4.—Died, at the age of 101, Mrs. Aldborough, of Trowse.
5.—A meeting of the manufacturers was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, “to consider the present prices paid for weaving.” It was agreed to adopt a reduced scale of payment. Meetings of the men were called, and the employers were requested to reconsider the question. Another meeting was accordingly held on the 9th, when Mr. Beloe urged that the proposals of the employers were ill-advised. On the other hand it was stated that goods were being manufactured in Yorkshire in large quantities at much lower rates than in Norwich. It was contended by the weavers that greatly increased demands had been made upon them for house rent and coals, and that it was impossible for them to live on reduced wages. A further statement was made to the effect that the lowering of prices would tend to inferior workmanship. A mob assembled outside the Guildhall and cheered or hooted the different manufacturers whom they deemed friendly or adverse to their claims. One gentleman, Mr. William Bosley, was very roughly handled, and his hat, coat, and shoes were taken from him and torn to pieces. It was considered necessary to summon the assistance of the 7th Dragoon Guards, but the mob dispersed after the announcement had been made from the leads of the Guildhall that the manufacturers had consented to return to the old prices. The weavers spent the 10th in festivity and rejoicing.
6.—Died, William Coward, aged 85, for 54 years parish clerk at St. Margaret’s, Lynn. “He was borne to the grave by six grave-diggers, and the pall was supported by six parish clerks.”
8.—Died at Calcutta, the Right Rev. Thomas Fanshaw Middleton, D.D., Bishop of Calcutta, and formerly vicar of St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich.
—A camping match took place at Ranworth, in the presence of 6,000 spectators, between men of the Blofield and of the Tunstead and Happing Hundreds. “So closely were the men (ten a side) matched for strength, courage, skill, and activity that the ball was nearly in the centre of the ground when time was called and play stopped. At the conclusion of the camp, Turner, of Witton, and Riches, of Upton, had a pugilistic trial of manhood. A well-fought battle of thirty-two rounds of hard milling, with little or no science, ended in favour of Riches.”
19.—Mr. T. Filby, of Elsing, fell down dead in the Sessions Court at the Shirehouse, Norwich, when in the act of entering the jury box.
20.—Puxley and Nelson’s “New Fly Vans” were advertised to run between the Star Inn, Norwich, and the Bull Inn, Aldgate, every day. The journey was accomplished in twenty-four hours.
—At the Norfolk Quarter Sessions, Giuliano Mantova, an Italian boy, who travelled the country with pictures for one Dominico Crostea, of Norwich, was indicted for maliciously and fraudulently taking by force from William Hill, employed by Messrs. Copeman and Petworth, solicitors, Aylsham, a child named Susan Hoffrath. The prisoner denied that he had enticed the child away, and his master gave him a good character; but the jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in Norwich Castle.
21.—Died at his house, Tombland, Norwich, aged 76, Mr. Charles Kitson, one of the Chapter Registrars of the diocese of Norwich.
29.—Norwich Theatre was opened for the Assize week. “Since the period of its leaving Norwich the company has been subject to almost an entire change, and it is now equal to any provincial establishment of the histrionic kind in the kingdom.” The new members included Miss Wensley, Mrs. Dowton, Mr. Osbaldiston, and Mr. Ford White. Mrs. Dowton was a favourite actress in the Norfolk and Suffolk Company of Comedians, under the management of Mr. Fisher, and afterwards married Mr. Sloman, the low comedian of the Norwich Company.
2.—At Norwich Theatre a new tragedy, entitled “The Persian Heroine,” written by Mr. Richard Paul Jodrell, was performed under the patronage of the High Sheriff and Lady Jodrell.
—At the Norfolk Assizes, held at Norwich, before Mr. Justice Best, James Smith was indicted for breaking into the house of William Balls, the Half Moon, Stone Hills, near Norwich, and stealing on January 2nd 16 gallons of liquors in bottles, a purse containing £8 in notes and cash, a quantity of copper coin, &c. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. (Although it was not stated at the trial, the prisoner was evidently one of the “Cossey gang” referred to under date January 2nd, 1822.) At the Norwich Assizes, Henry Carter was sentenced to death for entering the dwelling-house of John Clarke, of St. Paul’s, and stealing therein several articles. The execution of these men was carried out under revolting circumstances on August 24th. From an early hour in the morning they were incessantly appealed to by the chaplain of the gaol and a Wesleyan minister to acknowledge the justice of their sentence. The procession from the gaol in St Giles’ Street to the scaffold was headed by the Under Sheriffs on horseback; the Sheriffs accompanied by the chaplain and the minister came next in a mourning coach, “followed by a cart covered with black cloth on which sat the two malefactors each with arms pinioned, neck bare, and head uncovered, each sitting on the coffin destined to receive his lifeless body.” Smith was well behaved, but Carter acted with great levity during the progress of the procession through the Market Place to the scaffold erected near the weighing machine on the Castle Meadow, and on the very drop itself “he seemed to evince perfect indifference to the fate which awaited him.” After hanging for an hour “the bodies were carried by twelve bearers to the house of Carter’s parents in St. Margaret’s, and were buried on the 26th in the churchyard of that parish.”
3.*—“Mr. Yarrington, of this city, plumber and glazier, has presented the Dean and Chapter of Norwich with a valuable piece of stained glass, a portrait of the Virgin, which has been placed in the west window of the Cathedral.”
6.—A great cocking match lasting two days commenced at Yarmouth, between the gentlemen of that town and of Norwich. Yarmouth won eleven mains and five byes, and Norwich nine mains and seven byes. “The feeder for Norwich (Nash) proved the excellence of his management. On Wednesday evening the Norwich cock was pounded and taken by Nash, and from the superiority of his condition afterwards won the battle. In the second pit the same evening one of the Norwich cocks had his thigh broken in the first part of the battle, and afterwards fought two hours, and at one time brought the odds from ten to one against him to the same odds in his favour. He, however, eventually lost. This battle would have been withdrawn, but as the money depended upon it they were induced to continue it.”
7.—Mr. Heber, “the very eminent book collector and M.P. for the University of Oxford,” dined with the Bishop of Norwich at the Palace, and on the following morning proceeded to Blickling to inspect the library at the hall.
8.—A cricket match between eleven members of the Holt club and the first eleven of the Nottingham club, commenced at Nottingham, and owing to unfavourable weather was protracted to the 11th. Scores: Nottingham, 109-91; Holt, 52-43. “Bets to the amount of several thousand pounds were dependent upon the match.”
11.—His Majesty the King passed off Yarmouth on his voyage to Scotland. “About half past five o’clock two steam tugs were seen with the Royal yacht in tow, and thousands of persons crowded to the jetty and beach.” The vessels steered a course outside the Roads; but the Perseverance yawl put off with thirty persons on board, “and had the good fortune to fall in with the yacht as it was weathering the Newarp floating light. The company in the boat gave four cheers for the King, who came on board and returned the salutation.” On his return voyage on Saturday, August 31st, his Majesty passed through the Roads, and the yacht came close in shore. “His Majesty was greatly disappointed in not receiving a supply of fresh provisions which had been previously ordered to be ready for him on his arrival off the town. The letter arrived two hours after the King had passed.”
12.—Marshland free bridge and causeway were opened for the use of the public. A procession, led by the carriage of Mr. Thomas Hoseason, and followed by those of Sir Thomas Hare, Mr. Anthony Hamond, and others started from the South Gates, Lynn, preceded by a band of music. On the arrival of the procession at the foot of the bridge the horses were taken out of Mr. Hoseason’s carriage and men who had been employed on the works dragged it over the bridge and causeway. After a congratulatory speech by Mr. Hoseason, luncheon was provided for 200 guests at the expense of the directors. In the evening a dinner was given at the Freemasons’ Tavern, and on the marshes belonging to Mr. W. Goddard, at West Lynn, a fair for stock was held for the first time, a sheep roasted, and several barrels of beer given away.
