assizes, held at Norwich, before Mr. Justice Grose, Martha Alden was tried for the murder of her husband, Samuel Alden, at Attleborough, on July 18th. While the man was asleep in bed his wife, with a bill-hook, inflicted terrible wounds on his head, face, and throat. With the assistance of a girl, named Mary Orvice, the prisoner on the 19th deposited the body in a dry ditch in the garden; on the 20th, they carried it in a corn sack to the common and “shot” it into a pond, where it was subsequently discovered. His lordship, in summing up, said that Orvice might have been charged with being accessory to an attempted concealment of murder. The jury found the prisoner guilty, and the judge “doomed her to death, to be drawn on a hurdle to the place of execution, there to be hanged by the neck, and her body to be dissected.” The execution took place at Norwich on July 31st. The populace at Attleborough showed their detestation of the crime by destroying the former dwelling-house of the prisoner. It was reported that the ghost of Alden “walked” on the Castle Hill, and in the month of December a party of drunken men, who went there to “lay” the spirit, were seized by the jailer and detained in prison for two days, pending an inquiry into their conduct.
—At the same Assizes, before Lord Ellenborough, an action was tried, in which Lord Albemarle claimed for the recovery of penalties, amounting to £700, under the game laws. The defendant, one Brooke, a poulterer and wholesale dealer in game, at Thetford, was connected with the poachers and gamekeepers in Norfolk, and with the dealers in Leadenhall market. “The interruption of his commerce,” said counsel, “had created as much alarm in Leadenhall market as the stagnation of trade between this country and the North of Germany had occasioned amongst the merchants at the Royal Exchange.” A verdict was given for the plaintiff, damages £40, “at the rate of £5 for each head of game which had fallen out of a basket sent by the defendant to the London waggon office at Thetford for transit to the metropolis.”
29.—At the public breakfasting at Harper’s Ranelagh Gardens, Norwich, nearly 1,100 persons assembled, and 3,500 were present at the evening performance.
30.—The sum of £180 3s. was collected at the anniversary service held at the Cathedral on behalf of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, and £50 16s. resulted from the dinner at the White Swan.
5.—In the House of Commons a petition was presented on behalf of Messrs. Blackburne and Bonner, brewers, of Lynn, and of the inhabitants of the town, who complained of the undue influence and the arbitrary proceedings of the magistrates of that borough in withholding publicans’ licences.
8.—The Norwich Paving Commissioners advertised for tenders for lighting the city. The number of lamps, it was stated, would not be fewer than 1,200 nor more than 1,400.
10.—Mr. Edmund Reader, of Sisland, near Loddon, undertook, for a bet of five guineas, to cut and tie one acre of wheat in 16 hours in a field belonging to Mr. Burton, at Barford. In 14 hours he had cut one acre seven roods, and had tied 430 sheaves.
31.—A match at bowls was played at Cley, between three gentlemen of that parish and three of Holt, for 50 guineas a side. The latter won five games out of seven.
7.—The City of Norwich Regiment of Volunteers assembled on Tombland at five am., and marched to Yarmouth for garrison duty. There were on parade 26 officers, 30 sergeants, 25 corporals, and 500 rank and file.
12.—Mr. Philipsthal’s Phantasmagoria was exhibited at the Theatre Royal, Norwich.
14.—Died, at Rainham, in his 84th year, George Marquis Townshend, a Field Marshal, Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Dragoon Guards, and Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk. His lordship represented Norfolk from 1747 to 1764, and from 1768 to 1772 was Viceroy of Ireland. He acted as Brigadier-General, and gained much honour at the taking of Quebec in 1759, when the command of the troops devolved upon him, in consequence of the death of General Wolfe and of the wounding of General Monkton, second in command. His Majesty granted a pension of £1,000 a year out of the privy purse to the Marchioness Townshend.
19.*—“One day last week a child, playing in the churchyard of St. Michael-at-Plea, Norwich, found concealed behind a gravestone, covered with a tile, a parcel, containing more than £90 in forged Bank of England notes and £14 in counterfeit shillings.”
21.—At a quarterly assembly of the Norwich Corporation the city gates still remaining were ordered to be taken down.
