The Church of Rome reigned supreme over all Europe for a thousand years, but in the 15th century, reason revolted against her authority. Lutheranism and Calvinism were the first forms of the revolt on the Continent, and they assumed the names of Presbyterianism and Puritanism in England and Scotland. Norwich, in common with Norfolk and Suffolk, eventually took up the cause of the Reformation with a zeal and vehemence which make them stand alone in the annals of history.
Norwich Nonconformists, in times of the fiercest persecution, held many prohibited meetings, which were sometimes discovered in different parts of the city. Norfolk, situated as it is in the eastern coast, was the refuge of many protestants, who fled from the Netherlands to escape from the severe persecutions of the infamous Duke of Alva. Even before this time, there were many in the county and city who objected to the new service book, or English liturgy, published by the authority of Edward VI.
The Reformation made much progress here in the reign of this young and pious king; but even then a disposition lingered to retain and enforce some of the Romanist rites and ceremonies. The excellent Bishop Hooper, who after all became a martyr, would probably have lost his life simply for refusing to wear the priestly vestments, through the rigour of Bishop Ridley (who himself afterwards suffered martyrdom) had he not at length consented to wear them at his consecration. The Baptists, the Unitarians, and all who went beyond the new state model were consigned to the flames.
Bishop Hooper was born in the year 1495, and was burnt in the reign of Queen Mary. The sixty years of his life formed the most important period of English history. When he was born, the Reformation had just begun; when he died it had struck such deep roots amongst the people, especially of Norwich and Norfolk, that neither force, nor persecution, nor argument could stop its progress. In Bishop Hooper’s time, and in his diocese of Gloucester, the ignorance of the clergy was amazing. Out of 311 of his clergy he found 168 unable to repeat the ten commandments; 31 out of the 168 could not tell in what part of the Bible the ten commandments were to be found; 40 could not tell where the Lord’s prayer was given, and 31 did not know who was the author of it. In Norfolk and Norwich the clergy were quite as ignorant of Scripture. They practised all kinds of impositions on the people who were debased by superstition, immorality, and vice. There was over all the land a darkness which might be felt. The people had no bibles nor testaments, and the prayers of the church were all in Latin, and of course the people could not understand them. There was scarcely any preaching at all, but instead thereof profane miracle plays were performed in the cathedral, and were paid for like any other dramatic performance.
In 1574, so notorious was the city for the nonconformity of many of the ministers, that when orders were given to Archbishop Parker “to punish the Puritan ministers, and put down the prophecyings, and readings, and commenting on the Scriptures, which had been introduced into the church,” the queen gave him private orders to begin with Norwich. Accordingly, in 1576, many of the Norwich ministers were suspended and treated so severely, that even the Norfolk justices presented a petition to Her Majesty, praying for lenity towards them.
Robert Brown, a clergyman of Norwich, originated the sect of the Brownists, afterwards called the Independents. He was at one time a zealous promoter of that system, but English societies existed before him, holding similar views. According to Sir Walter Raleigh, 20,000 persons at least held independent principles of ecclesiastical polity. Amongst these were many men of great learning and distinction, all of whom were commanded to quit the realm. Wherever found, they were imprisoned, with or without law, for life. Elias Thacker and John Copping suffered death at Bury St. Edmund’s. John Lewis was burnt at Norwich. Francis Kett, M.A., for holding “detestable opinions,” was also burnt alive in Norwich. William Dennys was a martyr in the same cause, at Thetford. Greenwood, Barrow, and Penry fell as martyrs of conscience. Johnson, Smith, Answorth, Canne, Robinson, and Jacob, only escaped by flight to Holland, and found liberty there to form several churches, and to compose an elaborate account of their doctrines and principles, a fact which testifies to their enlightened piety and superior learning.
In the reign of James I. no favour was shown to the Puritans, but on the contrary, severities were continued. The king amply fulfilled his threat to the Puritans at the Hampton Court conference;—“If this be all your party has to say, I will make them conform or harrie them out of the land, or else do worse.” By these proceedings the country was rendered almost destitute of preachers, and scandalous men undertook the care of souls in place of the zealous refugees. This King James published the “Book of Sports,” in vindication of the encouragement of various games on the sabbath day. Bishop Kennett styles it “A trap to catch tender consciences,” and a means of promoting the ease, wealth, and grandeur of the bishops. This book was, in the next reign, (Charles I.) republished by the bigotted Archbishop Laud; and it was ordered to be read in every church throughout the kingdom. The bishop of Norwich, then Bishop Wren, was very peremptory on this and other points. He is said to have driven upwards of 3000 persons to seek bread in a foreign land. The woollen trade of Norwich, which had been created by the Flemish refugees, was mostly in the hands of the Puritans, and the rigorous measures of this prelate nearly destroyed it by banishing them.
Mr. W. Bridge, M.A., was the lecturer of St. George Tombland, Norwich, up to the year 1637. He was a pious and learned man, who held other livings and performed his duties well. To him, on a certain day, came Bishop Wren’s order to read the “Book of Sports” on the next Sunday in church. He sat in dejection, with the odious volume before him, abhorring the profaneness of its contents and its daring contradiction of Scripture. He resolved not to read it. He took counsel of his brethren, and several of them together refused compliance, fled to Yarmouth, and thence with sad hearts embarked for Holland, where they spent many anxious years, hoping to be allowed to return. Laud informed King Charles I. that Bridge had left two livings and a lectureship and had fled to Holland; and the king wrote against his name this bitter sentence: “We are well rid of him.” It was an expression worthy of a bigoted and worldly mind. Thus it appears that the reformation was not the work of kings or bishops, or the great and learned. The history of those times is the history of persecuting power in opposition to the progress of the Gospel—an opposition the more dreadful inasmuch as it was carried on under the pretence of doing service to religion.
The Reformed Church of England acknowledged the right of private judgment in theory, but ignored it in practice. The Puritans, on the other hand, carried it out to its legitimate consequences; and Milton, their great champion, advocated absolute freedom of thought and speech as the birthright of every man. No doubt Puritanism ran into some excesses of bigotry and intolerance, but it was an intolerant age. Puritanism, however, preserved civil and religious liberty and the right of private judgment, and perpetuated that right to all sects and classes of the nation. Puritanism has been charged with the sin of schism, but the early reformers were forced into it by persecution for conscientious scruples respecting points of doctrine and discipline. William Bridge, Asty, Allen, Cromwell, and Fynch, all were thrown out of their livings by the Act of Uniformity, and became Nonconformist ministers in Norwich. Without any conference the question put to them was, “Will you upon oath conform?” The answer was, “We cannot.” Immediate expulsion followed. Where, then, was the sin of schism? Their sin would have been in conformity. They would have proved to the world that they were mere hirelings, like the “Vicar of Bray,” who changed his religion to please the reigning sovereign of the day. Bridge, returning with some others to his native county, founded the first Independent church at Yarmouth about 1642. A year later the church at Norwich was formed into a distinct body. They met at first in a brew-house in St. Edmund’s, afterwards in the refectory over the cloisters in the convent formerly belonging to the Black Friars.