17.*—“Thorogood, one of the proprietors of the Times coach from Norwich to London, has actually driven the whole distance, 116 miles, and been in both those cities every day for more than a twelvemonth, an instance of laborious perseverance altogether unparalleled.”
19.—Lee Sugg, the ventriloquist, who had been before the public for half a century as a performer, gave his entertainment at the Prussia Gardens, Norwich.
29.—This being the anniversary of the Decollation of St. John the usual formalities were observed at the election of the Mayor, chamberlain, and churchwardens of Yarmouth. The inquest was locked up at twelve noon, and did not come to a decision until next morning at 7.30, when the following officers were returned: Mayor, Mr. Isaac Preston; churchwardens, Messrs. Robert Cory and Danby Palmer; chamberlain, Mr. James Lawes.
9.—At Thorpe Water Frolic a match was sailed by nine boats for a silver cup, gave by Mr. Harvey. Rowing matches followed, and “the banks of the Yare were thronged beyond all precedency with genteel company.”
12.—A meeting was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, for the purpose of furthering the scheme for making Norwich a port, in accordance with the plans prepared by Mr. William Cubitt, C.E. On the motion of Mr. Crisp Brown, seconded by Mr. Joseph Geldart, it was agreed to open a subscription for carrying the plans into effect, and formal notice was given of the introduction of the Bill into Parliament. (See December 21st, 1822.)
14.*—“Died last week in Norwich, well stricken in years, Mr. James Paston, a comedian of considerable talent, many years a performer in the Norfolk and Suffolk Company, and was much admired in that circuit as an actor.”
25.—A camping match took place at Worstead between ten men of the Blofield Hundred and ten of the Tunstead and Happing Hundred. It terminated in favour of the former. “A poor old man, who had repaired thither to see the sport, fell down and expired on the spot.”
27.—A deputation of journeyman weavers presented Mr. John Harvey with a silver vase, subscribed for by 2,300 persons, “in testimony of the high esteem in which they regarded him as a liberal patron and spirited promoter of the manufactures of his native city of Norwich, and as a small tribute of gratitude for the many acts of kindness he had manifested towards them on various occasions.”
30.—Mr. David Fisher’s season terminated at Swaffham Theatre. “With the close of the season has ended the use of the present Theatre, which is to be pulled down and a new one on a more extended and improved scale erected.”
—A dinner was given at the Town Hall, Lynn, by the Mayor-elect, Mr. Edward Everard. The company present included, among others, Mr. T. W. Coke, M.P., the Marquis of Tichfield, M.P., Col. Walpole, M.P., &c. “Some pointed remarks fell from both parties, and Mr. Coke made some remarks which called forth some observations from Mr. Wodehouse.” Alderman Blencowe proposed “the health of Lady Anne,” and Mr. Coke, in reply, said “it was extremely natural that he should wish for a son and heir to the Holkham estate, but declared that rather than his son should prove a Tory he should wish not to have a son at all.”
—A serious accident occurred at Yarmouth on the occasion of the dinner given by the Mayor-elect. As the company were entering the Town Hall a salute was fired from some “swivels” laid on the Quay, one of which burst and severely wounded seven or eight lads. From the effects of the terrible injuries he received, one of the lads died next day.
1.—H.R.H. the Duke of Sussex arrived at Lynn on his way to Holkham Hall. A meeting of the Corporation was held, at which his Royal Highness was enrolled a free burgess of the borough. Luncheon was served at the Town Hall, and “the Mayor presented that exquisite relic of antiquity, King John’s cup, filled with wine, of which his Royal Highness partook.”
1.—Died, in his 81st year, at Westacre High House, Mr. Anthony Hamond. “He lived a life of extraordinary activity, and rode the foremost in the coursing as well as in the hunting field on the most spirited horses, even to a few weeks of his death. He was born at South Woodton, near Lynn, and succeeded his uncle, Mr. Richard Hamond, in possession of his extensive landed property. By the female line he was related to the Duke and Princess Sophia of Gloucester, the late Earl of Orford, and the present Marquis Cholmondeley, his grandmother being sister of Sir Robert Walpole. He was the only surviving original member of the Swaffham Coursing Society, established in 1779. He served the office of Sheriff of Norfolk in 1792, and leaves surviving three sons and two daughters.”
2.—M. Chalon, the famous French conjurer, performed at the Norwich Theatre.
8.—The Norfolk and Norwich Literary Institution was founded at a meeting held at the Guildhall. The rooms of the institution were at a house in the Haymarket.
12.*—“A short time since as two gentlemen of Norwich were fishing at Halvergate, they caught a pike which weighed twenty-two ounces and measured twenty-three inches in length; in the body of which they found a weasel in a perfect state, which weighed six ounces and measured twelve inches in length.”
13.—During a terrible gale the Revenue cutter Ranger, Capt. John Sayers, was lost off Happisburgh with 30 of her crew. Capt. Sayer was appointed to the command of the Lapwing cutter in 1807, and of the Ranger in 1809. The latter vessel was wrecked within 50 yards of the spot where another Revenue cutter, the Hunter, was lost some years previously. Allegations, the truth of which was denied, were made that the inhabitants of Happisburgh shamefully neglected the signals of distress made by the Ranger. “The shrieks of the crew,” it was said, “were heard distinctly on the shore, yet no attempt was made to rescue.”
15.—A “grand music meeting” commenced in Norwich, and concluded on the 18th. Evening concerts were given at the Theatre, and morning performances in the Hall Concert Room, St. George’s. The managers were Messrs. A. and E. Pettet, and the principal vocal performers M. Sapio, Mr. Beale, and Madame Camporese.
18.—Died, aged 51, Daniel Coppin, of St. Catherine’s Plain, Norwich. He was a member of the Norwich Society of Artists, and was principally known for his highly creditable studies from Opie.
28.—Two men named Grint, a dyer, and Purdy, a weaver, “neither of whom had any pretensions to pugilistic science,” fought for an hour near Bishop Bridge, Norwich, until Purdy became insensible, and three days afterwards died. Grint was committed for trial, and at the Norwich Summer Assizes, in 1823, was found guilty, and sentenced by Mr. Justice Blossett to three months’ imprisonment.
31.—The chandling office of Messrs. Staff and Chamberlin, St. Martin-at-Palace, Norwich, was destroyed by fire. “Several hogsheads of tallow and a large quantity of candles were melted and ran down the streets in a stream into the river, from the surface of which more than ten cwt. was skimmed off by persons in boats.”
4.—Mr. Harvey was presented by the Corporation with a massive silver candelabrum in recognition of his impartial and honourable conduct as Steward and Recorder of Norwich during the period of 40 years, and of his zeal on all occasions for the interests of the city.
5.—Mutton of the best quality was sold in Lynn Market at 3d. per pound. On the 6th Mr. Martin, butcher, sold mutton at 2½d. per pound.
9.*—“Lately was launched from Mr. Bottomley’s yard in South Lynn a ship of 600 tons burden with figure-head and quarter galleries, built for the Jamaica trade. She was called the Marlborough.”
—The Phœnix new night coach from the Star Inn, Market Place, Norwich, left on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, at four o’clock and arrived at the Bull Inn, Aldgate, at eight in the morning. It was advertised on this date as the property of Ann Nelson and Sons and Thomas Ridley and Co.
—Died at Coltishall, aged 77, Mr. William Palgrave, an alderman of Yarmouth, who served the office of Mayor of that borough in 1782 and 1805.
