Norfolk Annals
Chapter 147 : 23.-A serious difficulty arose at Norwich, owing to the operation of the Cattle Diseas

23.-A serious difficulty arose at Norwich, owing to the operation of the Cattle Diseases Prevention Act. A large number of dealers, apprehending that the provisions of the Act would not be enforced until the following week, sent stock to Norwich for the market on the 24th, or for transmission by rail to London. Two hundred fat beasts arrived at Trowse for conveyance, but the railway authorities refused to receive them.

Salesmen on the Hill experienced the same difficulty, and dealers had to dispose of their cattle as best they could. Many beasts were sent to butchers for immediate slaughter; others were removed to Trowse. The Mayor (Mr. Nichols) went down on the 25th to see what help he could render, but the only way out of the difficulty was to send the animals to the Norwich slaughter-houses, whence the princ.i.p.al portion of the meat was forwarded to London. In order to obviate any further difficulty of the kind, the Norwich Town Council, on the 27th, resolved to erect slaughter-houses and to provide a dead meat market. The cattle plague continued with unabated virulence. Thursday, March 8th, was observed as a day of humiliation, business was suspended, and special services were held at the Cathedral and the parish churches. Similar services took place throughout the county. On June 30th it was announced, "Rinderpest is now nearly extinct in Norfolk and Suffolk"; and on October 13th it was stated: "The non-existence of the cattle plague in the county has rendered the work of the Central Committee and the Cattle Plague a.s.sociation very light." Norwich Cattle Market was re-opened on November 17th.

MARCH.

6.-A dastardly attempt was made to destroy the church of St. Lawrence, Norwich. Mr. David Penrice, the churchwarden, accompanied by a lad, went to prepare the church for evening service, and found it to be full of gas. The lad, on endeavouring to open the windows, was overcome by the fumes. a.s.sistance was obtained, and it was discovered that every burner in the church had been fully turned on. At the Police Court, on the 21st, a lad named George n.o.bbs, described as a shoemaker, of St.

Martin-at-Oak, was charged with "wilfully and maliciously turning on the gas at St. Lawrence' church, thereby endangering the lives of her Majesty's subjects." The offence was fully proved, but the magistrates dismissed the case, on the ground that "the lad did not show he had any knowledge of the consequences of the act."

13.-A boiler explosion occurred at the brewery of Messrs. Arnold and Wyatt, St. Margaret's Plain, Norwich. William Whitworth, an engine driver, was killed, "his body being hurled into the beck containing six quarters of boiling wort."

20.-The hearing of the pet.i.tion against the return of Sir E. H. K. Lacon and Mr. J. Goodson commenced, before a Committee of the House of Commons.

Bribery, undue influence, and treating were alleged. The inquiry concluded on the 22nd, when the chairman (the Right Hon. J. R. Mowbray) announced that the Committee had arrived at the unanimous conclusion that the members had been duly elected. On April 12th Mr. Mowbray gave notice of his intention to move the appointment of a Royal Commission "to inquire into the corrupt practices which prevailed at the last election for Great Yarmouth." The Commissioners, Mr. Wyndham Slade, Mr. Lucius Henry Fitzgerald, and Mr. George Russell, began their sittings at the Town Hall on August 16th, and on September 11th adjourned until October 3rd, on which day the proceedings recommenced. The final adjournment took place on October 15th, the thirty-fourth day of the inquiry. Six hundred and fifty-six witnesses were examined, and full investigations made as to the elections of 1865, 1859, and 1857. The Commissioners reported that corrupt and illegal practices extensively prevailed, and in consequence the borough was disfranchised.

27.-The 13th Hussars marched from Norwich, _en route_ to Newcastle.