We shall now briefly advert to the rise of the Nonconformist religious denominations in this city, and quote a passage from a discourse by the Rev. A. Reed, delivered at the Old Meeting House, Norwich, on February 27th, 1842, on the occasion of the second centenary. He said,—
“There is no doubt that in or about 1641 many refugees returned to their homes in Norwich, Yarmouth, and other places. Those who returned to the two former localities had been united together in fellowship with the church at Rotterdam. They earnestly desired that, as they had been companions in suffering, they might not cease to form one church. The difficulty was where to fix the joint society. Norwich offered liberty and opportunity. But the proximity of Yarmouth to the sea was desirable for safety. Early in 1642 they met, probably in Norwich, to discuss the point; and agreed to send to Rotterdam for leave to gather in fellowship here. The assent reached them in the autumn, authorizing them to form a church at Norwich or other place. On November 23rd, 1642, they met to form a church. Most of the members’ names, twelve in all, we find afterwards attached to the Norwich covenant. They did not settle the question of place at this meeting. The Yarmouth church book records a resolution to fix the church at Norwich for the present. They met again for this purpose, and the brethren at Norwich, out of an earnest desire to finish the work of incorporating a church, yielded that the church meetings (i.e. ordinances and meetings for admission of members) should be for the present at Yarmouth. The church was to settle with all convenient speed where most liberty and opportunity appeared, and wherever the increase of the church was greatest; but none of them were required to remove their habitations at present. Soon after this agreement, however, the Norwich brethren find these concessions too inconvenient; they beg that the church may be settled at Norwich, and that the Yarmouth people would remove to the city. At length they consent reluctantly to part company, and a separate church is formed at Norwich. But the materials for the society already existed, and owing to these facts, the early date of 1642 appears to me to belong as much to us as to our sister society at Yarmouth.”
The records of the congregational church at Beccles contain information of much historic value to all the congregational churches in Norwich, Norfolk, and Suffolk, and from those records the following particulars are derived. On June 10th, 1644, the Church at Norwich in the Old Meeting House was regularly formed. Mr. Oxenbridge, assistant pastor at Yarmouth, and several of the Yarmouth brethren were present, when the covenant was adopted and signed afresh. On July 26th, 1647, Mr. Timothy Armitage was unanimously chosen pastor. The members were 32 in number.
After the death of Mr. Armitage, in 1655, Mr. Thomas Allen, M.A., gave up the station he held of “Preacher to the City” in January, 1656, to become pastor of the Old Meeting. During his long ministry of 17 years, the cause continued to flourish, the congregation being large. He died September 21, 1673.
On October 9th, 1675, Mr. John Cromwell was ordained pastor, and Mr. Robert Asty an assistant pastor. Mr. Asty was an ejected minister of Suffolk, an author, and a useful, devout preacher. Still the church grew, and was the centre of much good to the city and county, for many congregations were established in Norfolk and Suffolk, at Wymondham, North Walsham, Guestwick, Tunstead, Stalham, Edgefield, and other places.
Then followed, about 1685, Mr. Martin Fynch, who was an ejected clergyman of Totney, in Lincolnshire. An elaborate inscription yet remains on his tombstone, to record his worth and usefulness. He was carried to his grave on the shoulders of his deacons, amidst great lamentations of the whole church and congregation. About two or three years before his death, a handsome and spacious brick edifice was erected, which is the present Old Meeting House. In 1688, the Revolution promoted the cause of religious liberty. Many distinguished residents in the city now joined the nonconformists, and the resources of the society were increased by endowments left for the benefit of the poor, and other purposes.
Mr. John Stackhouse succeeded Mr. Fynch in 1690, and continued pastor for 17 years. Towards the close of his pastorate, the church began to suffer from its altered circumstances. It had become far too worldly for its spiritual welfare. The bonds of unity, so long preserved by Christian charity, grew weak. The members divided in reference to the choice of a co-pastor, and the dispute ran so high, that the minister and most of the congregation were actually driven out of their place of worship, and were obliged to fit up a meeting house in the ruins of the Black Friars’ convent. Mr. Stackhouse died without witnessing a reconciliation between the mutually offended parties.
Mr. Thomas Scott left the pastorate of the church of Hitchin, in Herts, and settled in Norwich in 1709. The two parties were reconciled under his ministry, and he returned to the Old Meeting House about 1717, under very favorable auspices. His son, Mr. Nichol Scott, became his assistant, and a most unhappy difference on a point of doctrine once more kindled the flame of discord. The son was dismissed in 1737, and numbers of his hearers left with him. For a time he lectured in the French Church, but finding little encouragement, he became a doctor of physic, and practised in the city. The father’s mind was so shattered by the dispute, that he became almost unfit for ministerial work. He died in 1746.
Mr. Scott was, in his latter years, assisted by Mr. Abraham Tozer, who now succeeded to the charge at Norwich. Dr. Doddridge assisted at his ordination, and Mr. Samuel Wood was chosen co-pastor with Mr. Tozer. On the removal of the latter to Exeter, Mr. Wood, afterwards Dr. Wood, held the pastoral office for twenty years. The church enjoyed, under his care, a season of prosperity and peace, and the meeting house was densely crowded. He died, November 2nd, 1767, much lamented.
Mr. Samuel Newton, who had been assistant preacher, was ordained pastor February 16th, 1768, and continued in the office fifty-six years. He gave the second list of the whole number of members, which had increased to 108. He had five assistants in succession. Mr. Hull was the last assistant, and on the death of Mr. Newton, June 29th, 1809, succeeded him in the pastoral office. The number of members increased to 112 in 1811, and to 156 in 1820. Mr. Hull officiated fourteen years, and then resigned in consequence of a disagreement with the deacons. He became a church clergyman and perpetual curate of St. Gregory’s in this city.
The Rev. Stephen Morell removed from Exeter and was chosen pastor in June 17th, 1824, and he died in October of the same year. The church next invited the services of the Rev. J. B. Innes, of Weymouth, in 1825, and being chosen pastor, he continued in the office twelve years. He died in April, 1837. He was greatly beloved by his personal friends, and his character and talents were held in general esteem.
The vacant office was next filled by the Rev. J. H. Godwin, who was ordained to it on December 6th, 1837. After fulfilling the pastoral duties for two years, he became resident tutor of Highbury College. The Rev. A. Reed was then invited to fill the office, and became pastor over a church of 190 members. He continued till 1855, and then removed to a wider sphere of labour. The Rev. John Hallett was invited in the following year, and is now the esteemed minister of the church. Mr. Hallett, in a recent contribution to the pages of the Evangelical Magazine on the history of the Old Meeting House, says:—
“The Rev. A. Reed, B.A., now of St. Leonard’s, was Mr. Godwin’s successor till 1855. Under his superintendence, bicentenary services, commemorating the foundation of the church, were held, which, judging from published and oral reports, must have been of a stirring and deeply interesting character. Spacious school-rooms were erected, and large day-schools established. Many still live in our midst who gratefully attest the faithfulness and success of Mr. Reed’s pastorate.
“In April, 1856, the writer was, he believes, divinely led to occupy the vacant post. For obvious reasons, the history of the last twelve years must remain untold. It may, however, be stated that the present pastor, like his predecessor, has had the privilege of celebrating a bicentenary. For reasons before assigned, it will probably be conceded that nowhere was it more proper that a bicentenary commemoration of the ejectment of 1662 should be held than in this Old Meeting House, and that a more fitting way of commemorating it could not be devised than that of enfranchising the building in which some of them laboured, and the ‘yard’ in which they sleep. This was accordingly done. The premises, which were leasehold, and the lease of which was nearly expired, were purchased and repaired at a large outlay, and then put in trust for the denomination. ‘Thus, for nearly two centuries, has the Lord preserved to Himself a worshipping people in this place. Thousands have found this ancient sanctuary the very ‘House of God,’ and, literally, ‘the gate of Heaven,’ and are now enjoying the full glory they anticipated here. And,’ adds my predecessor, with a thankfulness and faith in which I fully share, ‘still the waters flow strong and deep, and the banks are green with promise, and through future ages the brook shall not be dried up, but with purer, wider, stronger, and more fertilizing current, shall form one of those millennial streams wherewith the whole earth shall be watered as a fruitful garden of the Lord.’”
