Norfolk Annals
Chapter 174 : In conjunction with Sir Robert Buxton, Mr. Clare Sewell Read, Mr. Colman, and Sir Edmu

In conjunction with Sir Robert Buxton, Mr. Clare Sewell Read, Mr. Colman, and Sir Edmund Lacon, he was unwearied in his exertions to secure the pa.s.sing of the Norfolk and Suffolk Fisheries Preservation Act, and the modification of Mr. Mundella's Fisheries Bill to the advantage of the district which he represented.

26.-The Christmas amus.e.m.e.nts at Norwich included Messrs. Edwards and Waldegrave's pantomime of "The Children in the Wood, or Harlequin Good Humour, the Wicked Uncle, and the Good Fairy Birds of the Forest," at the Theatre; and Bostock and Wombwell's Menagerie on the Castle Meadow.

1879.

JANUARY.

4.-A meeting, convened by the Mayor (Mr. Harry Bullard), and attended by many of the riparian owners of the county, was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, "for the purpose of determining whether an inquiry should be made into the causes of the recent floods, and for devising some means to prevent their recurrence." A committee was appointed to hold an inquiry, and in the month of June Sir John Hawkshaw, C.E., made a report, in which he stated that floods might be prevented by suitable works, the cost of which would be heavy if charged entirely on the flooded lands, but moderate if spread in suitable proportions. Mr. Bullard, on November 10th, was presented with his portrait, painted by Mr. Ventnor, in recognition of the services he had rendered to his fellow-citizens during the floods.

5.-Died at St. Giles' Street, Norwich, Mr. Horatio Bolingbroke, aged 80.

He was educated at Norwich Grammar School, under Valpy, was for many years engaged in business as a manufacturer, and did much to enhance the reputation of Norwich for the production of textile fabrics. Mr.

Bolingbroke was a prominent figure in the political life of the city, was the first Sheriff appointed under the Munic.i.p.al Corporations Act, and was amongst the first of the Liberal members returned to the "reformed"

Corporation. He was a generous supporter of local charities, chairman of the Norwich Charity Trustees (General List), and a Justice of the Peace.

Labouring under the affliction of blindness, he had for some years prior to his death retired from active public life.

16.-The nomination of candidates to fill the vacancy in the representation of North Norfolk, occasioned by the death of Colonel Duff, took place at Aylsham. Mr. Edward Birkbeck, of Horstead Hall, was the Conservative, and Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, Bart., the Liberal nominee.

The polling took place on the 21st, and the result was declared on the 22nd, as follows:-Birkbeck, 2,742; Buxton, 2,252.

FEBRUARY.

8.-At the Norfolk a.s.sizes, before the Lord Chief Baron, an action was brought by Mr. Hamon le Strange, lord of the manor of Snettisham, and his tenant, William Harding, against Richard Auker, for trespa.s.sing upon the foresh.o.r.e at Snettisham and removing s.h.i.+ngle, mussels, and c.o.c.kles. Mr.

le Strange in 1866 took legal proceedings to maintain his proprietary rights on the foresh.o.r.e, and obtained a verdict, against which an appeal was entered; but a full bench of judges confirmed the verdict. Since then he had issued licences to persons to remove mussels from the foresh.o.r.e, and had leased it to Harding, who had found the defendant carrying mussels away. The special jury returned a verdict for the plaintiffs, damages one s.h.i.+lling, and the learned Judge said he would make the injunction issued against the defendant perpetual. (_See_ January 21st, 1885.)