13.—The Duke of Clarence, accompanied by the Earl and Countess Cholmondeley, visited Lynn. The Corporation presented an address to his Royal Highness, who was afterwards admitted a free burgess.
19.—Blickling races were this year supplemented by wrestling matches.
22.—Died, aged 40, at Brickhill, Buckinghamshire, on his way from Liverpool, where he had arrived from America, Robert Murray, merchant, of New York, fifth son of Dr. John Murray, of Norwich. He had been absent more than 16 years, and had revisited England, in the hope of alleviating the symptoms of a pulmonary complaint.
24.—Died, in Dublin, aged 72, Mr. James Bradfield, of Stoke Ferry, who by his will endowed a school in that village for 25 poor children.
28.—Lord Cathcart, Commander-in-Chief of the Army employed against Copenhagen, arrived in Norwich from Yarmouth, and next day proceeded to London.
29.—Louis XVIII., travelling as Count de Lille, arrived off Yarmouth in a Swedish frigate, and landed on November 2nd. He was accompanied by the Duke D’Angoulême, the Duke de Berri, and by other representatives of the French nobility.
—A severe storm occurred off the Norfolk coast, and several transports were lost at Yarmouth, where Admiral Gambier arrived with 32 sail of the line, several Dutch prizes, and a great number of frigates.
31.*—“The Militia ballot has commenced. The quota for Norfolk and Norwich is 907.”
—At the Old Bailey, J. Hopgrave was indicted for an assault, with intent to murder his Majesty’s officers of Excise in a smuggling affray at Cawston. The ringleader, one Jeremiah Abel, was convicted at the Old Bailey some months previously. Hopgrave succeeded in proving an alibi, and was acquitted. On December 8th, Richard Wiseman, of the Three Pigs, at Edgefield, was charged at the Old Bailey with obstructing the Excise officers at the same time. He also was acquitted on proving an alibi.
At the end of this month a shooting party at Holkham killed in three days 1,457 head of game. The party included Mr. Coke, the Marquis of Tavistock, Lords Albemarle, Spencer, Althorpe, Anson, and Bradford, Generals Walpole and Keppel, Sir J. Shelly, Col. Keppel, Messrs. W. Smith, Churchill, Collet, Wilbraham, W. Fitzroy, and Smith. Mr. Coke killed 60 the first day, 66 the second, and 70 the third.
4.—A large barn full of barley in the straw, and a stack of barley, the property of General Money, of Trowse, were destroyed by fire, caused by an incendiary, named Thomas Sutton. At the Assizes, held at Thetford, on March 21st, 1808, before Mr. Justice Grose, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. He had eight years previously been sentenced to seven years’ transportation for stealing a pony belonging to the general, and his father had suffered death for horse stealing. “At the trial he behaved in a most audacious manner to the judge, and when sentenced requested the Sheriff to let him be taken to Norwich that he might be hanged amongst his friends.” He was executed on the Castle Hill, Norwich, April 9th, 1808.
—An entertainment was given by Lord and Lady Cholmondeley to upwards of 300 persons at Houghton Hall. The great hall was converted into a theatre for the performance of an opera written by Mr. Panton. The performers included the author, Miss Wood, Lord Malpas, and the Messrs. Lanyas. Between the acts Lady Charlotte Cholmondeley and Miss Cholmondeley played a pianoforte duet. The opera was preceded by an address, spoken by Lord Malpas, and was followed by a dance and supper.
7.*—“Nathaniel Easthaugh, bellman in Norwich, in gratitude for having had possession of the city bell for 27 years (one year only excepted), has liberally subscribed the sum of ten guineas towards the new pavement, he being at times unable, through infirmity, to walk over the old one.”
10.—Died, aged 52, the Rev. John Walker, one of the minor canons of Norwich Cathedral. His widow afterwards published a volume of his poems.
11.—Seven fishermen were drowned within 50 yards of the shore at Sheringham, through the upsetting of their boats in a sudden gale.
14.—The privateer La Décidé was brought into Yarmouth by L’Amiable frigate, Capt. G. Stuart. The privateer had long evaded the cruisers and committed great depredations upon commerce. She was supposed to have captured 30 prizes within three years.