26.—A grand moving panorama of the battle of Genappe, St. Helena, &c., was opened in Mr. Noverre’s room, St. Michael-at-Plea, Norwich.
28.—Died at Doughty’s Hospital, in his 63rd year, John Swan, for many years an inhabitant of St. Peter Mancroft. “In the former part of his life he acted as watchman and parish constable. Being of athletic make, of a stern countenance, and possessing a sonorous, rough voice he excited terror and commanded obedience to his authority. He was several years one of the appointed trumpeters for sounding before the judges in the Assize week, and also for attending at Thetford on the same occasion.”
29.—An inquest was held at Loddon by Mr. Pilgrim, coroner, on the body of James Dale, who was killed the preceding day by a patient in the private lunatic asylum kept by Mr. Jollye, surgeon. The deceased, a keeper, incautiously laid down the carving knife which he was using at the dinner table, when the patient snatched it up and stabbed him in the left breast, killing him instantly.
30.—Lloyd’s Equestrian Troupe commenced a season’s engagement at the Ranelagh Gardens, Norwich.
1.—H.R.H. the Duke of York passed through Norwich on returning from a visit to Houghton Hall.
—Died at Downham Market, Mrs. Pidgeon. “This venerable person was 89 years of age, and what is remarkable she never had any other place of residence than the one she died in, and expired upon the same bed on which she was born.”
6.—Sir Jacob Astley’s hounds drew at Ringstead and chased a fox to within a mile of Fakenham, a distance of 16 miles, when the hounds became at fault. “Reynard was spied upon the tiles of a cottage, when a general cry was raised to spare him. The huntsman dismounted and caught him as he slipped off the tiles by the cottage door, and drove him in, when he was secured and saved and taken home in a sack for another day’s sport.”
7.—A panorama illustrating Lord Exmouth’s victory over the Algerines was exhibited in a wooden building specially erected on the Castle ditches, Norwich. It was described as “the peristrephic or moving panorama,” and was invented by the exhibitors, Messrs. Marshall.
12.—Died at Hampstead Park, Berkshire, the seat of the Earl of Craven, Mr. John Brunton, aged 82. “He was father of the late Mrs. Merry, of the present Lady Craven, and of Mr. John Brunton, manager of the West London Theatre. He was a native of Norwich, and for many years patentee and manager of the Norwich Theatre, in which situation he was highly esteemed for his judicious and liberal conduct. He was a superior actor, and in the characters of Lear, Iago, Evander, and The Stranger but few excelled him.”
21.*—“We understand that Mr. Telford, successor to the late Mr. Rennie, has delivered a report on the proposed plan for making Norwich a port, in which he bears ample testimony to the satisfactory nature of Mr. Cubitt’s professional investigations and remarks.” Mr. John Harvey, chairman of the committee for carrying the project into execution, forwarded to the Mayor of Yarmouth a copy of Mr. Telford’s report, and received in reply an assurance that the Corporation of Yarmouth would do everything in its power to oppose an undertaking “which was pregnant with the most ruinous consequences to the navigation of that port and to the trading interests of the town and neighbourhood.” (See January 21st, 1823.)
26.—Lady Anne Coke gave birth to a son and heir at Holkham. The infant was christened at the town house of Mr. T. W. Coke, M.P., Hanover Square, on June 21st, 1823, when their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Sussex and Gloucester stood sponsors, and Lady Andover godmother. The ceremony was performed by the Lord Bishop of Norwich.
1.—At the Norwich Adjourned Quarter Sessions, the magistrates decided to build a new gaol on a piece of ground outside St. Giles’ Gates. On February 23rd the Corporation granted to the justices a lease of the site, five acres in extent, for 500 years, at the annual rent of £50. At a full assembly of the magistrates on August 26th the tenders of Messrs. Mears and Blyth for building the new gaol in accordance with plans prepared by Mr. Barnes, for the sum of £17,395, were accepted.
2.—The coming of age of Mr. Henry Jerningham, eldest son of Sir George and Lady Jerningham, was celebrated at Costessey Park with great rejoicings.
3.—Pursuant to requisition signed by 540 occupiers of land, &c., in the county the High Sheriff of Norfolk (Sir R. P. Jodrell), convened a meeting at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, “for the purpose of taking into consideration the severe and unprecedented distresses of agriculture and the best means of relieving them.” The High Sheriff presided, supported by the county members, Mr. T. W. Coke and Mr. Edmond Wodehouse. Mr. Cobbett was in the body of the Hall, and great confusion prevailed at intervals. Mr. Alderman Thurtell moved a string of resolutions in favour of the reduction of taxation and the abolition of needless and, therefore, useless places, pensions, and sinecures, such a reduction of the National Debt as was required; and the total repeal of the Malt and Beer taxes, which would relieve heavy burdens and encourage the growth of barley. Mr. George Watson seconded the resolutions. Mr. Cobbett, amid great uproar, then moved, as an amendment to Mr. Thurtell’s resolutions, that a petition be presented to Parliament containing among other suggestions the following: the appropriation of part of the public property, commonly called Church property, to be applied to the liquidation of the National Debt; the abolition of the standing army; the total abolition of sinecure pensions, grants, and emoluments; the sale of numerous public estates commonly called Crown lands, and the application of the money towards the liquidation of the public debt; to suspend by law for one year all distraints for rents; to suspend all processes for tithes for the same period, and all processes arising out of mortgages effected on houses or land; and to repeal the taxes on malt, hops, leather, soap, and candles. Not three-fourths of the audience were able to hear the reading of the petition, but it was adopted, and the resolutions moved by Mr. Thurtell negatived by at least twenty to one. Mr. Cobbett, at the close of the meeting, stood forward and said this was the greatest triumph he had ever had; it was their triumph also—the triumph of truth and sound principles. Subsequently meetings were held in the various Hundreds of the county “to disavow the Norwich proceedings of the 3rd,” and “to express abhorrence and detestation of the revolutionary doctrines promulgated, and the measures of fraud and spoliation recommended for legislative adoption.” On March 8th the Norfolk Chronicle published the following paragraph: “Norfolk Petition. Serious loss. We understand the county has been so unfortunate as to be deprived of its Petition by some daring depredator who had the audacity to steal it from the coach by which it was sent to London about a fortnight ago. The most diligent search has been made for this important document, but without success.”
4.*—“We have been called upon by several gentlemen who were witnesses of the circumstance to notice the very reprehensible conduct of the persons who drove the Day and Times coaches into this city on Tuesday evening. These coaches had been racing on the road, and proceeded at such a rapid rate that they reached Norwich at a quarter before five o’clock, having performed the journey from London, 112 miles, in less than eleven hours.”
11.—Master Hubbard, “the scissor artist,” exhibited his proficiency in cutting out profiles in paper at Norwich.
11.—At a fire which occurred at Blackthorn Farm, Diss, in the occupation of Mr. John Elsey, a chimney fell and killed John Gardiner and William Tipple. Two other persons were severely injured.
16.—Married at Lakenham church, by the Rev. George Carter, Mr. George Thurtell, son of Mr. Alderman Thurtell, to Miss Edwards.
—Married at North Walsham, by the Rev. W. F. Wilkinson, Mr. George Fisher, of the Norfolk and Suffolk Company of Comedians, to Miss Marianne Nickless, niece of Mrs. Saul, of that place.
20.—A coach commenced running from the Crown Tavern, Lynn, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning by Swaffham and Dereham to Norwich. It returned from Norwich viâ Hingham, Watton, and Swaffham. Another coach set out from the White Swan, Norwich, every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning at eleven o’clock, and travelled by Dereham and Swaffham to meet the Stamford coach at Lynn. It returned after the arrival of the Stamford coach, by Swaffham, Watton, and Hingham.