28.-In the course of a civil action, Creake _v._ Smith, at the Norfolk a.s.sizes, before Mr. Baron Martin, reference was made to "the science of Bibliomancy," as practised by a "cunning woman" in the neighbourhood of Wells-next-the-Sea. The defendant, who was landlord of the Railway Hotel at Wells, had lost articles from his house, and had consulted the woman with the view of discovering the thief. A Bible was suspended by a string and made to revolve; during its revolutions the names of several suspected persons were called out, and it was alleged that it stopped on the name of the plaintiff being mentioned-a clear proof that he was the guilty person. The defendant returned to the hotel, alleged that Creake was a thief, "for he knew it by the turn of the Bible," and dismissed him from his service. Hence these legal proceedings for slander and wrongful dismissal, which resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff on the first count, and for the defendant on the second count.

APRIL.

2.-Loveday's English Grand Opera Company commenced an engagement at Norwich Theatre. The princ.i.p.als included Madame Florence Lancia, Mdlle.

Ella Miraldi, Miss Annie Leng, Miss f.a.n.n.y Leng, Mr. Brookhouse Bowler, Mr. Grantham, Mr. Oliver Summers, and Mr. Henry Rowland. The repertory included "La Somnambula," "Il Trovatore," "Don Giovanni," "Faust,"

"Dinorah," "Der Frieschutz," "Lucrezia Borgia," "Norma," and "Satanella."

3.-Died at Hethel Hall, John Davy Brett, formerly major in the 17th Lancers, and lieut.-colonel of the 1st Norfolk Battalion of Volunteers, aged 51.

5.-The marriage of the Right Hon. Charles Adolphus Murray, seventh Earl of Dunmore, and Lady Gertrude c.o.ke, third daughter of the Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk, took place at Holkham. The ceremony was honoured by the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, who arrived at the Hall on the 4th, as the private guests of the Earl and Countess of Leicester.

9.-Died at Chequers Court, Herts., aged 56, Lieut.-Col. Francis L'Estrange Astley, commandant of the Norfolk Militia Artillery. He was born in 1810, and married first in 1835, Charlotte, second daughter of Mr. N. Micklethwait, of Taverham; and secondly, in 1854, Rosalind Alicia, fifth daughter of Sir Robert Frankland Russell, Bart.

21.-The Norwich sewerage scheme was further considered by the Town Council. A scheme known as the Hope scheme, introduced at a previous meeting, was abandoned, and the future management of the matter referred to a committee selected from members opposed to the scheme. On May 12th appeared the announcement that preliminary steps had been taken in Chancery by the inhabitants of Thorpe and a bill filed against the Mayor and Corporation for an injunction to compel them to desist from emptying sewage into the river. On May 15th a special committee reported that certain attempts made to cleanse the river had been attended with considerable success, and at the same meeting a memorial was presented by the inhabitants of the city, expressing regret and disappointment at the abandonment of the proposed plan for diverting the sewage from the river, and stating that under no circ.u.mstances whatever should the stream be made use of as a sewer. Acting upon counsel's opinion, the Corporation, on May 31st, determined that it was needful at once to take measures for the diversion of the sewage from the river. The Sewerage Committee resigned, and a new committee was appointed. This committee, on July 10th, recommended the hiring "of 1,300 acres of land on the Crown Point estate, for the purpose of irrigating the same with the Norwich sewage."

The recommendation was agreed to. On October 9th the Town Clerk was authorised, under the direction of the Special Sewerage Committee, to give the necessary notices to enable application to be made in the next Session of Parliament for an Act of Parliament for carrying out sewerage works, and for the preparation of the necessary plans to be deposited in conformity with the Standing Orders of the House. (_See_ January 15th, 1867.)

22.-The Rev. John Alexander, minister of the Independent congregation meeting at Prince's Street, Norwich, resigned the pastorate of the chapel, after a service of nearly half a century. Mr. Alexander came to Norwich on April 4th, 1817, and for a time officiated at the Tabernacle belonging to Lady Huntingdon's Connexion. His small congregation next met at the Lancastrian School, and in order to retain his services they built the Prince's Street chapel, where he ministered until the date of his resignation. He was succeeded by the Rev. G. S. Barrett, B.A., of the Lancas.h.i.+re Independent College.