27.—Died, aged 77, John Clarke Snell, of Norwich. “He was formerly of Bury St. Edmund’s, and remarkable for his eccentricities and for his study of astrology, which rendered him a well-known character.”
28.—John Gulley and Tom Cribb, the famous pugilists, gave an exhibition of sparring in the great room at the King’s Head Inn, Norwich. Upwards of 200 persons were present, including the Right Hon. William Windham and the Hon. Edward Harbord.
30.—At the annual meeting of the Society of Universal Good Will at Norwich, it was reported that 2,420 persons had been relieved since its establishment.
12.—Married, at his lordship’s house, Charles Street, Berkeley Square, London, the Right Hon. the Earl of Craven to Miss Louisa Brunton, of Covent Garden Theatre, and daughter of John Brunton, Esq., formerly of Norwich, who gave the bride away. “The Earl is in his 37th and the fair bride in her 25th year.” Mr. Brunton was for many years manager of the Norwich Theatre, and Miss Louisa Brunton was a favourite performer there.
13.—Died, in St. Simon’s, Norwich, aged 86, Mrs. Mary Mack. “She lived several years in the service of the late Mr. W. Tilyard, of Poringland, during which time she constantly travelled the number of 2,920 miles annually, which in ten years amounted to 29,220, the house being fully four miles from Norwich, and her master, who was a very eccentric character, never failed sending her every day (Sunday not excepted) for such things as his whimsical and capricious fancy suggested he stood in need of.”
—Died, at Claxton, Mrs. Eliza Norton, in her 101st year.
19.*—“A telegraph or signal station is on the point of being erected upon the hills leading from Norwich to Thorpe. It is to be commanded by a naval officer, and the object of it is to open and maintain a prompt communication with Yarmouth on the one side, and with the telegraphs between Norwich and London on the other.” Messages were afterwards sent from the Admiralty to Yarmouth in 17 minutes. The chain of communication was by Strumpshaw, Thorpe Hills, Honingham, Carlton, and Harling, and thence by way of Thetford and Bury St. Edmund’s, across Newmarket Heath, to London.
21.—Experiments were made at Norwich, with the view of testing the practicability of General Money’s proposal to Government for mounting cannon on waggons for the protection of vessels on the coast. The Artillery officers at Woolwich gave General Money credit for his invention, and many ship owners and masters of vessels approved the plan.
An Act was passed this year for enabling Rear-Admiral Bentinck, tenant for life under the will of his late father, Mr. John Albert Bentinck, to charge his estates in the county of Norfolk with the sums therein mentioned, for embanking, improving, and increasing the same estates by the means therein mentioned.
9.*—“Capt. Manby’s invention for rescuing persons from vessels stranded on a lee shore has received the approbation of the Lords of the Admiralty.” On February 12th the apparatus was successfully employed in saving the crew of a vessel named the Elizabeth of Plymouth. In May, the Society of Arts awarded their gold medal to Capt. Manby for his invention; and Parliament at different times rewarded him with grants amounting to £6,000, and adopted his apparatus at various stations on dangerous parts of the coast.
10.—Lord Hutchinson and Lord L. Gower arrived at Norwich from Yarmouth, where they had landed from the Belette sloop of war, on their return from St. Petersburgh.
14.—During a heavy gale several vessels were stranded between Blakeney and Sheringham. Much damage was done by an inundation at Cley-next-the-Sea.
17.—Died, of typhus fever, in his 20th year, Viscount Trafalgar, only son of Earl Nelson.
23.*—“In consequence of the anniversary of King Charles’s martyrdom, the nights of performance at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, next week, will be Monday, the 25th, Wednesday, the 27th, Thursday, 28th, and Friday, 29th.”
11.—A great snow storm. The coaches which should have arrived on Friday did not reach Norwich until the following Tuesday and Wednesday. “The mail guards were obliged to traverse the country with the bags on their shoulders, sometimes on foot, up to their breasts in snow, and sometimes on horseback, across the open fields and heaths. From the Friday till the following Tuesday the bags for London by Newmarket were dispatched hence in post chaises. Labourers were employed in clearing the highways, and in some places they cut three miles through the snow.” So complete an obstruction to communication had not occurred since 1797, when the coaches were four days performing the journey from London.