21.—At a public meeting held at the Guildhall, Norwich, presided over by the Mayor (Mr. Robert Hawkes), it was resolved, on the motion of Mr. John Harvey seconded by Mr. Crisp Brown, and unanimously agreed, that direct and improved communication with the sea was an object of the first importance to the future prosperity of the city; that the plan for an open harbour at Lowestoft be approved; that application be made to Parliament for carrying the undertaking into execution; and that a subscription for the purpose based on shares of £100 each be immediately opened. On February 8th a letter from the fishing masters, boatmen, and pilots to Mr. Harvey, expressing the hope that the proposed plan would be of the greatest benefit to the city of Norwich as well as to the town of Lowestoft, was published.
24.—Capt. Hayes, “the Father of the British Army,” was entertained at the Star Inn, Norwich, on the anniversary of his entrance into the service. He had served 62 years.
25.—It was announced that Messrs. W. and M. Stark, manufacturers, of Norwich, had completed an establishment for carrying into operation the patent of Mr. J. F. Smith, of Dunston Hall, Chesterfield, in the method of finishing bombazines and other silk and worstead goods.
1.—Died, Mrs. Browne, formerly of the Theatre Royal, Norwich, and mother of Mrs. J. Brunton.
—A new drama, entitled “The Fortunes of Nigel, or King James the First and his Times,” founded upon Mr. Scott’s novel, and written by Mr. Edward Ball, formerly of Norwich, was produced at Norwich Theatre for the first time.
—An action “of an entirely novel description to Norfolk” was tried in the Sheriffs’ court at Norwich, “Jonathan Wrench v. the men inhabiting the Hundred of Holt in Norfolk.” It was brought for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of damage the plaintiff had sustained by having a stack of corn destroyed by fire through the act of an incendiary. It was enacted by 9th George I. c 22, that the owner of property so injured was entitled to recover an amount not exceeding £200 from the inhabitants of the Hundred in which the property was situate on complying with the requirements of the Act, namely by giving notice within two days after the commission of the offence “to some of the inhabitants near unto the place where any such act shall be committed, and within four days after such notice that statement be made before a justice of the peace.” It was admitted that the requirements of the Act had been complied with, and a verdict was given for the plaintiff—damages £143 15s.
2.—A congregation of about 120 persons, “of the sect commonly called Ranters,” were assembled for worship in a room adjoining the City of Norwich public-house, St. Stephen’s, Norwich, when the floor gave way and the whole were precipitated into a cellar nine feet deep. Twenty-five received material injury and were conveyed to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. Four were suffering from fractured limbs, and one person had his leg amputated.
10.—A trotting match took place between a brown mare, the property of Mr. William Day, of St. Stephen’s, and a mare owned by Mr. J. Harper, auctioneer,—stakes £10, distance two miles. Ned Painter rode Mr. Harper’s mare and the brown had her owner up. “They started from Earlham toll-gate, and within a short distance of the starting post Mr. Day’s mare broke into a gallop, and she had to turn back. By this circumstance she was dead beat.”
15.—Owing to the frequency with which a number of trunks, measuring 28 inches long, 13 inches wide, and 12 inches deep, had been sent from the Rampant Horse Inn, Norwich, by the Telegraph coach to London, suspicion was aroused at the coach office, and directions were given that the porter bringing the next be detained and the parcel examined. This was done on the 15th, when it was found that the package contained the dead and naked body of an old man. The Rev. George Carter, vicar of Lakenham, identified the body as that of a man named Brundall whom he had buried a few days previously. Brundall’s grave was examined and it was found that only the coffin and the shroud remained. From information given by the porter, two men named Collins and Crowe were apprehended and committed for trial at the Quarter Sessions. On July 15th they were tried, found guilty, and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, and to pay a fine of £50.
8.—Messrs. Marshall’s panorama of the battle of Trafalgar and the death of Nelson was exhibited at Norwich.
31.—“A serio-comic Mill-Dramatic Farcical, Moral Burletta, called ‘The Tread Mill, or Tom and Jerry at Brixton,’” was produced at Norwich Theatre. “An exact representation of a tread mill with culprits at work made a goodly show in the lower circle, crowded the gallery, and filled the pit to the excess of squeezing.”
2.*—(Advt.) “It having been represented that there are well-founded grounds of apprehension that some mad dogs have made their appearance in different parts of the city and neighbourhood of Norwich by whom several other dogs have been bitten, the Mayor hereby recommends all of the inhabitants who have dogs immediately to cause them to be tied up or otherwise confined, as in case of their continuing to suffer them to be in the streets, an order will be issued for their being killed” (sic).
5.—The Rev. Chancellor Yonge, as one of the Visiting Justices of Swaffham Bridewell, reported to the Home Secretary, in reply to inquiries made respecting the use of the tread-wheel, “it has been in use here about four months, and during that time no injurious effects whatever have been experienced to the health of the prisoners. There have been in general a large number of prisoners and they have been very healthy, which may in some measure be owing to the regular exercise on the tread-wheel. The exercise of the tread-wheel is very salutary.”
—*(Advt.) “The annual great main of cocks between the gentlemen of Norwich and Northamptonshire for £5 a battle and £200 the odd, will be fought at the White Swan Inn, St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, on Tuesday, April 22nd, and two following days. A silver tankard will be fought for by 16 subscribers. No cock to exceed four pounds ten ounces. The above to be fought in fair silver spurs, and to commence fighting each day at twelve o’clock. Feeders: Nash for Northampton, Skipper for Norwich.”
—At noon William Bray, aged 20, was executed at the foot of the bridge, Castle Hill, Norwich, for a burglary at Shouldham. “Almost continually night and day he was crying out to God for mercy in so lamentable a manner as to leave little room for religious impressions. His parents were too poor to send for his remains, which were interred the same day in St. Michael-at-Thorn churchyard.”
11.—At the Norfolk Quarter Sessions, the county justices appointed a committee to consider the best means of procuring the holding of the Lent Assizes at Norwich instead of at Thetford. On April 14th the Norwich Corporation petitioned his Majesty in favour of two gaol deliveries each year. (The Norfolk Chronicle contained the following editorial note: “The holding of the Lent Assizes for Norfolk at Thetford has been long and justly complained of as a serious grievance. It is high time to put an end to the disgraceful scene annually exhibited of a body of criminals being exposed in open waggons from Norwich to Thetford, and there congregated for a week without regard to age or crime.”)
16.—Died at Great Malvern, Mrs. Bathurst, wife of the Lord Bishop of Norwich.
23.—On the occasion of the celebration of the King’s birthday, the members of the Norwich Light Horse Volunteers presented to Lieut.-Col. Harvey “a valuable scymetar, in recognition of his services during the 26 years that he had commanded the corps.”
25.—Pursuant to requisition a meeting was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, presided over by the Mayor, “to take into consideration the state of the British West Indian Colonies with the view to the gradual and complete abolition of slavery.” Resolutions were passed in favour of the movement.
30.—A man who sold sand about the streets of Norwich drove his cart and pair of horses up the flight of ten steps, leading from Davey Place to the Castle ditches. “The horses did it with much ease and without receiving any injury, to the astonishment of the spectators.”
—A singular case came before the Mayor of Norwich. A man named Stebbings had sold his wife to a person named Turner for £6 10s., who, having paid down £4 on account, took home his “bargain” and brutally turned his lawful wife out of doors. On Mrs. Turner applying to the court for relief, the parties were summoned before the Mayor, who obliged Turner to relinquish his bargain and Stebbings to support his own wife.
1.—Four candidates were nominated for the Mayoralty of Norwich, and the polling resulted as follows: Alderman Patteson, 835; Alderman Francis, 774; Alderman Leman, 101; Alderman Yallop, 94. Mr. Patteson was returned by the Court of Aldermen on May 3rd.