Mr. Martin Hood Wilkin, in his life of Joseph Kinghorn, gives the following account of the origin of the Baptist denomination. A General (Arminian) Baptist Church was formed in Norwich in 1686 by the learned and zealous Thomas Grantham. They purchased a part of the White Friars’ Priory in St. James’s, on the site of which they built the Meeting House now known as the Priory Yard Chapel. From this Church several members separated at a very early period and formed the Particular (Calvinistic) Baptist Church, over which Mr. Kinghorn afterwards presided. Of its history he has left a somewhat elaborate sketch in the notes of the last sermon he preached in the Meeting House, in St. Mary’s, before it was taken down in 1811. He says,
“Of the origin of this Church I find no record. The first date in our old Church book is 1691. In 1693, we find an account of admonition given to a brother who had, ‘for several years past,’ withdrawn himself from the Communion of the Church. * * * I find a statement of the sentiments of the Church in that time, entitled, ‘The several articles of our faith, in which with one accord we agree.’ Of the state of the Church I can say but little. A list of 55 members follows, which appears to have been the number at that time. Of their minister I can say still less, except that the second and third articles in the book are drawn up with that precision which marks the junction of talent and education, especially at a time when few had any claim to the advantages of a classical education. One of these is signed ‘Edward Williams, pastor.’ * * * * At this time our ancestors met for the worship of God in the ‘Granary,’ in St. Michael’s Coslany. Their baptisms were performed in the river. At one period, a friend had premises convenient, and in the memory of some now alive, they were used for that purpose; but such is the effect of habit, that the prejudice in favour of a mode so primitive continued some time after better conveniences were obtained. From this period nothing of importance is to be discovered till 1745. Then the premises which stood on this spot were purchased and the Meeting (house) was erected, which was nearly two-thirds the size of the present building. When it was finished I do not find, but from a private record I am informed, that Mr. Lindoe, who for many years was an honourable and valued deacon, was the first person baptised in this house, and this was on March 15th, 1746. From this period, for some time, the Church seems to have worn a flourishing appearance on the whole. They had a minister, Mr. John Stearne, who was evidently a superior man. He died in July, 1755. Rev. George Simson, M.A., from Cambridge, accepted a call from Mr. Stearne’s Church, went to Norwich, in 1758, continued there two or three years, and then removed to Warwick, where he had formerly been pastor, and where, weighed down by age and infirmities, he died suddenly in 1763. After this period there was an evident decline for some years, though to what extent I am not able to say. Afterwards there was an appearance of prosperity. In 1766 I find a list of members again, amounting to 59, the largest number hitherto met with, but alas! after that period, there was much to be lamented. There was the evil conduct of some, and a spirit of division in others, which all tended to mischief. * * * * But we are now approaching a period within the remembrance of many of you, in which it will be useless to attempt to trace the history of events which you know. Suffice it then, to say that causes already mentioned brought the Church and congregation down to a very low ebb, when Mr. David, whose name I have heard so many of you repeat with esteem and affection, first came here. On his ordination, the list of members that appeared in the Church book, and which included all the members as they stood at that time, was only 31; and now events took a turn. The short period of his life was distinguished by its utility. The Meeting House became too small for the congregation, and in 1783, it was enlarged to its present size.”
Such is Mr. Kinghorn’s account (condensed) of the early Baptist Churches. After a visit to the North, he returned to Norwich in July, 1789, and then commenced the long career of his ministry at St. Mary’s Chapel, though the invitation to the pastoral office was not received till some months afterwards. He rigidly adhered to what is called “strict communion” in his Church, admitting only those who had been immersed to the Lord’s supper; and on this point he maintained a long controversy with Mr. Robert Hall, of Bristol, who advocated “free communion” with all believers in a Work published in 1815. The Rev. J. Kinghorn was much esteemed by his numerous friends, including Mrs. Opie, J. J. Gurney, Esq., Rev. J. Alexander, Bishop Bathurst, Mr. W. Wilkin, Mr. W. Taylor, and others, of Norwich, and many more men of learning all over the country. He took rank among the Nonconformists with Mr. R. Hall of Bristol, Mr. Foster, the author of Essays on Decision of Character, Mr. Innes, and Mr. James A. Haldane, of Edinburgh.
The following Tributary Lines are by Mrs. Opie, on hearing it said that J. Kinghorn “was fit to die.”
“Hail! words of truth, that Christian comfort give!
But then the ‘fit to die,’ how fit to live!
To live a bright example to mankind,
‘Feet to the lame and eyesight to the blind!’
To lift the lamp, the word of God, on high;
To point to Calvary’s mount the sinner’s eye;
To tread the path the first Apostles trod,
And earn that precious name, ‘a man of God.’
He lived whom Christian hearts deplore,
And hence the grief—he lives for us no more.
But faith exulting joins the general cry,
He, fit to live, was greatly fit to die!”
Mr. Kinghorn was succeeded by the Rev. W. Brock, who was the esteemed pastor for many years, and is now the minister of Bloomsbury Chapel, London. He was followed by the present minister, the Rev. G. Gould.
The Calvinistic Methodists in Norwich seem to have been originated by Mr. James Wheatley, who came to the city about 1750, and preached at first in the open-air, on Tombland and the Castle Hill. Great excitement was produced, and a temporary building was soon erected, and called the Tabernacle. The site has been changed, but the name is still retained. The present Tabernacle was built in 1784.
The Wesleyan Methodists first appeared in Norwich in 1754, when the Revs. John and Charles Wesley visited the city, and the Rev. J. Wesley preached here for some time, and on leaving, appointed Mr. T. Oliver in his room. One of his successors was the Rev. R. Robinson, afterwards at Cambridge, who also preached for some time at the Tabernacle; and another was Dr. Adam Clarke, the learned Commentator, who was appointed in 1783, but left in 1785. Their first chapel was built in 1769, in Cherry Lane.
Before we proceed to chronicle the leading local events of the 18th century, it may not be altogether unprofitable to review briefly the social state of the city during some 300 or 400 years preceding. In doing this we may now and then have to advert to matters to which we have alluded already; but at the risk even of an occasional repetition, it will be worth while—in order to help our readers to appreciate subsequent improvements at their proper worth—to consider a little more minutely than we have yet done, the physical circumstances under which the citizens have lived in former centuries, and the various influences to which they have been subject.
A “Chapter of Horrors” might be written, descriptive of the plagues, pestilences, famines, floods, and fires, which devastated the city and county for 300 years. It would seem as if the darkness and gloom of the physical world corresponded at times with the superstitions and vices of the people. The dark ages were ages of terrible calamities, and England was then a terrible country to live in. Plagues and pestilences now and again desolated the whole land, and Norfolk and Norwich did not escape the ravages of diseases emphatically named the “Black Death.” Exaggerated accounts must have been given of the desolations caused by these various scourges, or else both city and county must have more than once lost the great part of their inhabitants.