14.—Died, in London, in his 60th year, “that eccentric and truly worthy character,” the Rev. Joshua Larwood, rector of Swanton Morley, and many years chaplain on board the Britannia. He was the author of “Erratics,” and of several other works.
15.—The constables of Norwich destroyed many dogs which had been found without muzzles in the public streets. Several cases of rabies and of deaths from hydrophobia were reported at this date.
17.—Died, at the age of 83, at Norwich, Mr. Francis Columbine. He served the office of Sheriff in 1769, and of Mayor in 1776.
Meetings were held in Norwich and throughout Norfolk this month, at which Mr. Joseph Lancaster lectured on his improved method of education. Lancasterian schools were established in Norwich, Lynn, and Downham in May, 1809.
2.—The Hon. William Asheton Harbord appointed Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of the county of Norfolk, in place of the Marquis Townshend, deceased. The Corporation of Norwich, on May 3rd, conferred upon Mr. Harbord the honorary freedom of the city.
5.*—“The Dean of Norwich has appointed Dr. Beckwith to be organist of the Cathedral, in the room of Mr. T. Garland, resigned.” (Mr. Garland died on February 21st, aged 77, having been organist 59 years.)
8.—Died, at Norwich, aged 77, William Love, musician. “He was formerly leader of the band at the Theatre, a person of great genius in his profession, of great suavity of manners, and of great improvidence in conduct.”
11.—At a meeting held at the Angel Inn, Norwich, at which Mr. T. W. Coke presided, Mr. Nathaniel Kent, of Ripon Hall, was presented by the agriculturists of the county with a massive silver goblet, in recognition of “his integrity and impartiality between landlord and tenant, in his profession as a surveyor of land, and for his liberal and upright attachment to the interests of agriculture.”
30.—The Racoon sloop of war, 20 guns, was launched from Mr. J. Preston’s dockyard at Yarmouth.
31.—Died, at Wells-next-the-Sea, aged 82, Mr. Charles Boyles, brother of Mrs. Murray, widow of Dr. John Murray, of Norwich.
—Died, at Melton House, aged 18, Miss Astley, eldest daughter of Sir Jacob Astley, Bart. She was in the act of placing coals upon the fire, when her dress became ignited, and she succumbed to her injuries within twenty-four hours.
2.*—“We understand that, in consequence of many burdens lately brought on the city by the birth of illegitimate children, the Corporation of the Guardians have offered a reward of 2s. 6d. to any person who shall give information of the pregnancy or delivery of any unmarried woman in Norwich.”
4.—The week commencing this date, during which the ward elections were held at Norwich, was for the first time referred to as “cleansing week.” “Many voters, who had been cooped up at farm houses in the country at great expense, were brought in post chaises to the polling places. For the last four days we have had as much ringing and firing of bells as if we had received a confirmation of the reports of the naval victory in the Mediterranean.”
9.—The performance for the benefit of Mr. Hindes, manager of the Theatre Royal, Norwich, produced the largest receipt ever known at the house on a like occasion, namely, £163.
16.—John Chapman, 34, and William Fuller, 26, for shooting at and wounding a gamekeeper in the service of Lord Cholmondeley, were executed on Castle Hill, Norwich.
28.—A county meeting was held at the Shire-house, Norwich, to take into consideration the measure pending in Parliament for prohibiting the use of grain in distilleries, and for the substitution of sugar. It was resolved to petition against such prohibition as likely to prove injurious to the owners and occupiers of land in Norfolk. (Parliament determined, however, in favour of using Colonial produce instead of English barley.)
30.*—(Advt.) “There will be a match of cocks fought between the gentlemen of Norwich and the gentlemen of Norfolk, to show 25 mains and 8 byes, to fight for two guineas a battle, and 20 guineas the odd. One turn out for ten guineas; to be fought on the 2nd and 3rd day of May, at the King’s Head, in Magdalen Street, Norwich. A pair of cocks to be pitted at twelve o’clock precisely. Feeders, Lamb for Norwich; Carter for Norfolk.”
Died, this month, aged 100, Mr. John Myhill, of Catfield.
2.—A new peal of ten bells was opened at St. Nicholas, Great Yarmouth.
3.—Mr. Robert Alderson was elected Governor of the Norwich Court of Guardians, in the place of Mr. Robert Partridge, resigned.
