Norfolk Annals
Chapter 179 : 19.*-"Died, a few days ago, in a modest dwelling in Yarmouth, Charles Crawshay Wi

19.*-"Died, a few days ago, in a modest dwelling in Yarmouth, Charles Crawshay Wilkinson, the inventor of perforated sheet stamps. The Government offered a very handsome reward for a contrivance by which postage and other stamps might be most easily separated. Mr. Wilkinson, then only a working-man, in the service of a distinguished firm, exercised the considerable technical knowledge and natural cleverness he possessed, and constructed a perforating machine similar to those now in use. This success was made known to his employers, who presented him with a sum for the invention, but obtained the credit for it, and also the large reward offered. The inventor gained a competency by his industry, went to Yarmouth, and lived happily in retirement. With the exception of intimate friends, very few knew him as the real originator of a device which had benefited countless millions of people."

APRIL.

2.*-"Mr. Edward Ebenezer Kay, Q.C., of Thorpe Abbots, near Scole, has accepted the Judges.h.i.+p vacant by the retirement of Vice-Chancellor Sir Richard Malins. He does not become Vice-chancellor, but simply one of the Judges of the High Court of Justice."

18.-The National Fisheries Exhibition was opened at the Drill Hall, Norwich, by the Prince of Wales. His Royal Highness, who was accompanied by the Princess of Wales, Prince Leopold, the Lord President of the Privy Council and the Countess Spencer, Sir W. Vernon Harcourt and Lady Harcourt, his Excellency Count Dannesekjold-Samsoe, Count Frijs-Frijsonborg, Lord and Lady Charles Beresford, Mr. Mundella, M.P., and Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen, arrived from Wolferton at Thorpe station at 12.20, and was received by the Mayor (Mr. S. Grimmer), the Sheriff (Dr.

Eade), and the Deputy-Mayor (Mr. Harry Bullard). The Artillery Volunteers supplied a guard of honour in the station yard, and the Royal visitors were escorted by a detachment of the 3rd Hussars. At the Drill Hall, where the Rifle Volunteers mounted a guard of honour, their Royal Highnesses were received by the President of the exhibition (Mr. Edward Birkbeck, M.P.) and other officials. The President presented an address to the Prince of Wales, who replied, and declared the exhibition open.

The Mayor afterwards entertained their Royal Highnesses and a distinguished company to a _dejeuner_ at St. Andrew's Hall. At four o'clock the Royal party returned to Thorpe station, whence they proceeded to Wolferton. The exhibition, which was promoted by the Norfolk and Suffolk Fish Acclimatization Society, remained open until May 7th, was visited by 70,000 persons, exclusive of exhibitors and their a.s.sistants, and nearly 2,800 was received for admission. Several distinguished scientists delivered lectures at the Prince's Street Lecture Hall-Professor Huxley on "The Herring," on April 21st; Mr. Edward Jex, on "Deep Sea Fisheries," on April 22nd; Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, on "Fish-eating Birds," on April 25th; and Mr. H. N. Moseley, naturalist to the Challenger Expedition, on "Deep-sea Dredging," on April 28th. On the last day of the exhibition, Earl Ducie distributed the prizes and diplomas to the exhibitors.

19.-A meeting of the members of the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture and of farmers and agriculturists residing in West Norfolk was held at the Town Hall, Lynn, under the presidency of Mr. C. S. Read, when a resolution affirming "that the present state of the agricultural interest demands the serious attention of the Government of the country" was unanimously adopted. In compliance with a letter addressed to the parochial clergy by the Lord Bishop, services of humiliation and of intercession for a plentiful harvest were held throughout the diocese during the last week of May.

26.-On the occasion of the funeral of Lord Beaconsfield, flags were displayed at half-mast on the churches and public buildings of Norwich, m.u.f.fled bells were tolled, and many business establishments were partially closed. A funeral sermon was preached at the Cathedral by Canon Heaviside.

28.-Died, in his 84th year, Mr. Brampton Gurdon, of Letton Hall and Grundisburgh Hall, Suffolk. He was the eldest son of Mr. Theophilus Thornhagh Gurdon, of Letton, and in 1855 served the office of High Sheriff. In 1857 Mr. Gurdon was elected unopposed one of the members for the Western division of the county, and was again returned, with Mr.

Bentinck, in 1859. He retained the seat until July, 1865, when he and Sir Willoughby Jones were defeated by Mr. Bagge and the Hon. T. de Grey.

Mr. Gurdon married the Hon. Henrietta Susannah, daughter and co-heiress of the first Baron Colborne, of West Harling Hall.

29.-Charles Monsey, a superannuated Excise officer, murdered his wife at Worstead, by inflicting wounds upon her head with a hatchet. At Ipswich a.s.sizes, before Mr. Justice Hawkins, on May 9th, affidavits were produced as to the insanity of the accused, and the trial was postponed. Monsey was afterwards detained as a criminal lunatic.