Blomefield is responsible for very dark pictures indeed; but his statements, right or wrong, have been endorsed by later compilers of local history. We are told, by one writer, for instance, that:—
“In 1348, the plague, which had lately ravaged the greatest part of the known world, broke out in this city; wherein there died, according to the most credible accounts, within the space of twelve months, upwards of 57,000 persons, besides religious and beggars; and this will not appear very surprising, when we consider that in some places not one-fifth part of the people were left alive, and that Norwich was more populous at that time than it has ever been since. It then contained sixty churches, besides conventual ones, within the walls; and the large parishes of Heigham and Pockthorpe, and the large chapel of St. Mary Magdalene without them.”
Such is the astounding statement in a local history printed by John Crouse, in 1768. Where he got his “credible accounts” he does not say, and he moreover gives the statement of the Domesday Book, that in 1086, the city contained only 1565 burgesses; so that the population must have increased in 250 years to a most fabulous extent, for 57,000 persons to have died of the plague in 1348. In 1377, a census was taken of some large towns, and Norwich was then found to contain 5300 people. But in truth the number, 57,000, very probably applied to the whole diocese, for the same local history states:—
“This severe visitation was not confined to the city alone, but cruelly extended itself all over the diocese; so that in many monasteries and religious houses, there were scarce two out of twenty left alive. From the register book it appears that in the course of the year there were 863 institutions. The clergy dying so fast, that they were obliged to induct into livings numbers of youths who had but just received the tonsure.”
The register in question was, no doubt, one of the whole diocese.
In 1361 there happened a great dearth, attended by the plague; this was called the second pestilence. And on January 15th, in the same year, there arose so furious a storm of wind from the south west, as to throw down the tower of the cathedral, which falling on the choir demolished a great part of it. The storm raged violently for six or seven days, and was succeeded by a prodigious fall of rain, which occasioned incredible damage by inundations. Where the inundations occurred is not stated in the local history, but if in the city the damage must have been great indeed.
In 1369, the plague broke out afresh and carried off great numbers of people very suddenly. Yet in 1371, the citizens were commanded to furnish the king with a good barge, sufficiently equipped for war to serve against his enemies, the French and Spaniards. This does not indicate that the city had been almost depopulated only a few years before. Indeed, during all this time the citizens had been doing their best by legal contests to hinder Yarmouth being made a staple town, though they did not succeed.
About 1390 a great mortality broke out in the city, occasioned by the people eating unwholesome food; and this not so much from a scarcity of corn as of money to purchase it. The plague raged greatly in Norfolk and in many other counties, and was nearly equal in severity to the first great pestilence. So states the local narrative which we have just quoted; and yet, according to the census of 1377, as already stated, the population was only 5300! What reliance then can be placed on such accounts? The calamities recorded were, no doubt, sufficiently awful without the aid of exaggeration.
In 1578, the plague again broke out, and continued to rage nearly two years; destroying 2335 natives and 2482 strangers. During the infection, it was ordered that every person coming from an infected house, should carry in his hand a small wand two feet in length; and that no such person should appear at any court or public place, or be present at any sermon; and that the inscription, “Lord have mercy on us,” should be placed over the door of every infected house, and there remain until the house had been clear of the infection for one month at least.
In 1583, the plague broke out once more, and 800 or 900 persons died of it, chiefly “strangers;” and in 1588, the same disease again raged in the city, but not very violently. Notwithstanding all these awful visitations, no proper sanitary measures appear to have been adopted.
In 1593, there happened so great a drought, that many cattle perished for want of water; but it is stated that in the year following it scarcely ceased raining, day or night, from June 21st to the end of July.
In 1602, the plague again raged with almost unprecedented fury, there dying thereof 30,578 in London, and 3076 in Norwich. This visitation, moreover, was attended with so great a scarcity, that wheat sold for ten, rye for six, and barley for five shillings a bushel—a very high price in those days; and the poor in the city must then have been in a dreadful state of destitution. Again, in the summer of 1609, the city was visited by its former scourge, though but few died of it. The mayor received a letter from the privy council to keep up the ancient strictness and severity of lent, as if the poor had not fasted long enough!
In 1625, we find that something like sanitary measures were begun. On July 12th of that year, the mayor received a commission authorising the body corporate to levy a tax on all the inhabitants, to be applied towards scouring the ditches, and the removal of all nuisances in and about the city, the better to prevent the spreading of the plague which had lately broken out in Yarmouth, having been occasioned by the arrival there of some infected persons. These precautions not having the desired effect, the Black Tower, then on Butter Hills, was fitted up for the reception of the afflicted poor. In September, about 40 died in a week, and the plague raged till May, 1626, when it began to abate. As many as 1431 persons died while the disease continued.
In 1646, the plague again made its appearance in Norwich, but its effects were not very fatal. In 1665, however, it broke out once more, and made dreadful ravages; carrying off 2251 persons. During its continuance, at the instance of the County Magistrates, the Market was held in the Town Close, and the City was not quite cleared of the disease till the end of 1667. The Bishop then ordered September 19th to be observed as a day of general thanksgiving to God for His great mercy in putting a stop to the pestilence. All quite right and proper, but had there been more cleansing as well as praying, the city might not have suffered so severely. The Corporation had utterly and entirely ignored its chief duty in regard to all sanitary rules and regulations. There was scarcely an apology for a system of drainage, and never a sufficient supply of water. The poor people were cooped up in narrow yards, courts, and streets, and, on account of high prices, could seldom obtain wholesome food. They had a terrible revenge in these direful plagues, which destroyed the rich in their fine houses, as well as the poor in their hovels.
Some idea of the social state of the city during this period may be formed from a few gleanings from the City Records, from which it will appear, that from the 14th till the 18th century, though the authorities neglected to improve the sanitary condition of the city, they took great care to protect the people from frauds of brewers, traders, and manufacturers, who were at least strongly suspected of being addicted to dishonest practices. Mr. R. Fitch, of this city, has published some interesting notices of “Brewers’ Marks and Trade Regulations.” These are of great historical interest, and we therefore make no apology to our readers for reproducing the following extracts:—
“Scarcely a trade was exempt from these regulations, some of which were attended with espionage so peculiar and strict as to lead us to wonder why public opinion, although in those days admittedly weak, was not so far aroused as, by its own voice, to free the community from some of the petty, if not the heavier restrictions.
“Brewers, we discover, had especial symbols of their own, which they registered when licensed to follow their occupations, and it was also found that these marks were borne by successive followers of the same trade, until the business of succeeding firms became extinguished by the death or retirement of the last of a long line of brewers, and then only did the particular symbol fall into disuse.
“From the year 1606 to 1725, no less than fifty separate marks have been found in the City of Norwich, some of them being borne as symbolical of a particular brew-house, by eight or nine persons, who followed each other in one and the same occupation. These marks were noted in a variety of documents, belonging to the Corporation, one preserved in their muniment room. They appeared, for instance, in a ‘Brewer’s book,’ or the book of the ‘Clarke of the Market,’ and in books recording the proceeding of city courts and assemblies. The following extracts taken from the ‘Brewers’ Book’ relate to the government of all brewers’ houses and tippling houses, fully bearing out the opinion previously expressed as regards the strictness of the laws by which such places were regulated.