6.—Mrs. and Miss Robertson, of the Close, Norwich, and the Misses Doune were returning to the city from Hockering, when they were stopped by a highwayman near Cossey Wood. He was armed with pistols, and, after taking all their valuable articles of jewellery, rode off.
10.—An Expedition, consisting of 150 transports, sailed from Yarmouth for the Baltic, for the protection of Sweden. The Mars, Admiral Keats, the Audacious, Capt. Lukin, and other warships formed the convoy; and Sir John Moore, with Major-Generals Paget and Murray, had command of the troops.
21.—The coach house, brew house, and offices at Blickling Hall, with 180 stand of arms, were destroyed by fire.
4.—The Society for the Encouragement of Arts and Manufactures awarded their silver medal to Mrs. Coppin, of St. Stephen’s Street, Norwich, for her oil painting, “The Gamesters.”
—An annual ploughing match was inaugurated at Ellingham by the Rev. Wm. Johnson, to encourage the use of oxen in husbandry.
6.—The Norwich Regiment of Volunteer Infantry, Col. Harvey, 500 strong, proceeded to Yarmouth for garrison duly, and returned to Norwich on the 18th.
13.—A cricket match, for 50 guineas a side, was played at Swaffham, between the gentlemen of Swaffham and the gentlemen of Shipdham, and was won by the latter.
16.—Died, at Norwich, in this 68th year, Sir Roger Kerrison, banker, and for many years Receiver-General for Norfolk. He was an alderman of the Mancroft Ward, served the office of High Sheriff in 1800, and was twice Mayor of Norwich, 1778-1802.
20.—Holkham Sheep Shearing commenced. The sweepstakes of 28 subscribers, at 10s. 6d. each, for naming the weight of Mr. Coke’s three-shear half-bred merino wether, was won by Mr. Thomas More, of Watham, who guessed the exact weight, 132 lbs. A patent dibbling iron, which deposited the seed at the time the holes were struck, exhibited by the Rev. Mr. Barker, of Woodbridge, was the winning implement. Mr. F. Smith, of Norwich, exhibited specimens of ladies’ merino dresses, scarves, shawls, stockings, coating, and cassimers, most of which were made from the wool of Mr. Coke’s sheep. “A pair of worstead stockings were of so delicate a fabric that the two stockings passed at the same time through a lady’s ring. A manufacturer had ordered a dozen pair at 18 guineas.”
21.—The Guild feast given at St. Andrew’s Hall by the Mayor of Norwich, Mr. Starling Day, jun., was attended by 580 guests.
12.—At the Norwich Quarter Sessions, the Norwich Flour Company appealed against the assessment of their premises in St. Andrew’s. The company was described as an unprofitable concern. The assessment was reduced.
—A member of the Swaffham Cricket Club played and beat, with great ease in one innings, “six players of professional celebrity in that town.”
13.—The thermometer registered 97 degrees in the shade at Catton. Many horses died from the excessive heat.
14.—Sergt.-Major Marshall, of the Thetford Volunteer Corps, and his son were killed by an accidental explosion while sorting damaged cartridges.
18.—A prize fight, for £40 a side, took place on Kirstead Green, between Wm. Underwood, of Seething, and John Chase, of Brooke. Eighty-five rounds were fought in two hours. Underwood won.
21.—Thorpe Water Frolic took place. “The Admiral of the flotilla was placed in a small boat and carried round Thorpe Gardens several times, with guns firing, flags flying, and music playing. The company sang ‘God Save the King’ and ‘Rule Britannia.’ A young gentleman favoured the company with an excellent hornpipe on the top of the Apollo barge.”
23.—The bankruptcy of Sir R. Kerrison and Sons created much sensation in Norwich. “The crowd was so great in the King’s Head Inn yard of persons who came to prove their debts that many had to return without proving them.” The amount proved was considerably over £580,000. On January 16th, 1809, the creditors agreed to pay the sum of £5,500 to Lady Kerrison, in lieu of dower and of other claims and demands she might have on the estate. On May 13th, a dividend of 6s. 8d. in the pound was ordered to be paid on the 17th to the 3,600 creditors who had proved their debts. Dividends amounting to 16s. 4d. in the pound were afterwards paid.