MAY.

7.-The Census returns for Norwich were published on this date, as follow:-Houses: Inhabited, 19,777; uninhabited, 1,011; building, 246.

Persons: Males, 40,281; females, 47,560; total, 87,841.

29.-Died at Hoveton House, the Rev. Thomas John Blofeld, vicar of the parish, aged 74. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1829. Ordained in 1830, he was for a short time vicar of Old Sodbury, Gloucesters.h.i.+re, and exchanged the living for the rectory of Drayton and h.e.l.lesdon. Mr. Blofeld was rural dean of the deanery of Taverham, which he resigned, with the rectory of Drayton, in 1851, on his appointment to the living of Hoveton. He married, in 1834, Catherine Charlotte, daughter of the Rev. Anthony Collett, of Heveningham, Suffolk, by whom he had three sons and a daughter. Mr.

Blofeld was an active county magistrate, chairman of the visiting justices of the County Gaol, an auditor of the county accounts, and a Deputy Lieutenant. For many years he was one of the most able and energetic of the leaders of the Conservative party in North Norfolk. In his youth he was a great oarsman, was stroke of the Trinity boat, and one of the founders of boating on the Cam. With a taste for outdoor pursuits, he was a keen and skilled naturalist, and a sportsman of the best type.

30.-Died at Les Avants, the Rev. Herbert Pelham, aged 26, curate of St.

Philip, Heigham, and youngest son of the Bishop of Norwich. "He had been staying at Gleion, in Montreaux, on the banks of Lake Geneva, with his brother, the Rev. Sidney Pelham. In the morning, at four o'clock, both brothers left their hotel for a walk amongst the mountains, aiming at a point which they reached at seven o'clock. After resting half an hour, they began to descend. Not more than ten minutes had elapsed after their starting, when, on a gra.s.sy slope, Mr. Sidney Pelham, who was in front, heard a rus.h.i.+ng sound, and perceived that his brother was falling head foremost down a cliff some 240 feet in extent." On hurrying to the spot he found the body motionless, and a surgeon who was summoned p.r.o.nounced that death had been instantaneous. Great public sympathy was expressed in Norwich and the diocese, and many resolutions of condolence were sent to the Bishop.

31.-Died at his residence, at Thorpe, Norwich, Mr. William Howlett, aged 78. He had been an alderman and town councillor. Identified with the musical profession, Mr. Howlett had rendered very valuable a.s.sistance to the funds of many of the Norwich charities.

JUNE.

8.-The new section of the Yarmouth and North Norfolk Railway, between Stalham and North Walsham, was inspected by Major-General Hutchinson, R.E., and was opened for pa.s.senger traffic on the 13th. A public dinner to commemorate the event was held, under the presidency of Mr. C. S.

Read, at the King's Arms Hotel, North Walsham, on the 15th.

9.-The Prince of Wales arrived at Yarmouth, and inspected the Norfolk Artillery Militia on the South Denes. The Duke of Cambridge, Commander-in-Chief, arrived in the evening, and on the 10th inspected the Militia, and the 2nd Norfolk Artillery Volunteers.

21.-The Norwich Town Council granted to the promoters of the proposed Agricultural Hall the lease of a piece of land 174 feet long by 103 feet wide, for a term of seventy-five years, commencing September 29th, 1881, at an annual ground rent of 100, subject to the promoters expending at least 7,000 for the erection of the building thereon. (_See_ March 25th, 1882.)

-At a meeting of the Norwich Town Council, a scheme for the regulation and management of Mousehold Heath was adopted. On June 24th, at Norwich Quarter Sessions, eleven persons were indicted for committing damage to certain roadways on the Heath, the property of the Corporation. The case was adjourned to the October Sessions. In the High Court of Justice, on July 29th, before the Master of the Rolls, application was made for an injunction to restrain the "Pockthorpe Committee" and others from dealing in any way with Mousehold Heath. The injunction was granted. At the October Sessions, the prosecution was withdrawn, on the ground that the injunction had been obeyed by the defendants. (_See_ June 5th, 1883.)

22.-The Summer Show of the Norfolk Agricultural a.s.sociation was opened at Wymondham, and closed on the 23rd. The Earl of Kimberley presided at the public luncheon.

24.-Died, in his 64th year, the Rev. Thomas Lyon Fellowes, vicar of Honingham and East Tuddenham, and Hon. Canon of Norwich Cathedral. He was a son of the Rev. J. Fellowes, rector of Shotesham, took a great interest in agriculture, and was for many years chairman of the Executive Committee of the Norfolk Agricultural a.s.sociation. Mr. Fellowes gave valuable a.s.sistance to the Norfolk and Norwich Christmas Show a.s.sociation, and was a renowned breeder and successful exhibitor of poultry. He married Miss Reeve, of Lowestoft.