24.-Died at Coltishall Hall, Mr. William Burroughes. The younger son of a family seated in Norfolk for considerably more than one hundred years, he was educated at Norwich Grammar School "in the palmy Valpeian days,"

and at St. John's College, Cambridge. He was upon the commission of the peace for the county, chairman of the visiting justices, and joint secretary of the Norfolk Agricultural a.s.sociation.

30.-The Great Yarmouth Fish Wharves and Tramways Bill and the Great Yarmouth Haven, Port, and Rivers Bill, were before a Committee of the House of Commons. The first-named Bill went through Committee without opposition on May 7th, and the latter was ordered to be reported on May 28th. The Port and Haven Bill, among other matters, provided that the Commission should consist of thirteen members, namely, four for Yarmouth (two to be elected by the Corporation, one by the registered s.h.i.+powners and payers of dues, and one by the owners of fis.h.i.+ng vessels and payers of dues on fish); three elected by the justices of Norfolk; three by the justices of Suffolk; and three by the Corporation of Norwich, one of each set of Commissioners for Norfolk, Suffolk, and Norwich being a merchant residing and carrying on business within the district for which he was elected. (_See_ October 28th, 1867.)

MAY.

2.-The organ at St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, restored by Mr. Hedgeland, at the cost of 430, was used for the first time at commemorative services held at the church. The instrument was built by Renatus Harris, in 1707.

5.*-"Lord Suffield has been appointed Lieut.-Col. Commandant of the Norfolk Militia Artillery, in place of the late Col. Astley."

11.-Intelligence was received from London that the banking firm of Overend, Gurney, and Co. had been compelled, owing to the panic in the money market, to suspend payment. The announcement created great anxiety in Norwich, lest the firm of Messrs. Gurney and Co. were involved.

Public confidence was restored by a notice issued by the firm, who stated that they were in no way liable, and were not affected by the affairs of Messrs. Overend, Gurney, and Co. A meeting of the citizens was at once convened at the Guildhall, under the presidency of the Mayor, and a resolution pa.s.sed "declaring publicly and unhesitatingly its unbounded confidence in the house of Messrs. Gurneys and Birkbecks, and its unabated reliance on its perfect financial security." (_See_ January 1st, 1869.)

23.-Mrs. Bulwer, wife of Capt. Bulwer, commanding the 15th (Dereham) Company of Rifle Volunteers, opened a new rifle range at Billingford by firing the first shot, in the presence of a large gathering of Volunteers and civilians.

24.-The Queen's birthday was celebrated at Norwich by a parade in Chapel Field of the 1st Norfolk Light Horse Volunteers and the Artillery and Rifle Volunteers. The Mayoress (Mrs. Nichols) laid the foundation-stone of the new Drill Hall, and after the ceremony luncheon was served at St.

Andrew's Hall.

-The Norfolk and Norwich Gymnastic Society held their first annual sports on the Newmarket Road Cricket Ground. The programme included gymnastic exercises, boxing, high jumping, flat and hurdle racing, &c.

31.-The new church at Thorpe St. Andrew was consecrated by the Bishop of Norwich. The site on the north side of the old church was given by Mr.

William Birkbeck; the building was designed by Mr. Thomas Jeckyll, of Norwich and London, and the contractor and subcontractors were Mr.

Cornish, of North Walsham; Mr. J. W. Lacey and Mr. Rust, of Norwich. The estimated cost of the work was 4,000.

JUNE.

1.-The Marquis of Hartington having stated in the House of Commons that as the troops would be accommodated in the new barracks at Colchester, the Government intended to give up the Cavalry Barracks at Norwich, and the lease having expired, the buildings would be handed over to the Dean and Chapter of Norwich, to whom they belonged, a meeting of citizens was held at the Guildhall, at which a resolution was pa.s.sed asking the authorities to reconsider their determination. A deputation consisting of the Earl of Leicester, the Earl of Albemarle, Lord Suffield, the members of Parliament for the city, and other gentlemen, waited upon Lord Hartington at the War Office on June 14th, and on July 7th it was announced that, after due consideration, the authorities had decided to continue the barracks at Norwich.