29.—At a special meeting of the Norwich Corporation, an address to his Majesty was unanimously agreed to, “on the subject of the noble struggle of the patriots of Spain and Portugal against the Ruler of France, and of the generous aid given to their endeavours by our Government.”
1.—Mr. Stephen Springall, farmer, of Wroxham Hall, and his nephew, aged 12, were drowned at Wroxham Water Frolic, through the capsizing of their boat.
8.—A remarkable storm occurred at Norwich. Streets were inundated and cellars flooded. “The roaring of the waters in falling from the roof to the lower leads of the Cathedral was so tremendous as literally to drown the noise of the thunder that accompanied it.”
15.—The Norwich Society of Artists opened their fourth exhibition.
20.*—“At the Hospital anniversary at Norwich, the sum collected at the Cathedral was £161 1s., and at the dinner, £53 7s. Of the church collection, £1 6s. 6d. was base coin.”
—*“Among the many performers who have contributed in the course of the Assize week to the entertainment of the city, may be reckoned the wonderful John Howes, from Eyke, near Woodbridge. Though bereft of sight and moving in a humble sphere of life, his arrival in Norwich was announced by the ringing of bells, for he carries a complete peal of twelve about with him, which, when he performs, he suspends upon a pole placed horizontally across the backs of two chairs. A variety of peals, as well as song tunes, country dances, &c., he plays with a degree of accuracy and precision that charm all those who witness his performance.”
28.—Braconash Church was reopened for service by the Bishop of Norwich, after its complete restoration. Mr. T. T. Berney, of Bracon Hall, entertained many of the neighbouring clergy at dinner.
30.—Died, at the age of 101, Mrs. Mary Moneyment, of St. Faith’s.
Many of the Volunteers transferred their services to the Local Militia, established this month under the Act passed in July.
2.—Died, in his 49th year, Dr. Richard Lubbock, of Norwich. He was educated at the Grammar School, under the Rev. G. W. Lemon, author of the “English Derivative Dictionary,” was a pupil of Mr. Rigby, and studied for several years at Edinburgh University.
5.—A cricket match was played at Thetford, between the Thetford and Newmarket clubs. The former won by 50 “notches.”
17.*—“At the late meeting of the county magistrates, it was agreed that the passage way from the top of the Castle Hill, Norwich, to the north-east side should be filled up, and the iron railing continued from the bridge quite round. The descent from that part of the hill towards Gurney’s bank will be by a flight of stone steps.”
19.—Great festivities took place at Rainham Hall to celebrate the arrival of the Marquis Townshend. “A bullock was roasted and four sheep boiled, and a large quantity of that old beverage made from malt and hops contributed to make all heads and hearts glow with gratitude to the noble donor.”
21.—At a quarterly meeting of the Norwich Corporation, the Commons proposed that the representatives of the city be instructed to oppose the Bill for erecting a bridge over the river at Carrow Abbey. The motion was not agreed to by the aldermen. On December 15th, a numerous meeting was held at the Guildhall to oppose the erection of the bridge, on the ground that it was unnecessary. On February 20th, 1809, Mr. Patteson presented a petition to the House of Commons, praying for leave to bring in a Bill for carrying out the proposal. On April 21st, Mr. Patteson moved the second reading of the Carrow Bridge Bill, which was opposed by Mr. W. Smith. Fourteen voted for the motion, and nine against. These numbers not constituting a House, the further consideration of the Bill was deferred to a future sitting, when the second reading was carried by 48 votes to 26. Ultimately, the Bill received the Royal assent. On July 26th, the Commissioners selected Mr. A. Brown’s plan for an iron bridge, and on July 31st, contracts were entered into with Mr. J. G. Aggs for casting the ironwork; with Messrs. Athow and De Carle for the stonework; and with Mr. N. Wyeth for the brickwork and abutments. On December 18th, a proposition was submitted to the Commissioners in favour of abandoning the Carrow Bridge scheme, in view of the projected erection, near the Foundry, of a bridge over the Wensum. It was decided, however, to push on with the work as speedily as possible; and the first stone was laid on April 26th, 1810, by the Mayor, Mr. Thomas Back.