13.-Died at Kirstead, the Rev. Jonathan Bates, rector of Kirstead with Langhale. He was the son of a Wesleyan minister, and was born at New Buckenham, on June 13th, 1829. When still a child he removed with his family to Edinburgh, where he was placed in the High School. Thence he went to Huddersfield College, and at eighteen became junior master. He had not only pa.s.sed the examinations of the London University, but had saved sufficient money, with the help of the scholars.h.i.+ps he had won, to enable him, on leaving Huddersfield, to enter St. John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1854, taking his place as eleventh Wrangler in the Mathematical Tripos. On completing his University career, he was appointed second cla.s.sical and mathematical master of the Colchester Grammar School. This post he held four years, and was then chosen senior or cla.s.sical tutor and chaplain to the Queen's Medical College at Birmingham. Ordained deacon in 1854, and priest in 1855, by the Bishop of Rochester, he returned to Colchester as mathematical master at the Grammar School, and did duty as a curate in the vicinity. In 1860 he was appointed Vice-Princ.i.p.al of the Chester Diocesan College, and in 1862 was presented by Caius College to the living of Kirstead. Mr. Bates married the youngest daughter of the celebrated Dr. Medhurst, for many years a missionary in China.

16.-Died at the Rectory, Toppesfield, the Rev. Professor Brewer, M.A., Preacher at the Rolls Chapel, and rector of Toppesfield. He was a son of Mr. John Sherren Brewer, of Mile End House, Norwich, and was born at Calvert Street, in March, 1809. After receiving his early education at the hands of his father, he proceeded to Queen's College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1833, taking first cla.s.s honours in Cla.s.sics. In 1841 he was appointed to a Professors.h.i.+p, and in November, 1870, was elected an honorary Fellow of his College. Professor Brewer was editor of "Fuller's Church History," published by the University of Oxford, and of the Calendars of State Papers relating to the Reign of Henry VIII., published by the Master of the Rolls. He was for some time honorary librarian to the Marquis of Salisbury at Hatfield House, and, in addition to his appointment as Preacher at the Rolls Chapel, he held the Professors.h.i.+p of English Literature in King's College, London. In 1876 he was presented by Lord Beaconsfield to the Crown living of Toppesfield, which had a gross income of 1,120 and a parsonage house.

21.-Edward Payson Weston, the American pedestrian, pa.s.sed through Norwich, on his walk of 2,000 miles in 1,000 consecutive hours (except on Sundays). He arrived from Dereham, and at one o'clock lectured at the Victoria Hall, St. Andrew's, where a large audience had a.s.sembled, under the presidency of the Mayor (Mr. Harry Bullard). In the afternoon Weston continued his walk, and arrived at Yarmouth in the evening.

-Died at Wandsworth, Mr. P. Le Neve Foster, secretary of the Society of Arts. He was born in 1809, and educated at Norwich Grammar School, prior to studying at Cambridge, where he took his degree in 1830. A few years afterwards he was called to the Bar, and, after working zealously with the Prince Consort to promote the success of the Exhibition of 1851, was appointed Secretary of the Society of Arts in 1853.

24.-Under the auspices of the Anglo-American Electric Lighting Company, Limited, a descriptive lecture was given at St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich, upon the possibilities of the electric light, by Mr. H. Edmunds, a representative of the company. The hall was brilliantly illuminated by a special electric installation.

27.-Died at Bournemouth, Lieut.-Colonel Hugh FitzRoy, formerly of the Grenadier Guards. He was born in 1808, and was second son of the Rev.

Lord Henry FitzRoy. He married, in 1831, Lucy Sarah, second daughter of Sir Thomas Buller Lethbridge, who died in 1855. In December, 1856, he married, secondly, Emily Louisa, widow of Mr. Charles William Marsham, of Stratton Strawless. Colonel FitzRoy was an active county magistrate, and chairman of the Great Yarmouth Haven and Pier Commissioners.

MARCH.

6.-The twelve hours' roller skating champions.h.i.+p of the Eastern Counties was competed for at St. Giles' Hall, Norwich. The winner was Candler, of Norwich, who, between eight a.m. and eight p.m. covered 77 miles 7 laps; second, G. Woolsey, of Yarmouth, 74 miles 20 laps.

13.-The marriage of the Duke of Connaught and Princess Louise Marguerite was celebrated in Norwich by the ringing of St. Peter Mancroft bells, and by a civic luncheon given in the Council Chamber, Guildhall, by the Mayor (Mr. Harry Bullard). A congratulatory address adopted by the Corporation was presented to the Queen by the Mayor and Sheriff, at St. James's Palace, on May 3rd.