6.-Earl Fortesque attended at the Free Library, Norwich, and presented the prizes awarded under the Cambridge Prize Scheme.

JULY.

11.-Lord Stanley, on his appointment as Foreign Secretary in the new Conservative Administration, was re-elected without opposition member of Parliament for the borough of King's Lynn.

16.-A meeting was held at the Rampant Horse Hotel, Norwich, to consider what steps should be taken to prevent the intended closing of Victoria Station, under the Great Eastern Railway (Additional Powers) Bill. A memorial was addressed to the Town Council, calling attention to the fact that this was the fourth attempt made by the company to close the terminus, and that by the Act of Parliament which sanctioned the amalgamation of the Eastern Union with the Eastern Counties Railway a special clause was inserted for the sufficient maintenance of the station. On these grounds the Corporation were asked to oppose the Bill.

At a meeting of the Town Council on the 17th, a letter was read from the company, in which they offered, in consideration of being permitted to close the station, to contribute 1,000 towards the improvement of Foundry Bridge. The Council were not prepared to accede to the proposition. When the Company's Bill was before the Committee of the House of Commons, in March, 1867, the clause providing for the abandonment of the station was disallowed.

19.-St. Giles' church, Norwich, was re-opened, after extensive restoration. A new chancel had also been built, and a new organ, costing 350, erected. The scheme included the widening of the street by the giving up of a portion of the churchyard. The restoration was carried out, under the direction of Mr. R. M. Phipson, by Mr. J. W. Lacey, conjointly with Messrs. Atkins and Hawes. The total cost of the work was about 4,000, of which 1,000 was given by the rector (the Rev. W. N.

Ripley).

25.-The National Archery meeting commenced at Crown Point, Norwich, and was continued on the 26th and 27th. The show of the Norfolk and Norwich Horticultural Society was held in the grounds on the 26th (when the band of the 1st Life Guards was present), and a ball was given at St. Andrew's Hall in the evening.

28.-Died at Bramerton, in his 76th year, Mr. William Wilde, Coroner for Norwich. "In Mr. Wilde the city has lost an active and intelligent public officer and a useful citizen, and the Liberal party a most efficient agent. To his shrewdness, accurate judgment, and devotion to their interests, the Liberals of Norwich and elsewhere have been indebted for many a triumph." Mr. Wilde was a member of the Court of Guardians, and for some time its chairman, and a member of the Festival Committee.

He had been Coroner for thirty years.

31.-A new lifeboat, named the Leicester, was launched at Gorleston. It was purchased by a fund amounting to 900 inaugurated by the Mayoress of Leicester (Mrs. Hodges), and was lodged in a new lifeboat house built at the cost of 250.

AUGUST.

5.-Died at his seat at Honingham, the Right Hon. and Rev. Lord Bayning.

His lords.h.i.+p was the second son of Mr. Charles Townshend, who was created Baron Bayning in 1797, and succeeded his brother, Charles Frederick, as third Baron on August 2nd, 1823, when he a.s.sumed, by sign manual (in lieu of his patronymic, Townshend), the name of his maternal grandfather, William Powlett. Born on June 8th, 1797, he married, on August 9th, 1842, Emma, only daughter of Mr. W. H. Fellowes, of Ramsey Abbey, Huntingdon, by whom he had one son, who died twelve months previously to his lords.h.i.+p's death, and the barony thus became extinct. Lord Bayning was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. in 1818, and was appointed rector of Brome, Suffolk, in 1821, and rural dean in the diocese of Norwich in 1844. He resigned the rectory of Brome in 1847, and was appointed to the rectory of Honingham with the vicarage of East Tuddenham in 1851. His lords.h.i.+p was High Steward of Norwich Cathedral, Vice-President of the Norwich Diocesan a.s.sociation for the Propagation of the Gospel, of the Norfolk and Norwich Museum, of the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society, and of the Inst.i.tution for the Indigent Blind, and he was a trustee of the Norwich Savings Rank, &c.

For some years he was treasurer and a most active promoter of the Diocesan Church Building Society.