3.—At a quarterly assembly of the Norwich Corporation, it was resolved that a former order for taking toll for cattle standing for sale on the Castle Meadow be rescinded.
5.—A great main of cocks was fought at the White Swan Inn, Norwich, on this and the three following days between the gentlemen of Norfolk and the gentlemen of Herefordshire. The stakes were five guineas a battle and 200 guineas the odd battle. The feeders were Burn for Herefordshire, Lamb for Norfolk. Herefordshire won by ten in the main and three in the byes.
12.—Messrs. Stannard, Athow, De Carle, Wright, and Coleman, of Norwich, became the purchasers of Wanstead House, Essex, which was sold by auction on this date. The amount given was £10,000, and one of the conditions of sale was that the purchaser or purchasers should clear everything away even to the foundation by Lady Day, 1825. The purchasers “absolutely sold a pair of marble chimney pieces for 300 guineas before they left the room. Thus is sacrificed on the shrine of extravagance and gambling, a mansion which cost in its erection more than £360,000, and which has no equal in the county of Essex.”
13.—The first annual dinner of the Norfolk Society in London was held at the City of London Tavern. The objects of the society were: to afford means of social intercourse between persons connected with the county residing in London; to promote by mutual co-operation the general interests of its members; and to form a fund for the relief, education, or apprenticeship of such objects of charity as the society considered suitable.
22.—Died, aged 55, Mr. Thomas Coldwell, postmaster of Norwich, and a common councilman of the Great Mancroft Ward.
23.—A cricket match was played at Hockwold-cum-Wilton between 11 married and 11 single females for eleven pairs of gloves. The match terminated in favour of the former. “The parties were dressed in jackets and trousers tastefully decorated with blue ribbands.”
27.—Married at St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, by the Rev. John Bowman, Mr. James Vining, of Norwich Theatre, to Miss Caroline Holmes, daughter of Mr. George Holmes, of Burstall Hall, Suffolk.
29.—In celebration of the Restoration of Charles II. the Mayor and Corporation of Yarmouth attended service at St Nicholas’ Church, the ships in the harbour were “dressed,” and a salute was fired from the fort at noon.
2.—A curious incident occurred at the Fighting Cocks Inn, Winfarthing. “A large cock, of the true fighting breed, attacked a beautiful child, of a year and a half old, belonging to the family of the landlord, and wounded him in several places in the head and face, and if timely assistance had not been at hand there is little doubt that he would have repeated his attacks till he had deprived him of his sight, if not his life. The cock was killed immediately.”
4.—A new melo-drama, entitled “Eugenio, or the Secrets of the Abbey,” written by Mr. J. Bambridge, a native of the city, was performed at Norwich Theatre for the first time.
5.—Mr. Marker Graze was appointed Postmaster of Norwich, in place of Mr. Thomas Coldwell, deceased.
11.—The theatrical season ended at Norwich. The benefit receipts were as follow: Mr. Smith (manager), £146; Mr. Thorne, £54; Mr. Vining, £118; Mr. Clifford, £87; Mr. G. Smith, £72; Mrs. Jones, £105; Messrs. Wharton and Hamerton, £35; Miss Brunton, £70; Miss Wensley, £72; Mr. Beacham, £79; Mr. and Mrs. Sloman, £130; Mr. Harrison, £62; Mr. Henderson, £53; Mr. Bennett, £111; Miss Glover, £45; Mr. Benson £56; Mr. and Mrs. Osbaldiston, £134; Mr. Hunt, £86; Miss Tubby, £111; Messrs. Wharton and Hamerton (second benefit in consequence of wet weather on the previous occasion), £75; Mr. Simpson and Miss Adcock, £35. Total, £1,738; average, £82 15s.
16.—A prize fight took place near Wymondham for £5 a side between Gales and Dann. “After a hard milling contest of more than an hour, during which 70 rounds were fought without the least display of skill or science, Dann was obliged to give in.”
17.—Guild Day at Norwich. The Recorder, Aldermen, and Sheriffs went in their carriages to the mansion of the Mayor-elect (Mr. J. S. Patteson) in Magdalen Street, and partook of “an elegant dejeune”; they next proceeded to the house of the Mayor (Mr. R. Hawkes), “with whom they took some refreshment,” and then to the Cathedral, where the Mayor’s Chaplain, the Rev. William Frederick Patteson, preached. George Steward, second son of Mr. Alderman Steward, delivered the Latin oration at the Free School porch. After the ceremony at the Guildhall Mr. Patteson entertained 650 guests at the Guild feast, and 500 at the ball at Chapel Field House.
20.—The House of Commons in Committee of Supply granted £2,000 to Capt. Manby for his services in saving the lives of shipwrecked seamen.
24.—Died at Thetford, aged 70, Mr. Shelford Bidwell, who had served many times as Mayor of the borough, and was a great benefactor of the poor.
29.—Died at Acle, aged 59, Samuel Morris. “He was generally known as ‘Old Sam.’ For many years he delivered letters from the post office there, and he must have travelled some thousands of miles on foot. On various occasions when he might have made the delivery on horseback he invariably walked, and being furnished with a red guard’s coat he was frequently dignified with the appellation of the ‘Scarlet Runner.’”
30.—Died in St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, aged 60, Matthew Joy. “This poor man was known by the appellation of ‘The Walking Baker,’ and for the last eleven years of his life used to carry a large basket of bread, about eight stones weight, upon his shoulders to several villages, walking no less than 20 miles per day. He walked in all about 68,440 miles.”
1.—At a meeting held at the Swan Inn, Norwich, at which Mr. Dalrymple presided, resolutions were passed condemning the French invasion of Spain. A subscription was opened “in aid of the suffering and heroic people of that country.”
11.—Died at Stiffkey, Col. Henry Loftus, of the Coldstream Guards, eldest son of General Loftus. His remains were interred in the chancel of Rainham Church.
12.*—“The antient pastime of heron hawking is still carried on in this county. Ten cast of hawks and four falconers, natives of Germany, to which country they repair annually in the autumn to catch a supply of hawks for the ensuing season, are kept at Didlington Hall, the seat of Major Wilson, near to which place is an extensive heronry.”
16.—Died at North Walsham, where he had some time resided for the benefit of his health, the Rev. Marmaduke Revell, aged 56. “He was 23 years minister in the Methodist connexion, among whom he was a useful and zealous preacher of the Gospel, which he adorned by strict conformity to its precepts.”
19.—Mr. John Cross was elected assistant surgeon of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.
22.—The Norfolk Rangers, under the command of Major Lord James Townshend, were inspected at Fakenham by Col. the Hon. John Wodehouse, his Majesty’s Lieutenant for the county.
24.—A troop of the 15th Hussars arrived at Norwich to relieve the troop of the 1st Royal Dragoons, who marched for York.
26.—A machine exemplifying perpetual motion was advertised to be exhibited at Mrs. Chesnut’s, St. Giles’, Norwich. “This grand machine,” it was stated, “has been going ever since it was invented, now upwards of seven years, and will continue to go without any assistance whatever by power of its own balance and pivots, or, in other words, if the materials it is made of would last for ever.” The Mayor made inquiries which proved the exhibition to be a deception, and prohibited its further stay in the city.
28.—Died, at the age of 110, Mr. John Lock, of Larling. “He left behind him 130 children and grandchildren.”
1.—The Norwich weavers held a demonstration in celebration of the success of their Spitalfields brethren in obtaining the decision of both Houses of Parliament upon the Spitalfields Act. The clubs met in Chapel Field, and afterwards went in procession through the streets.