22.-The first of the Sat.u.r.day evening popular concerts, inaugurated in Prince's Street Schoolroom, and transferred to St. Andrew's Hall, was given, under the presidency of the Mayor of Norwich.

26.-A Common Hall was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, under the presidency of the Mayor, "to consider the question of the continuance of the half-holiday movement on Thursdays during the approaching summer months." A memorial was presented by the traders of the city, affirming that the two o'clock closing was not conducive to the welfare of the a.s.sistants nor to the commercial prosperity of the city. After much discussion, the meeting was adjourned _sine die_, and a few weeks later official notice was given that "the shops of Norwich, with few exceptions, remain open on Thursdays till five o'clock."

APRIL.

6.-Died at Great Yarmouth, Sir Thomas Branthwayt Beevor, Bart., of Hargham. Born on April 7th, 1798, he was thrice married-in 1819, to Elizabeth Bridget, daughter of Dr. Richard Lubbock, of Norwich; in 1832, to Martha, daughter of Mr. Archibald Hardiment, of Old Buckenham; and in 1845, to Mary, daughter of Mr. F. Davies. Sir Thomas had for some years resided in a quiet and unostentatious manner at Yarmouth, but in his early years, as a Liberal of the advanced school, he took a leading part in the political contests of the county.

7.-Mr. T. W. Robertson, son of the author of "Caste," and other favourite comedies, made his first appearance with the Caste Company at Norwich Theatre. The company made a return visit on November 3rd. Mr.

Robertson, junior, who had been articled to a veterinary surgeon in the city, afterwards became very popular as an actor.

11.-Died at Hereford, Miss Christiana Glover, second and last surviving daughter of the Rev. Edward Glover, M.A., of Norwich, aged 91. For several years she lived with the family of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, and afterwards became a devoted coadjutor of her talented sister, Miss Sarah Glover, in the work of imparting Christian education in accordance with the principles of the Church of England to the poorer cla.s.ses in the city. The sisters originated the Norwich Sol-Fa System of Psalmody, "which may be said to be entirely unrivalled in its results, as producing perfect intonation and good harmony at comparatively small expense of time and labour. The system in a somewhat modified form has been very widely and successfully diffused by Mr. Curwen."

15.-A new oratorio, "Nehemiah," by Dr. Hill, of Norwich, was performed for the first time. It was produced at the Corn Hall, Diss, by the members of the Diss Choral Society.

-Considerable excitement was caused at Thorpe, near Norwich, by the action of Mr. Henry Blake, who had enclosed the strip of gra.s.s land known as Thorpe Green, by the side of the river. Mr. William Birkbeck, as lord of the manor, announced that if the palings, &c., were not removed by noon on this day they would be forcibly taken down. The notice was disregarded, and Mr. P. E. Hansell, as steward of the manor, directed the removal of the obstruction. After the posts and palings had been taken down, Mr. Hansell intimated that Mr. Birkbeck was prepared to take the matter into the law courts, and to the House of Lords, if necessary.

16.-A remarkable scene was witnessed at a meeting of the Norwich School Board. A motion to increase the staff was supported by the majority and opposed by the Denominational minority, the latter of whom a.s.serted that the proposal could be carried out only by rescinding a resolution pa.s.sed almost unanimously at a previous meeting. "Finding their last effort useless to stem the current of expenditure into which the Board had plunged, and justly indignant at the treatment they received, the minority left the room, and Canon Heaviside intimated that it would be a matter for consideration whether they ever again entered it." On May 8th a deputation went to Canon Heaviside's residence and presented to the gentlemen const.i.tuting the minority a memorial, signed by the ratepayers, urging that by their presence at the Board they could "continue to protest against reckless extravagance, and so keep the ratepayers better informed of what is going on." Ultimately the minority agreed to resume their duties, "at the request of their const.i.tuents, and in the hope that the public attention called to the proceedings which led to their withdrawal would have the effect of strengthening their hands in the endeavour to discharge effectively the duties that devolved upon them."