24.-Died, suddenly, at Hawick, N.B., where he was fulfilling an engagement, Mr. Charles Dillon, the well-known actor. Mr. Dillon, who was in his 62nd year, was a native of Diss, and first appeared upon the provincial stage, where he acquired considerable reputation as an elocutionist and exponent of legitimate drama. He made his first appearance on the London stage at Sadler's Wells Theatre, and subsequently became lessee and manager of the Lyceum Theatre. Mr.

Dillon's last appearance in London was in September, 1878, and in Norwich on April 10th, 1880.

29.-An extensive fire occurred at Carrow Works, and resulted in the destruction of a pile of lofty buildings.

30.-The wards of that portion of the new Norfolk and Norwich Hospital known as the pavilion and central administrative block having been completed for the reception of patients, were opened. Mr. Edward Boardman was the architect of the building. Mr. T. H. Wyatt, of London, was originally a.s.sociated with him, but, by the failure of his health and subsequent death the whole of the work devolved upon Mr. Boardman.

(_See_ August 20th, 1883.)

JULY.

9.-The Norwich Rifle Volunteers, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Boileau, proceeded by special train to Windsor, and took part in the Volunteer review before her Majesty the Queen in the Great Park. On the return journey the train by which they travelled dashed into a train of empty carriages at Egham. The accident delayed the return of the Volunteers, who reached Norwich at four o'clock on the morning of the 10th.

19.-The Strumpshaw Hall estate was sold, at the Royal Hotel, Norwich, by Messrs. Spelman, for 33,145, exclusive of timber.

-Died at Ipswich, Mr. John Worlledge, Chancellor of the Diocese of Norwich, and for twenty-four years Judge of the Suffolk County Court circuit. Mr. Worlledge, who was in his 72nd year, was a son of Mr. John Worlledge, of Chevington, and was educated at Felstead Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated fourth wrangler in 1831.

Called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in 1838, he became well known as a pleader on the Norfolk Circuit, and was appointed Chancellor of the Diocese in April, 1871.

26.-Died at Oulton, Mr. George Thomas Borrow, author of "The Bible in Spain," "Lavengro," and other works. "The deceased was in his usual health up to the afternoon of the 25th, when he complained of feeling unwell, and was a.s.sisted to bed. On the following morning he was found dead in bed." The writer of the obituary notice, after stating that Borrow was a son of Captain Borrow, Adjutant of the West Norfolk Militia, and was born at East Dereham in 1803, records several more or less familiar incidents in his career, and concludes a summary of his literary work with the remark: "His most important book was 'Romano Lavo-Lil,' a vocabulary of the English gipsy language, which represents the labour of many years, and was published in 1874."

30.-The 3rd and 4th Battalions of Norfolk Rifle Volunteers went into camp at Yarmouth, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Bulwer and Lieut.-Colonel Gordon, M.P.

AUGUST.

1.-The first Norwich Cricket Week commenced on the Lakenham Ground.

3.-North Walsham pariah church was re-opened, on the completion of the new roof to the nave. The work was carried out at the cost of 2,208, by Messrs. Cornish and Gaymer, under the direction of Mr. J. B. Pearce, architect, of Norwich.

13.-Died at Bilney rectory, the Rev. Henry Collison, aged 89. Mr.

Collison, who was one of the oldest clergymen of the Church of England, was the eldest surviving son of Mr. Nicholas Cobb Collison, a merchant of London, by his marriage with Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Mr. Peter Stoughton, of Wymondham. He was formerly chaplain of the King's Bench Prison, of the old Marshalsea in the Borough, and of the Court of the Palace of Westminster. For some time he served as military chaplain at the Cape of Good Hope, and afterwards held the rectory of Bilney for nearly half a century. Mr. Collison married, in 1851, Harriett Mary, younger daughter of Mr. Thomas Abel Ward, of Watford, Herts.

30.-The Norwich Town Council, who had erected two electric lights in the Market Place, decided to extend the system experimentally to several of the princ.i.p.al streets, at a cost not exceeding 400, for twelve months.

(_See_ April 24th, 1883.)

SEPTEMBER.

5.-Mr. Thomas Calthorpe Blofeld, who had been appointed to the office of Chancellor of the Diocese of Norwich, rendered vacant by the death of Mr.

Worlledge, presided for the first time at the Norwich Consistory Court, and received the congratulations of the officials.

8.-The Church of England portion of Wymondham Cemetery was consecrated by the Bishop of Norwich, and a dedicatory service was held by the Nonconformists in that part of the burial-ground appropriated to their use. The entire cost of the Cemetery, including the chapels, designed by Mr. Edward Boardman, of Norwich, was 2,000.