“‘The enquirie for Brewers to ye Booke of ye Clarke of ye Market, and is taken out of his booke:—
“‘Items, to be enquired of Ale brewers; whether they brewe their ale of anie maner of fustie, dustie, or wealved maulte, mixed or mingled with any hoppes, roson, chalke, or any other noisome or unwholesome corn or liquor.
“‘And yt they make noe rawe ale or long roping ale, keeping their Ale fixed, yt is to say, twelve pence highning and twelve pence lowning in a quarter of maulte. For when ye mace buy a quart of maulte for two shillings, then ye may sell a gallon of ye best ale for an halfe penny; three shillings, three farthings; foure shillings, foure farthings; five shillings, five farthings; six shillings, six farthings; seven shillings, seven farthings; eight shillings, eight farthings; nine shillings, nine farthings; and so forth and no further.
“‘And to sell a quarte of the best ale for a halfe penny, with measures true sized, and sealed according to the King’s standard, and doing the contrarie to be punished.
“Thus it appears that brewing was a very ancient business in this city in the 16th century, and the best ale was sold for a half penny per quart before the iniquitous malt-tax was imposed.
“The following are extracts from the statutes, &c.
“‘Statute 23, Henry 8. That no Brewer shall hence forth occupie ye misterie or craft of coupers, no make any barrells, &c., wherein they shall put their beer or ale. Penalty 3d. 4d. for every vessell.
“‘Every vessell to be made of seasonable wood, and marked with ye coupers’ mark, ye contents of every vessell for Beer, as above said or more.
“‘Coupers not to inhance ye prices of vessells, but keepe this rate, on forfeit of 3d. 4d. for every vessell, defective or enhanced, viz. Barrell for beer, ixd.; Kynderkyn, vd.; Ferkyn, iijd.; Ale Barrell, xvjd.; Kynderkyn, ixd.; Ferkyn, vd. Brewers not to put Beer or Ale to sale but in Barrells, &c., conteyning as above said. And to sell at such prices as affixed by ye Justices of ye Peace of ye County, or Maior, Sheriff, or other head officers of City, Borough, and Town Corporate, under forfeiture as above, under Beere brewers out of Clarke of Markets book, half to ye king, and half to him who will sue.’”
“No doubt other traders, as well as brewers and keepers of tippling houses, were regulated by corresponding laws. Indeed this appears from the records and orders in the books of the corporate assembly. In the 8th year of Edward IV., the mayor issued an order in the name of the king, that brewers were not to sell yeast, but to give it away to whoever wanted it, as it had been freely given away time out of mind. By the 4th and 5th of Philip and Mary, it was enacted that:—”
“No bere bruer to brewe nor sell to any typpler, or other person, any bere called doble doble bere, but only two sorts of bere, viz., best bere and small bere, upon forfeit of ye beer and cask.”
“According to the Brewers’ Assembly book, 30th July, 1657, the brewers agreed, by reason of 2/6 excise per barrel, that they would not sell any strong beer to any ale-house keeper, under 12/- per barrel of beer, and excise. It was also agreed in August, 1657, that ale-house keepers might sell one wine quart of strong beer for a penny. There were three sorts of beer of different prices, viz., 4/-, 6/-, and 10/- per barrel, beside excise. The brewers of beer petitioned strongly against the tax of 2/6 per barrel, as a great hardship and injustice. The names of 40 brewers are recorded in this city, from 1600 to 1725.”
“Brewers’ marks are entered as early as 1606, and as late as 1725. The mark, No. 1, John Boyce, was first borne by Henry Woodes, in 1606, and after him by five successive brewers, ending with this John Boyce, in 1725. As yet, the regulations relating to trade marks generally are very imperfectly known, leaving a wide field of research to those who desire further information. The same marks passed from one brewer to his successors, and they were held in all their integrity, till within a century and a half of our own time. It would be an important contribution to local history, if all the rules relating to trade could be collected and elucidated.”
The Reformation had now become an established fact in the Churches of England and Scotland; the glorious Revolution of 1688 had been accomplished; the civil wars were over, and the country enjoyed a long period of repose. Local events had, it is true, become of less importance, because less connected with general history; but the narrative will not be the less interesting to local readers. Walls and gates still surrounded the old city, and confined it within narrow limits. All the principal streets within the walls were now built. The population had increased to 28,000, the working classes being chiefly employed in textile manufactures, which were in great demand all over Europe. The operatives were well employed and well paid during the greater part of this century. It was, in short, a flourishing period in the history of Norwich, as regards its manufactures and its trade.
Queen Anne was proclaimed here on March 12th, 1701, and was crowned on April 3rd, 1702, with extraordinary exhibitions of joy. In this year, too, the art of printing, which had been for some time discontinued here, was revived, and Francis Burgess soon afterwards opened a printing office near the Red Well. In 1701, the first newspaper, called the Norwich Gazette, was published by Henry Cosgrove, he being assisted in the undertaking by the celebrated Edward Cave, the original planner and founder of the Gentleman’s Magazine, which was first published in 1731. The Gazette was subsequently enlarged, and called the Norfolk Chronicle and Norwich Gazette, published by Messrs. Stevenson and Matchett. The former gentleman was a learned antiquarian, and published “The Antiquities of Ely.”
In 1705, the Weavers’ Hall was broken open, and the books were destroyed, since which time the custom of sealing stuffs has been disused. What was the cause of the tumult does not appear.
In 1706, a great part of the city was laid under water by two violent floods, both of which happened in the month of November.
In 1711, the first act was passed for erecting workhouses, &c., in this city; by which it was provided—
“That from and after the first day of May, 1712, there shall be a corporation to continue for ever, within the said city of Norwich and county of the same, and liberties thereof, consisting of mayor, recorder, and steward, justices of the peace, sheriffs, and aldermen of the said city for the time being, and of thirty-two other persons of the most honest, discreet, and charitable inhabitants of the said city and county, in the four great wards of the said city, and the towns, and out parishes in the county of the said city, in such manner as is hereinafter expressed, and the said thirty-two persons shall be elected on the third day of May next ensuing, or within three days after, at an assembly of the said city, for that purpose to be held, by the votes of the mayor, sheriffs, citizens, and commonalty, in common council assembled, or of the major part of them present.”
Then follow the provisions of the act by which all the parishes in the city were incorporated for the relief of the poor. The Court of Guardians was constituted, and empowered to assess to the poor rates all lands, houses, tenements, tithes, stock, and personal estates. The assessment of stock and personal estate, as may be easily imagined, caused great dissatisfaction amongst the rate-payers possessed of property, and was abolished in 1827, when a new act was obtained which considerably altered the constitution of the court. This act was further amended by another passed in 1831, and that was superseded in 1863, by the act at this time in force.
In 1712, the steeple of the new Hall, now St. Andrew’s Hall, fell down and was never rebuilt.
In 1713, the Duke of Ormond was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk and Norwich, in the room of Lord Townshend.
George I. was proclaimed here on the 3rd of August, 1714, two days after Queen Anne died.
In 1714 a Bethel was built for the reception of poor lunatics by Mrs. Mary Chapman—one of the first charitable foundations in this country for those unhappy persons. In 1717 she endowed the same by her will, in which is the following pious clause:—
She was the widow of the Rev. Mr. Chapman, minister of St. Lawrence.
In 1715, in consequence of the rebellion in the north, an artillery company of 100 men was first raised in Norwich. William Hall, Esq., was their captain.