2.*—“Mr. Mueller, from the Haymarket Theatre, has succeeded Mr. Phillips as leader of the orchestra at the Theatre Royal, Norwich.”
—Died at Winchester, the Right Hon. Charles Frederick Powlett Townshend, Lord Bayning, of Honingham, aged 38. His remains were conveyed to the King’s Head Inn, Wymondham, on the 12th, and were interred at Honingham on the 13th. His lordship was succeeded by his only brother, the Hon. and Rev. Henry Townshend, Baron Bayning.
6.—Married, by special licence, by the Lord Bishop of Norwich, at the parish church, Costessey, Thomas Alexander Fraser, of Lovat and Strichen, to Charlotte Georgina, eldest daughter of Sir George Jerningham, Bart., Costessey Hall. The marriage ceremony was previously performed in the chapel at the Hall, according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church, by the Rev. Frederick Husenbeth, domestic chaplain to Sir George. Soon after the service the bride and bridegroom left Costessey in their travelling barouche and four for Beaufort Castle, Inverness.
—In the presence of Lord Suffield, Col. Wodehouse, Mr. T. W. Coke, M.P., Mr. Wodehouse, M.P., and other gentlemen, experiments were made on Mundesley beach with a new life-saving apparatus invented by Capt. Manby. It consisted of “an airtight tin case encompassing the body beneath the armpits.”
12.—Mr. R. C. Harvey, an eminent agriculturist at Alburgh, near Harleston, held his first annual show and sale of stock. Mr. Spelman, of Norwich, was the auctioneer, and the company, numbering 2,000, included the Marquis of Blandford, Lord Huntingfield, and some of the most distinguished agriculturists of the county.
—The Corporation of Norwich conferred the honorary freedom of the city on Col. the Hon. John Wodehouse, Lieutenant of the county.
16.*—“Died, lately, at Sheerness, Mr. Edward Quin, many years connected with the public press of the Metropolis, and formerly a member of the Common Council. He was previously a respectable performer in the Norwich Company, under the theatrical name of Stanley. He was the author of a tragedy called “Elmira,” which he published at Norwich, with some other works. He was a native of Ireland. The cause of his death was a stroke of apoplexy. His body was found resting upon the wall from Sheerness to Queensborough long after he had ceased to breathe.”
23.—Mons. Alexandre appeared at Norwich Theatre in his ventriloquial entertainment, “The Rogueries of Nicholas.”
—*“Died, last week in London, Mr. Robert Mildenhall, comedian and freeman of Norwich, formerly of the Norwich Theatre. He pursued his profession nearly to the end of his life, was happy in a great variety of characters, and a strictly honest man.”
25.—Thorpe Water Frolic, “instituted two years ago by Lieut.-Col. Harvey,” took place. Ten thousand persons were present.
—Died at Hardingham, Mr. Hamond Alpe, aged 80. He was Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2nd Regiment of Norfolk Yeomanry Cavalry.
10.—The Yarmouth Court of Gaol Delivery was proclaimed to be held for the trial of two persons charged with robbery from a vessel upon the high seas within the Admiralty jurisdiction of that borough. On such occasions the Mayor, Recorder, and Steward of Norwich were associated with the borough magistrates in forming the court. The Mayor of Norwich and the Mayor of Yarmouth, with Mr. Robert Alderson, who was both Recorder of Yarmouth and Steward of Norwich, “in full legal dress,” with the magistrates and members of the Corporation, attended service, and afterwards proceeded to the Toll House, where the trial was conducted in due form. “A similar instance of holding an Admiralty court for the trial of pirates and robbers has not occurred here since the reign of Charles I.”
13.*—“The Norwich Company of Comedians is about to lose one of its oldest and most efficient members. Mr. Bennett quits the theatrical profession. Having become proprietor of the Star Inn, Yarmouth, this able performer and respectable individual will doubtless on the stage of real life exercise that happy zeal, and we hope with equal success that happy art of pleasing which rendered him in the mimic scene so truly and deservedly a public favourite.”
20.—A mineral spring was reported to have been discovered on the estate of Mr. F. Wheatley at Mundesley. The spring was situate about 600 yards from the edge of the cliff.
23.—A prize fight took place on Yarmouth Denes between two young men named Tennant and Pile. The contest lasted about 45 minutes, when Pile received a blow which rendered him unconscious, and from the effects of which he died two days after. At the Quarter Sessions in April, 1824, Tennant was sentenced to five months’, and the seconds, Christopher Parker and Bennet Paul, to one month’s imprisonment.
29.—The foundation-stone of the Rehobeth chapel, Union Place, Norwich, was laid by the Rev. R. G. Lemare. The chapel was opened for divine service on December 25th.
4.—A shooting match between Mr. William Coke and Lord Kennedy for 200 sovereigns a side, play or pay, “who shoots and bags the greatest number of partridges in two days’ sport on September 26th and October 4th,” was decided. Mr. Coke shot over his uncle’s manors in Norfolk, and Lord Kennedy over Sir William Maxwell’s lands at Monteith. Mr. Coke on the first day bagged 80½ brace, and on the second day 90 brace. Lord Kennedy on the first day killed 50 brace, and on the second day 82 brace.
11.—William Burton Peeling, a prisoner in Swaffham gaol, was endeavouring to hold a conversation with another prisoner in the adjoining division of the tread-mill, when he accidentally placed his head in the wheel, which drew him in and crushed him to death.
17.—The 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars, commanded by Lieut.-Col. Westenra, were inspected at Norwich by Lord Edward Somerset, Inspector-General of Cavalry.
18.*—“Mr. Bellamy, well known as a favourite actor on the Norwich boards and late manager of the Theatre, is about to resume his professional career at Bath after a short retirement from the stage.”
22.—The first annual meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich Literary Institution was held in the society’s rooms in the Haymarket, Norwich, Lieut.-Col. Harvey, the president, in the chair.
25.*—“In consequence of directions given at the end of last year by the Hon. Fulke Greville Howard, one of the members for the most antient borough of Castle Rising, and who is also lord of the manor, the rubbish which had accumulated for ages in the great hall, where the court leet is held in the inward part of the castle or keep, having been cleared away, the bases of two pillars, which apparently supported an arch, were discovered, and likewise a well between these columns, 63 feet deep, in a very perfect state. Many hundred cart loads of the ruins which had fallen in from above were removed before these interesting remains were laid open to view.”
26.—Died, Dr. W. B. Carter, assistant surgeon in the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars, whose remains were buried with military honours at St. Peter Mancroft church, Norwich, on the 30th. The grave was dug at the lower extremity of the middle aisle, and the customary volleys were fired by a party of hussars stationed in the roadway between the great west door of the church and the entrance to the Swan Inn.
27.—The Norwich Pantheon was opened under the management of Mr. Kinloch, with his company from the Royal Amphitheatre, London. “A real fox chase, with dogs, horses, fox, and hounds,” was the principal attraction.
31.—By virtue of a writ of mandamus granted by the Court of King’s Bench, the Norwich Court of Quarter Sessions was compelled to hear the appeal “the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the Hamlet of Lakenham, appellants, v. the Governor, Deputy-Governor, and others of the Court of Guardians of the City of Norwich, respondents.” The appellants contended that the assessment made upon stock was not in accordance with the Act of Parliament, by virtue whereof the rate for the maintenance of the poor of Norwich was raised, and was unfair and inequitable. It was stated in the course of the trial that the real estate of the city was valued at £54,041, that of the hamlets at £15,028; the personal property in the former was estimated at £99,800, and in the latter at £5,700. The court confirmed the certificate, and dismissed the appeal.