28.-Mr. Sims Reeves sang at St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich. His engagement was originally announced for April 17th, but the usual postponement occurred.

-Application having been made by the Norfolk Court of Quarter Sessions that nine disturnpiked roads in the county should, by a provisional order, be declared ordinary, not main, roads, Mr. Courteney Boyle, an inspector of the Local Government Board, attended at the s.h.i.+rehall, to hear the grounds of the application and any objections thereto. The application had been made on the following grounds: (1) That in consequence of the increase of railways, there was comparatively but little through traffic along the disturnpiked reads; (2) there being no highway districts in the county, the Court was not prepared to encounter the difficulty and expense of dealing separately with the surveyors of the large number of parishes through which the disturnpiked roads pa.s.sed; (3) that should a highway board be established in the county, the unions through which the disturnpiked roads pa.s.sed would not be unfairly burdened by their maintenance, while it would be hard upon outlying districts of the county to contribute to the repair of roads which they never used; and (4) that the Court having previously expressed itself in favour of county boards, hesitated to sanction so novel and large an expenditure for the county rate as would be involved in paying half the cost of repairing the disturnpiked roads until the ratepayers were more directly represented in the county authority. Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., stated his reasons for moving these resolutions at the Court of Quarter Sessions, and after evidence had been taken in regard to each road in question, the Inspector said that he should make his report.

MAY.

19.-A glove fight took place at the Corn Hall, Norwich, in the presence of an immense audience, between Walter Emms and Arthur Shaw. At the Police Court, on the 26th, the princ.i.p.als, and John Hicks, James Clarke, James Laxton, Robert Watson, sub-editor of the "Sporting Life," London; Thomas Snelling, and Edwin Cunningham were summoned for unlawfully a.s.sembling together for the purpose of a prize-fight. Emms and Shaw were ordered to enter into their own recognisances of 100, to find two sureties of 50 each, and to keep the peace for six months. The other defendants were bound over in the sum of 20 each to keep the peace for six months.

20.-The Norwich Omnibus Company, Limited, was formed. The first omnibuses were put upon the Dereham Road route on June 23rd.

-Died at the Crescent, Norwich, Mr. John M. Croker, aged 57. His ample leisure enabled him to be of great service to many of the public inst.i.tutions of the city, and he was for several years honorary secretary of the Norfolk and Norwich Cricket Club.

21.-A fire occurred on Messrs. Willis and Southall's shoe premises, the Upper Market, Norwich. The damage was estimated at 1,000.

JUNE.

2.-A case of considerable importance to the agricultural community, in which the Earl of Leicester, Lord Lieutenant of the county, was defendant, was heard by the Walsingham magistrates. His lords.h.i.+p was alleged to have infringed the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, 1878, and the Animals Order of 1878. The informations, laid by the Veterinary Inspector of the district (Mr. Edward Case), charged his lords.h.i.+p (1) with unlawfully causing to be driven on March 3rd a sheep affected with sheep scab; and (2) with causing 200 suspected animals to be removed.

After a hearing which lasted eight hours, the Bench dismissed the case, "because the defendant had satisfied them that there was no cause for suspecting the animals removed."

5.-A singular accident occurred at Wells railway station. The driver of engine of a pa.s.senger train from Norwich was unable to control the brakes, and the engine das.h.i.+ng into the station, knocked down the buffer stops, ran through the end platform, and, cras.h.i.+ng into the lavatories and porter's room, demolished the outer wall of the station, and came to a standstill when partly in the public street. A young man named John Cook was killed. At the inquest a verdict of accidental death was returned, and at the subsequent Board of Trade inquiry the engine-driver was exonerated of blame.

9.-St. Giles' Hall, Norwich, originally opened as a skating rink, and afterwards used as a variety hall and theatre, was on this date opened for the summer season as a circus by Mr. Stoodley.

11.-The Summer Show of the Norfolk Agricultural a.s.sociation was opened at East Dereham, when the entries were larger than on any previous occasion.