On January 8th of the same year, Sir Peter Seaman, an Alderman, died and left provision for binding out two poor city boys yearly. On December 17th of the same year, Thomas Hall, Esq., merchant, died. He founded a monthly sacramental lecture; bequeathed several legacies to charities, and left £100 for a gold chain to be worn by the Mayor of Norwich, and which is the same as is now worn by the deputy mayor. It weighs 23 ozs. 6 dwts. Mr. Hall was interred with great funeral pomp at St. George’s Colegate. His portrait was presented by John and Edward Taylor, Esqs., to the corporation, and was placed in the common council chamber, May, 1821.
An act was passed in 1722 for the better qualifying of the manufacturers of stuffs and yarns to act as magistrates, and for regulating the elections of such officers.
About this time another act was passed for clearing, deepening, extending, maintaining, and improving the haven and piers of Great Yarmouth, and for deepening the rivers flowing into the harbour; and also for preserving ships wintering in the haven from accidents by fire. For these purposes certain duties were to be paid for 21 years after Lady day, 1723, on all goods unladen in the haven of Yarmouth, or in the sea called Yarmouth roads. This act was very important to the navigation between Yarmouth and Norwich.
In 1724 the Sheriff’s Office was rebuilt, and the statue of Justice placed on the Guildhall. Alderman Norman died the same year, and left an estate in Norwich for charitable purposes.
About this time the society of “Free and Accepted Masons” appeared publicly in this city. Mr. Prideaux, son of the Rev. Dr. Prideaux, Dean of Norwich, author of “The Connection between the Old and New Testaments,” was the first Master here. Their lodge was at the Maid’s Head Inn. B. Bond Cabbell, Esq., has within the last few years bought the old Assembly Rooms in Theatre Street for the Order.
On September 28th, 1725, a petition was presented to the mayor and corporation, signed by the principal traders in Norwich, requesting the use of the New Hall in St. Andrew’s for an Exchange, which was immediately granted. On October 4th of the same year, the court, attended by nearly 200 gentlemen and principal tradesmen, came to the New Hall in St. Andrew’s, which was then opened and solemnly proclaimed to be an exchange, on which occasion the Recorder (Stephen Gardiner, Esq.) delivered the following address:—
“Gentlemen,—This place is now opened with an intent to promote traffic and commerce. Here, formerly, God was worshipped, though in a corrupt manner; and may the consideration of the sacred use this building has been put to so far influence all that shall resort hither, that nothing in the course of business may be here transacted but with great justice and honesty. I wish success to this undertaking, and the prosperity of the city in every respect.”
The hall continued open as an exchange only one year, and it was open every day in the week except Saturdays and Sundays, which proves that a considerable mercantile trade must have been carried on in the city at that time. Soon afterwards was begun the impolitic system of local taxation in trade, which has almost ruined Lynn and Yarmouth, and which greatly retarded the prosperity of Norwich. In 1725 the corporation obtained an act, which came into operation on May 1st, 1726, for levying tolls upon all goods or merchandise brought up the river higher than Thorpe Hall. The dues were to be applied towards rebuilding the walls and bridges, &c., but this was done to a very small extent.
On February 24th, 1726, in consequence of the proceedings of the Pretender, Charles Stuart, who endeavoured to secure the crown of England, a loyal address of the corporation was presented to King George I. by the city members. That monarch died at the palace of the Bishop of Osnaburgh, on his way to Hanover, on June 11th, 1727.
George II. and his Queen Caroline were crowned on October 11th, 1727, and there was a grand illumination and bonfire here in honour of the event.
In 1729 an act was passed for the better regulating the city elections, and for preserving the peace, good order, and government of the city; and at an assembly on the Guild eve, the mayor and aldermen of Norwich first sat in the council chamber, and the common council in their own room; for by that act a majority of each body was required to a corporate order, whilst, before it passed, the two bodies sat, debated, and voted together. In 1730, under this act, three nominees for each of the four great wards were first elected, who returned the remaining number of common councilmen, sixty in the whole.
In 1730, the Norwich Mercury was first issued by William Chase. It was afterwards published for many years by the late Mr. Richard Mackenzie Bacon and Mr. Kinnebrook. Mr. R. M. Bacon was the editor, and one of the most talented men who ever appeared in this city as a political writer and critic. He was the author of “The Elements of Vocal Science,” and other works.
At the quarterly assembly held in 1730, on St. Matthias’ day, 161 freemen were admitted and sworn, and afterwards it was reported by the committee, appointed for that purpose, that they had treated with St. George’s Company, who had agreed to resign their books, charters, and records, into the hands of the corporation, which was done accordingly, and the power of the company ceased. In consequence of this, the form of a procession was arranged for the Guild day instead of that formerly exhibited, by the St. George’s Company. It was further ordered that, for the future, every mayor shall be excused making a Guild breakfast, or holding any mayor’s feasts in May or August, as heretofore, and that, in lieu thereof, the new mayor shall make a feast, on the day on which he is sworn, at the New Hall, and there entertain the recorder, steward, sheriffs, justices, aldermen, and their ladles, and the common councilmen; and every mayor who makes such a feast shall be entitled to the sum of £100, to be paid by the chamberlain immediately after the said feast.
In 1732, Sherers’ Cross, commonly called Charing Cross, a neat ancient stone pillar, was taken down. The cross was so called from the sheermen or cloth cutters, who principally dwelt in this part of the city. The corner house, in the reign of Edward II., belonged to Christopher Shere-hill, or at Sherers’ hill. In the same year the old Market Cross was demolished, being sadly out of repair.
In 1733, July 11th, the Rt. Hon. Sir Robert Walpole, of Houghton in Norfolk, was, in person, sworn a freeman of the corporation, and presented by the mayor with a copy of his freedom in a gold box.
In 1734, Sir Robert Walpole presented the city with a gilt mace, beautifully enchased, weighing 168 ounces. On the cup part are the arms of Sir Robert and of the city. A new damask gown was also bought by the corporation, to be worn by the Speaker on all public occasions.
On October 30th, 1739, being the king’s birthday, war was proclaimed here against Spain. The mayor and aldermen attended on horseback in their scarlet gowns, with the two sheriffs, who appeared for the first time in the gold chains given by Thomas Emerson, Esq., of London, a native of this city, to be worn by the sheriffs of Norwich for the time being. A portrait of him was placed in St. Andrew’s Hall at the expense of the corporation, and the honorary freedom of the city was afterwards presented to him.
In 1740, the cathedral was cleaned and repaired. It was again repaired and beautified in 1763, in Bishop Younge’s time; and in 1777 and 1780, two painted windows, representing the Transfiguration and the twelve Apostles (finely executed by the Lady of the late Dean Lloyd), were placed in the east end of the choir. Subsequently, these windows were removed to another part of the cathedral.
In 1741, April 4th, it was ordered by the corporation of Norwich, that no stranger should exercise any trade in the city more than six months without taking up his freedom.
In 1744, May 3rd, war was proclaimed here against France, by the mayor and corporation, on horseback.
In September, 1745, the magistrates and principal inhabitants associated in support of the government and in defence of the liberties of the land, in consequence of the rebellion in Scotland. An artillery company, of about 100 men, was raised in Norwich, and Lord Hobart appointed commander.
In 1746, October 9th, there was a general thanksgiving on the suppression of the Rebellion in Scotland. A magnificent arch was erected in Norwich Market Place, which, with the whole city, was illuminated.