—One of the most violent storms ever remembered occurred on this date, and resulted in many disasters on sea and land. The whole of the coast of Norfolk was strewn with wrecks, many lives were lost, and much misery prevailed. At Cromer the brig, Duchess of Cumberland, came ashore near the lighthouse, and notwithstanding the brave exertions of Mr. Buxton, Mr. Samuel Hoare, Mr. William Lukin, Mr. Windham, and other gentlemen, to effect their rescue the crew of sixteen perished. Among the most remarkable of the incidents on land was the subsidence of a cottage at Corpusty. The occupier, Robert Faircloth, and two women felt the house in motion, rushed out, and a few seconds afterwards “saw it sink out of sight into the bowels of the earth, leaving a vacuum of several feet deep above it which presently filled with water.”
1.*—“Died very recently in London, aged 62, Mr. William Perowne, formerly an actor in the Phœnix Company. He was a truly honest and industrious man.”
8.—Died at Yarmouth, Mr. Luke Waller, in the 105th year of his age.
22.—A meeting was held at the Shirehall, Norwich, under the presidency of the Hon. John Wodehouse, Vice-Admiral of the county, at which it was decided to form a society for saving the lives of shipwrecked mariners on the coast of Norfolk. At an adjourned meeting on December 13th it was agreed to place lifeboats immediately at Yarmouth, Winterton, Blakeney, &c.
30.—Married, at Walcot church, Bath, Mr. Frederick Henry Yates, of Charlotte Street, London, to Miss Brunton, daughter of Mr. John Brunton, of Norwich.
1.—The “extravaganzic burletta” entitled “Tom and Jerry” was produced at the Pantheon, Norwich. It was described as “an animated picture deprived through the filtering stone of the proprietor’s character and career, of all that might offend even the most fastidious imagination.”
6.—Messrs. J. and W. Wiggens advertised their Phenomena coach to run from the Angel Inn, Norwich, every morning at a quarter to six and to arrive at the Bull Inn, Aldgate, at seven o’clock the same evening.
9.—At a meeting held at the Guildhall, Norwich, presided over by the Mayor (Mr. J. S. Patteson), it was resolved to petition the House of Commons for the repeal of the duty on coals carried coastwise.
20.*—“The portrait of Mr. William Hankes, Mayor of Norwich in 1817, painted by Mr. Clint, has lately been placed in St. Andrew’s Hall.”
—Drake, a showman, advertised the exhibition “in a commodious theatre upon the Castle ditches, Norwich,” of a performing elephant, a boa constrictor, and a sea serpent alive, “which was discovered when they were in search of the great one, and is supposed by the most moderate calculation to measure more than 300 feet in length. It is asserted by the Linnean Society that this is of the same breed as the large one.”
30.—Some remarkable vaults—the disused workings of ancient chalk pits—were discovered on the property of Mr. Sendall, near St. Giles’ Gates, Norwich. They were 35 feet beneath the surface, and extended in various directions. The vaults were thrown open for public inspection and illuminated with coloured lamps.
1.—At a public meeting, held at Calvert Street chapel, it was decided to erect a second Wesleyan Methodist chapel in Norwich. A subscription was opened, and £600 contributed. The foundation-stone of the new (Lady Lane) chapel was laid on April 14th by the Rev. William Gilpin, superintendent of the Norwich circuit; and the building was opened for worship on October 21st by the Rev. R. Newton, president of the Methodist Conference, the Rev. John Anderson, of London, and the Rev. Mr. Farrar, of Leeds.
2.—Persistent efforts were made this year to obtain the removal of the Lent Assizes from Thetford to Norwich. At a meeting of the county magistrates on January 2nd, it was decided to present an address to the Lord Chancellor and Mr. Secretary Peel, representing the inconvenience and ill consequences resulting from the then existing arrangement. At a quarterly assembly of the Corporation of Norwich on February 24th, a committee was appointed to co-operate with the county justices, and a petition to the House of Commons and a memorial to the Lord Chancellor were prepared. On June 5th the city petition received the seal of the Mayor, and on June 11th Lord Suffield, in the House of Lords, presented the petition from the Norfolk magistrates. It stated that the prisoners were carried in open carts through the towns and villages, guarded by soldiers, and “it was not long since that they were exhibited as sights, one shilling being charged to see convicts of the second and third degree, and two shillings or more for condemned felons.” There was a dungeon at Thetford, thirteen feet below the surface of the ground, measuring eighteen feet by nine feet, and eight and a half feet in height, and in this cell upon one occasion no less than seventeen persons were placed to sleep. The Lord Chancellor intimated that the subject was under consideration, and the petition was ordered to be printed. On August 7th the announcement was made that the Lieutenant of the county had received a letter from the Lord Chancellor, stating that the twelve Judges had unanimously decided against the removal of the Lent Assizes from Thetford. At the Summer Assizes on August 11th, the Grand Jury for the county presented an address to the Judges expressing regret at their decision, and pointing out that the chief benefits contemplated by the recent Act of Parliament for the regulation of gaols must be in a great degree frustrated by a continuance of the then state of things in Norfolk. “The late city calendar,” said the Norfolk Chronicle, “furnishes no less than three cases of exceptional long confinement before trial; namely, one person for more than twelve months, who has been acquitted, and two others in custody upwards of eleven months against whom no true bills were found.”
16.—At the Norfolk Quarter Sessions at Norwich, the magistrates agreed that the whole of Mr. Wilkin’s plan for erecting a new gaol at Norwich Castle be carried into execution. It was understood that the entire cost of the Shirehall and prison would not exceed £46,000.
24.—Great sensation was caused in Norwich by the trial and execution at Hertford of John Thurtell for the murder of Mr. Wear on October 24th, 1823. The execution took place on January 9th, and on the 24th was published in the Norfolk Chronicle a letter received by Mr. Alderman Thomas Thurtell, of Norwich, the father of the culprit, from Mr. Robert Sutton, High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, in which the writer commiserated with him in his great affliction. In the same paper was another letter addressed by Mr. N. Bolingbroke, of Norwich, to the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, in which he wrote: “It may appear to some that he (the father) has not acted with sufficient kindness of feeling towards his unhappy son; but you may be assured, Sir, that there was no part of his conduct which could not be satisfactorily explained. He has generally acted under the advice of Mr. Unthank, a respectable solicitor in this city, my own, and others. There are many actions in a man’s life of which no correct opinion can be formed without a knowledge of the motives by which such have been influenced.”
29.—At a meeting held at the Guildhall, Norwich, under the presidency of Lieut.-Col. Harvey, supported by Mr. E. Wodehouse, M.P., and Mr. T. F. Buxton, M.P., it was agreed to petition Parliament to carry into effect the resolutions passed in the previous Session of the House of Commons on the subject of colonial slavery.
2.—A fine ship called the Colville, built for the India trade, was launched from the shipyard of Mr. William Bottomley, at Lynn.
4.—Thirty-two half ankers of Geneva, sixteen casks of tobacco, and six casks of tea were discovered in a vault in a plantation belonging to Lord Suffield by the coastguard stationed at Mundesley.
7.*—“In Norfolk the number of miles of turnpike road is 271. The income per mile is £38; the expenditure per mile, £26; excess of income over expenditure, £12.”
—*“The following notice appeared in a Norwich paper about 60 years ago and affords a curious instance of the then stage coach celerity: ‘A wain will set off on Thursday from Norwich early in the morning and be in London on Saturday evening.’ Our coaches now perform the journey in 14 hours, and our fly waggons in 24 hours!”
19.—The eight bells of St. Margaret’s church, Lynn, hung by Messrs. T. and J. Hurry, of Norwich, were opened.