In 1747, an act was passed for holding the county summer assizes and sessions in the city, till a new Shirehall could be built.
On February 7th, 1748, peace with France and Spain was proclaimed here, the mayor and corporation attending on horseback, preceded by a party of dragoons and the artillery company.
On October 22nd, 1751, a fire broke out, which destroyed the bridewell and several adjoining houses. That extraordinary man, “Peter, the Wild Youth,” was confined there at the time. When a child, he was lost in a wood in Germany, and was found, at the age of 12, naked and wild. This bridewell house was built about the year 1370, by Bartholomew Appleyard, whose son William was, in 1403, the first Mayor of Norwich. There are some fine arched vaults under the premises, and the wall next St. Andrew’s church, built with flint, is well worthy the observation of the curious.
An act was passed this year (1751) to open the Port of Yarmouth for the importation of wool and woollen yarn from Ireland, which was very beneficial to the city.
The number of houses and inhabitants, in the city precincts and hamlets, in 1752, was as follows:—7139 houses, 36,169 souls, being an increase of 7288 inhabitants since 1693, when the population was only 28,881.
In 1755, a table was drawn up settling the habits to be worn by the mayor and corporation at public meetings.
A slight shock of an earthquake was felt here on January 10th, 1756. On May 3rd of the same year, the freedom of the city was voted to the Right Hon. Wm. Pitt, and Henry B. Legge (the former being late secretary of state, and the latter, chancellor of the exchequer), for their conduct during their honourable but short administration. The freedom of the city, and thanks of the corporation, were also voted to Matthew Goss, Esq., for his present of the gold chain which has ever since been worn by the mayors. A public subscription was made for the poor, in consequence of the high price of wheat, and scarcity of work, and 12,000 persons in Norwich were supplied with household bread at half-price for some time.
On July 12th, 1756, the Earl of Orford put the act for the better regulating the Militia in execution. This act fixed the number of men to be raised for Norfolk and Norwich at 960, of which the city furnished 151.
On June 21st, 1759, there was a most violent storm here, some of the hailstones being two inches long, and weighing three-quarters of an ounce. On July 4th and 5th, the Norfolk Militia, commanded by Lord Orford, marched from Norwich to Portsmouth, and passed in review before His Majesty George II., at Kensington.
In digging under the rampart of the Castle Hill in 1760, two very curious bones were discovered, supposed by some to be amulets, which the Druids wore at their sacrifices.
In 1760, King George II. died at Kensington, on October 25th, and his grandson, George III. was proclaimed king, in Norwich, on the 29th, by the mayor and corporation, preceded by the four Norwich companies of militia, with flags, banners, and music. On September 22nd, 1761, the coronation of their Majesties was celebrated with great splendour in Norfolk, and in Norwich there was a general illumination, and a grand display of fireworks from a triumphal arch erected in the Market Place.
On October 27th, 1762, there was a sudden flood in the city, which laid near 300 houses and 8 parish churches under water. It rose 12 feet perpendicular in 24 hours, being 15 inches higher than St. Faith’s flood in 1696.
In 1763, January 3rd, John Spurrell, Esq., died, leaving £1355 to the corporation, the interest to be applied for the benefit of the poor in the Great Hospital, and for other charitable purposes. The Earl of Buckinghamshire, alderman Thomas Harvey, and Mr. Robert Page, gave £100 each to Doughty’s Hospital.
In the same year Sir Armine Wodehouse, Bart., gave a valuable volume to the corporation containing some old statutes, in which the prescriptive right of the corporation to its present legal name is supported. It had been the property of the Wodehouse family for 200 years. A vote of thanks was passed to Sir Armine Wodehouse for his present. He was a member of parliament for Norfolk from 1736 to 1768 (32 years), and died in 1777. His death was occasioned by a herring-bone sticking in his throat.
On January 7th, 1769, the church belonging to the Dutch congregation was opened for the poor of the workhouses. The poor continued to attend till the New Workhouse was built in Heigham, after which they attended divine service in the chapel there.
On November 19th, 1770, there was a great flood in Norwich, four inches higher than that of 1762. The sufferers were relieved, by a subscription, with money, coals, and bread. On December 19th, of the same year, there was a violent storm of wind and rain, such as had not been remembered since 1741. Happisburgh, Postwick, and Strumpshaw windmills were blown down, and much damage was done in the city and county; many ships with their crews were lost on the Norfolk coast. In the same year the following turnpike roads were made and opened, from St. Stephen’s Gates to Trowse, from St. Stephen’s Gates to Watton, from St. Benedict’s Gates to Swaffham, from Bishop Bridge to Caister near Yarmouth, and from Norwich to Dereham, Swaffham, and Mattishall.
On March 1st, 1771, the names of the streets and highways in the city were ordered to be fixed up for the first time; but this order appears to have been very imperfectly carried out. In the same year the foundation stone of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital was laid by Wm. Fellowes, Esq., who was a great promoter of that benevolent institution. It was erected by a public subscription in the city and county; and it was opened on July 11th, 1772, for out-patients; and on November 7th, in that year, for in-patients. It has been of great benefit to the poor, who have always been attended by the principal physicians and surgeons in the city.
In 1774, St. Andrew’s Hall underwent a complete alteration. The old gateway and wall next Bridge Street were taken down, part of the green yard was taken in, and the old city library room was rebuilt over the gateway, thus defacing all that part of the hall. At the last restoration the old city library room was pulled down, and a new porch was erected, with many other improvements.
In 1779, the new year was ushered in with a most terrible storm of wind and rain, accompanied with thunder and lightning. The lead on St. Andrew’s Church was rolled up, and great damage was done in several parts of the city. In October of this year, the navigation from Coltishall to Aylsham was completed for boats of thirteen tons burthen, at a cost of £6000. About this time smuggling was carried to a great height, even in broad day.
On January 20th, 1780, at a numerous meeting of citizens and county gentlemen, a petition was agreed to and signed, praying the house of commons to guard against all unnecessary expenditure, to abolish sinecure places and pensions, and to resist the increasing influence of the crown. A strong protest was afterwards signed against the proceedings of this meeting. Mr. Coke presented the petition. Armed associations were formed against the government at Yarmouth, Lynn, Holt, and other places.
On March 24th, 1783, manufactures of textile fabrics in the city being very prosperous, the pageant of the Golden Fleece, or what is called Bishop Blaize, was exhibited by the wool combers, in a style far surpassing all former processions of the kind in Norwich. The procession began to move at 10 a.m. from St. Martin’s at Oak, and thence passed through the principal streets of the city. On December 3rd, of the same year, the Black Friars’ Bridge was opened.
In January, 1784, the Amicable Society of Attorneys, in Norwich, was instituted. On May 1st, at an assembly of the corporation, the freedom of the city was voted to be presented to Mr. S. Harvey, Mr. Windham, and Mr. Pitt. On December 13th, the Norwich Public Library was first opened and located in the old library room, formerly over the entrance to St. Andrew’s Hall.
On March 25th, 1785, mail coaches, between Norwich and London, were established, performing a journey of 108 miles in fifteen hours, by which alteration in the post, letters arrived from London a day sooner. This was considered a great improvement. Subsequently, half a dozen stage coaches ran between Norwich and London daily. In July, after various ascents by several persons, Major (afterwards General) Money, at 4.25 p.m., ascended with a balloon from Quantrell’s gardens, and at 6 p.m. the car touched the surface of the sea. During five hours the major remained in this perilous situation, and at 11.30 p.m. was taken up by the Argus revenue cutter, eighteen miles off Southwold, bearing west by north, and he landed at Lowestoft on the following morning. On October 18th, of the same year, the “Friars’ Society for the Participation of Useful Knowledge” was instituted. This society first suggested the scheme of the association for the relief of decayed tradesmen, their widows, and orphans. With them also originated the Soup Charity in this city, and it was long supported and conducted by them, but of late years it has been a separate charity.
On April 26th, 1786, the Norwich and Norfolk Benevolent Medical Society was instituted. In May, an exact account of the inhabitants of Norwich was taken from house to house, and the population was ascertained to be 40,051 souls, exclusive of those living in the precincts of the Cathedral, being an increase of nearly 4000 since 1752. This entirely contradicts the statement of Mr. Arthur Young, in his Tour of England, published in 1770, to the effect that 72,000 persons were then employed in manufactures in this city.
On November 5th, 1788, the centenary of the glorious Revolution of 1688 was celebrated in this city and county by illuminations, bonfires, public dinners, &c., but more particularly at Holkham, where Mr. Coke, the late Earl of Leicester, gave a grand fête, ball, and supper, and a display of fireworks, &c. The citizens appear to have been more sensible then than they are now of the immense benefits they derived from that great change in the British constitution and government.
Next year (1789) a revolution broke out in France and astounded all Europe. It caused a mighty commotion and a general war, which lasted many years, and destroyed millions of men. Norwich, like every other city in England, was affected by it, and lost nearly all its foreign trade during the terrible conflict. On July 14th, the Revolution was commemorated by republicans at the Maid’s Head Inn, in this city. Among the toasts of the day after a dinner were “The Revolutionary Societies in England,” “The Rights of Man,” and “The Philosophers of France.” The Revolution, however, had not advanced very far in its atrocities when most people regarded it in a very different light, and associations were formed here against “Levellers” and “Revolutionists.”
On December 5th, 1792, the mayor, sheriffs, and seventeen aldermen of Norwich, pledged themselves to support the constitution of Kings, Lords, and Commons, as established in 1688. Meetings of the inhabitants were also held in this city, and in Yarmouth, Lynn, &c., and declarations of loyalty and attachment to the constitution were unanimously agreed to and signed; for men had begun to be alarmed by the “Reign of Terror” in France.
In 1793 a petition for parliamentary reform, signed by 3741 inhabitants of Norwich, was presented to the House of Commons by the Hon. H. Hobart, but was not received, it having been printed previous to presentation. This indicated a great advance in liberal opinions towards the end of the last century, chiefly amongst the Nonconformists, who had greatly increased in numbers, whilst the church was asleep. The vast expenditure in the long war against France caused a great increase in taxation.
On April 12th, 1794, a great county meeting was held at the Shirehall, to consider the exertions which should be made at that crisis for the internal defence and security of the kingdom. The High Sheriff, T. R. Dashwood, Esq., presided. The Honble. C. Townshend moved resolutions, supported by the Marquis Townshend, Lord Walsingham, Mr. Buxton, Mr. Windham, and Mr. Joddrell, for forming volunteer corps of cavalry, and for entering into subscriptions to maintain the same. Mr. Coke condemned the war in toto, and insisted that it might have been avoided, or at the least brought to a conclusion, by a negociation for peace, and he moved as an amendment:
“That it is our duty to refuse any private subscriptions for public purposes and unconstitutional benevolences.”
So much altercation and confusion ensued, that when the High Sheriff put the question, it was impossible to tell which party had the majority; and a division being deemed impracticable, the chairman proposed that such gentlemen as chose to subscribe would retire with him to the Grand Jury Room, which was agreed to. Nearly £6,000 was subscribed, and the amount was afterwards increased to £11,000!
On October 21st, 1795, a memorial was transmitted from the court of mayoralty of Norwich to the representatives of the city on the high prices of every necessary of life, requesting them to support such measures as might have a tendency to reduce them, and to facilitate the restoration of peace. Prices of corn and provisions had risen to an alarming height; wheat to 100s., barley to 30s., and oats to 30s. per quarter, and symptoms of rioting had in consequence appeared in Norwich market.
At a county meeting held on July 20th, 1796, in the Angel Inn (now the Royal Hotel) it was resolved to petition parliament for the removal of the Lent assizes from Thetford to Norwich, and a petition was presented accordingly. The bill brought for this object into the House of Commons was strongly opposed, and finally rejected; but afterwards the assizes were removed to the city, and have been held there ever since. This year the sum of £24,000 was collected for the maintenance of the poor in Norwich, while the population was under 40,000, or half the present number.
In 1797, February 14th, the Norwich Light Horse Volunteers were organized, of which John Harvey, Esq., was afterwards appointed captain and major. On February 22nd, the Norwich Loyal Military Association was formed, of which John Patteson, Esq., was appointed captain, and afterwards major; and R. J. Browne, C. Harvey, and A. Sieley, Esqs., were appointed captains. Military matters then occupied a great deal of the attention of the citizens.
On March 4th, intelligence was received here of the defeat of the Spanish fleet by Admiral Jervis, and served in some measure to dissipate the general gloom which at this time pervaded the public mind.
On April 25th, a great county meeting was held in the open air on the Castle Hill, and a petition was almost unanimously adopted, praying His Majesty to dismiss his ministers, as the most effectual means of reviving the national credit and restoring peace. This was moved by Mr. Fellowes, seconded by Mr. Rolfe, supported by Lord Albemarle, Mr. Coke, Mr. Mingay, Mr. Plumptre, Mr. Trafford, and others. On April 28th a counter county meeting was held, and an address to the king was adopted, expressing confidence in the ministry of the day.
On May 16th the citizens followed suit. At a numerously attended common hall a petition to His Majesty, praying him to dismiss his administration, was carried unanimously, with the exception of one spirited Tory, who had nearly fallen a victim to popular vengeance on the spot. A counter address of the citizens was afterwards signed and presented to the King, who must have been a good deal bothered at the time by such evidences of the violent agitation of his subjects.
On May 26th, attempts were made here to seduce the military from their allegiance; and on the following day the republican orator, Thelwall, arrived in this city, which caused a great commotion. On the 29th, a party of the Inniskilling Dragoons proceeded to his lecture room, opposite Gurney’s bank, drove out the persons assembled, destroyed the tribune and benches, and then attacked the Shakespear Tavern adjoining, in which a disturbance had taken place. After destroying the furniture and partly demolishing the house, and also breaking the windows and destroying the furniture of the Rose Tavern, in which they supposed the lecturer had concealed himself, the dragoons, on the appearance of their officers and the magistrates, retired to their barracks. Thelwall, in this affray, fortunately for him, escaped and fled to London. Davey, the landlord of the Shakespear Tavern, on being pursued by the soldiers, threw himself from the garret into the street, and was much injured. At the subsequent assizes, Luke Rice, a tailor of this city, was indicted capitally for aiding and abetting the soldiers in this outrage; but as the offence charged in the indictment did not come within the meaning of the statute, he was acquitted. He had, however, a very narrow escape. On June 1st of the same year, (1797) a mutiny broke out on board the fleet at Yarmouth, and several sail of the line hoisted the red flag of defiance.