24.—To effect improvements in Willow Lane, Norwich, and to lay open to view the churchyard of St. Giles’, a lease was granted by the Corporation to Mr. Edward Browne, Messrs. Fountain and Cattermoul, Mr. William De Carle, and Mr. J. Wright, of certain premises in that lane, for a term of 99 years at the yearly rental of £42, they covenanting to lay out from £3,000 to £4,000 on the erection of suitable buildings under the direction of the Corporation Surveyor.
28.*—“Died, lately, in St. Giles’, Norwich, aged 78, Mr. Benjamin Guyton, who for many years followed what may justly be called the first of occupations—a gardener and horticulturist. His skill in the knowledge and properties of plants and vegetables could only be equalled by his ingenuity in delineating with his pencil the curious productions of nature, particularly those of the insect tribe. Some few specimens of his art, in the various species of papilio, are in the possession of some gentlemen in this city, who knew how to appreciate merit though found in an obscure individual moving in a humble sphere of life.”
—Died, “greatly and justly esteemed by all his old comrades and friends,” Capt. John Borrow, many years adjutant of the First or West Norfolk Regiment of Militia.
3.—At a meeting of manufacturers and others at the Guildhall, Norwich, under the presidency of Mr. John Harvey, resolutions were adopted expressing satisfaction with the proposal of the Government to reduce the duties on raw and thrown silks as well as on foreign wools; but they viewed with surprise and alarm the proposal to allow the free exportation of British wool, “as a consequence of supplying foreigners with the raw material must be to throw out of employment many thousands of the labouring poor.”
6.—Intelligence was received at Lynn of the death, which occurred on the 5th, of the Marquis of Titchfield, M.P. A writ for the election of a new member was moved for in the House of Commons on the 9th, and two candidates, Lord John C. Bentinck, eldest brother of the deceased marquis, and successor to the title, and Sir William Browne ffolkes, Bart., immediately issued addresses. The election took place on March 19th. “Sir William ffolkes, after leaving the hustings, was carried in a chair round the Market Place and down High Street, he addressed the crowd from the window of his committee-room, and threw amongst them a large quantity of silver coin, which was eagerly scrambled for.” The result of the polling was declared as follows: Marquis of Titchfield; 177; Sir William ffolkes, 89.
11.—A meeting of the manufacturers, merchants, and others interested in the silk trade was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, under the presidency of Mr. Alderman Roberts, to take into consideration the resolutions passed by the House of Commons relative to alterations in the silk duties. A resolution was moved to the effect that the meeting viewed with satisfaction the measures proposed for the extension of the silk manufactory, “but the object could not fully be attained by the proposed immediate remission of so great a proportion of the duties on raw and thrown silks.” It was advocated that endeavours be made to obtain compensation for the loss sustained upon stocks of manufactured goods, and a petition to Parliament embodying that view was adopted. On April 5th “an unusual scene was witnessed in Norwich, that being the last day on which manufacturers of the city warehoused their raw and foreign silk in order to obtain the drawback according to the late decision of Parliament. The number of pieces of bombazines and crapes bonded was about 40,000, which may be averaged at 7s. 6d. each, and the total amount of the drawback will be £30,000. Such of the goods as are for exportation are already returned to the owners, and an order is expected in a few days for the delivery of those intended for the home trade. By this arrangement, which was recommended to Government by a gentleman deputed from Norwich, little time will be lost, and the manufacturer will obtain the relief which, but for its adoption, would, under the late alteration of the law, have proved highly injurious to many of our fellow citizens.” On June 23rd a dinner was given at the Rampant Horse Inn by the merchants and manufacturers to Mr. John Harvey, Mr. E. T. Booth, and Mr. T. O. Springfield, “for the zeal and ability with which they promoted the interests of the trade, and for their successful exertions in obtaining the drawback.”
11.—Died at his house in Chapel Field, Norwich, in his 71st year, Mr. John Clayton Hindes, many years manager of the Norwich Theatre. “His loss is sincerely deplored by his relatives and friends and many others whose necessities have been relieved by his benevolent hand.”
—Died at Uxbridge, Mrs. F. E. Horne, widow of the Right Rev. George Horne, D.D., formerly Bishop of Norwich.
17.—The Norwich Penny Library “having after 12 months’ experience proved its worth,” it was resolved at a general meeting of subscribers, presided over by Mr. William Youngman, that it be placed on a permanent footing by public subscription. The library room was at Mr. Daines’s, St. Michael-at-Coslany.
2.—At a public meeting held at Lynn, the Mayor presiding, it was resolved that a gas company be formed. The shares were fixed at £20 each, and Mr. John James Coulton appointed secretary and agent.
3.—Died at the house of his son-in-law (Mr. H. Dowson, of Geldeston), aged 65, the Rev. Pendlebury Houghton. “He received his education at Warrington at the time Dr. Atkin was the classical teacher there, and after the completion of his studies continued there one year as assistant classical tutor. He first settled as minister at Dob Lane, near Manchester, whence he removed to Shrewsbury, and in 1787 was chosen a pastor, with Dr. Enfield, of the Unitarian congregation in Norwich. On the death of Dr. Enfield in 1797 he became sole minister. In 1808 he succeeded Mr. Jervis at Prince’s Street, Westminster, and in 1811 returned to Norwich. In 1812 his was invited to become joint pastor with Mr. Yates, of the congregation in Paradise Street, Liverpool, where he continued till 1823, when he retired from his ministerial labours.”
7.—At a meeting held at Norwich, it was agreed “that the Rosary burial-ground having been duly entered at the office of the Bishop of the Diocese, and therein designated a general burial-ground for the use of persons of all sects and denominations, shall be invested in trustees on behalf of those who may become the holders of shares, to be limited to 500.”
8.—A performance was given at Norwich Theatre by the Stagorians. “The stage exhibited the appearance of the interior of a Stagorian lodge, and presented a spectacle at once novel and striking. In accordance with the principles of the assembled brethren the ceremony opened with ‘God save the King,’ and closed with the last verse of that same loyal strain. The whole was conducted and well supported by Mr. Hudson, treasurer of the lodge No. 2, Independent, who sang a song in so good a style that the audience testified their approbation by loud and repeated cheerings.”
9.—Died, suddenly, in the Fleet Prison, the Rev. John Cross Morphew, rector of Cley and of Walpole St. Peter.
10.*—(Advt.) “Mr. Edward Painter informs his friends and the public that his horse, the celebrated Tam o’ Shanter, will be shown upon Norwich Hill this day, and every Saturday during the season, at 12 o’clock. His trotting and other paces the proprietor leaves for the public at large to be their own judges, as puffing is quite out of the question. N.B.—Tam o’ Shanter will be found at the White Hart, St. Peter’s, Norwich.”
—*“Miss Bathurst, daughter of the late Mr. Benjamin Bathurst, and granddaughter of the Lord Bishop of the Diocese, was riding in Rome on horseback, accompanied by Lord and Lady Aylmer and the Duc de Montmorency, when her horse slipped down the steep bank into the Tiber, and with its rider was washed away, and never seen again.” The body of Miss Bathurst was recovered on September 26th.
—The proprietors of the Expedition coach started new coaches, called the Magnet, which ran from the Swan Inn and Rampant Horse Inn, Norwich, each afternoon at four o’clock and arrived in London at seven in the morning. The return coach left the Golden Cross, Charing Cross, at six p.m., called at the White Horse, Fetter Lane, at 6.20, the Cross Keys, Wood Street, at 6.30, “cleared” from the Flower Pot and Bull Inns at seven o’clock, and arrived at Norwich at nine the next morning.
—The following malefactors were executed at Thetford: James Reeve for rape; Miles Wiseman for shooting at and wounding William Everett, gamekeeper, at Rackheath; and Robert Gibson for sheep stealing. “The body of Wiseman was buried at Hardingham churchyard, whence it was stolen by resurrection men, who had been observed lurking about the chief part of the previous day.”