1881
JANUARY.
8.—Dr. F. E. Gladstone, it was announced, had resigned the post of organist of Norwich Cathedral, upon receiving a similar appointment at Christ church, Lancaster Gate, London. He was succeeded by Mr. Frederic C. Atkinson, organist of Manningham church, Bradford, a native of Norwich and pupil of Dr. Buck.
12.—Winter set in with great severity, and during the night upwards of six inches of snow fell. The frost was intense. On the 17th the Yare was frozen over and navigation stopped, and on the 18th an extraordinary snowstorm and gale occurred. The thermometer registered 32 degrees of frost, and the wind, which during the preceding night had veered to the east, suddenly assumed the strength of a hurricane, which raged for nearly twenty-four hours. “A velocity of 548 miles was recorded, a force very rarely experienced in this part of the country.” Little snow fell until about five o’clock in the afternoon, when the clouds discharged themselves with a virulence almost unprecedented. From six to eight inches of snow fell in a few hours, and in places there were drifts ten feet in depth. The traffic on most of the branch lines of the Great Eastern Railway was suspended nearly twenty-four hours. The mail train from Norwich to Yarmouth—four hours late—ran into a drift near Buckenham, and remained embedded six hours. The use of five engines and the efforts of sixty men proved unavailing, and there was no alternative but to take the train back to Norwich. Many of the roads being impassable, the mail-cart drivers abandoned their journeys. Terrible shipping disasters occurred off Yarmouth; thirteen vessels were wrecked, and nearly fifty lives lost. The surf lifeboat was capsized a few yards from the shore, and of the crew of ten who were entangled in the tackle beneath the craft six were drowned. From the 14th to the 21st never once did the thermometer rise above freezing-point. On the 26th the temperature rose to 38 degrees, and rain fell on the 27th.
17.—Prince’s Street Sunday schools and Lecture Hall, Norwich, were opened, as an adjunct to the Congregational church. The fine block of buildings was designed by Mr. Edward Boardman, architect, and erected by Messrs. Downing and Sons, at the cost of about £12,600.
24.—The National Skating Association held a race-meeting on Wroxham Broad. Fixed originally for the 18th, but postponed in consequence of the gale, it was attended, amongst other competitors, by George (“Fish”) Smart, Champion of England, W. (“Turkey”) Smart, and many prominent Fen skaters.
28.—Killed at the battle of Lang’s Nek, South Africa, aged 21, Lieut. Robert Hamond Elwes, Grenadier Guards, aide-de-camp to Sir G. Pomeroy Colley. He was the eldest son of Mr. Robert Elwes, of Congham House, near King’s Lynn.
FEBRUARY.
9.—A squadron of the 3rd Hussars arrived at Norwich Cavalry Barracks, from Colchester.
14.—The comic opera, “Les Cloches de Corneville,” was performed at Norwich Theatre for the first time by a company under the management of Mr. Charles Bernard. A company of children presented the same opera at the Theatre on March 28th.
28.—In accordance with a resolution adopted at a meeting of the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture on the 26th, a deputation waited upon Earl Spencer, President of the Privy Council, when Mr. C. S. Read, as president of the Chamber and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the County, expressed, on behalf of Norfolk agriculturists, the desire that, in view of the prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease, greater restrictions should be observed in regard to store cattle, and that a certain relaxation should be made in the case of fat cattle, which, it was proposed, should be sent direct from licensed sales and markets to slaughter-houses, to be killed within four days. It was also suggested that the Privy Council should prohibit the importation of live animals from countries where they knew disease existed. A further deputation, headed by the Mayor of Norwich (Mr. S. Grimmer), interviewed Earl Spencer on March 25th, with the view of obtaining such relaxation of the Orders in Council as to permit the sale of store stock at Tombland Fair. A fresh outbreak of the disease occurred in the autumn, and on October 28th the county authority passed a resolution affirming that, notwithstanding its recurrence, the time had not arrived for the closing of the markets; that should the Privy Council consider it necessary to stop the spread of the disease by closing the store stock markets, such order should not take effect before the first week in December; that the existing regulations for preventing the importation of diseased cattle from foreign countries were entirely insufficient, and that until more stringent regulations were in force the system of closing markets was vexatious. (See January 7th, 1882.)
MARCH.
8.—The Spring Show of the Norfolk Agricultural Association was held at Lynn, but the change of venue resulted in a very small entry.
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 Judgeship 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-Samsoë, 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 déjeuner 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 assistants, 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, muffled 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 Assizes, 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, Gloucestershire, and exchanged the living for the rectory of Drayton and Hellesdon. 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 grassy slope, Mr. Sidney Pelham, who was in front, heard a rushing 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 pronounced 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 assistance 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 passenger 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 Association 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 Association. Mr. Fellowes gave valuable assistance to the Norfolk and Norwich Christmas Show Association, 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 associated 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 assisted 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 principal 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.
20.—The Norwich Town Council adopted a resolution of condolence with the American nation on the death of President Garfield.
29.—Sidestrand church was consecrated by the Bishop of Norwich. “In 1846, owing to a landslip, caused by the action of the sea, considerable anxiety was felt for the safety of the old church, and a fund was started with the object of removing it to another site. About £300 was contributed, but as there seemed no immediate necessity to remove the church, the money was invested, and it was not until November, 1880, that the vestry definitely decided to build the new church. With accumulated interest, the original fund amounted to £850, and the balance of the cost of removal and restoration, which is now over £2,000, has been generously provided by the lord of the manor, Mr. Samuel Hoare, who also gave the site.”
OCTOBER.
4.—The church of St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, was re-opened after restoration, at the cost of £7,500. The contractor was Mr. G. E. Hawes, and the architect Mr. G. E. Street. The Restoration Committee decided to proceed with the work upon the tower, and a special appeal was made to the citizens to assist the completion of this great undertaking. (See January 11th, 1882.)
11.—The Norfolk and Norwich Triennial Musical Festival commenced at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich. The artistes included Madame Albani, Miss Mary Davies, Mrs. Osgood, Madame Patey, Madame Mudie-Bolingbroke, Mr. Edward Lloyd, Mr. Barton McGuckin, Mr. Santley, Mr. Frederic King, and Mr. Brockbank. Mr. Alberto Randegger conducted for the first time. The following productions were included in the programme: 11th, evening, “St. Paul”; 12th, morning, “The Martyr of Antioch”; evening, “Faust”; 13th, morning, “St. Ursula” (Cowen), composed expressly for the Festival, and Racine’s “Athalie”; evening, grand operatic and ballad concert, including “The Sun Worshippers,” composed for the Festival by A. G. Thomas; 14th, morning, “The Messiah”; evening, operatic and ballad concert, including “The Harvest Home,” composed expressly for the Festival by J. F. Barnett.
14.—A hurricane, which prevailed throughout Great Britain, did great damage in the towns and villages of Norfolk. Many fine trees were uprooted, and houses unroofed; railway signal-boxes were blown down, and several shipping disasters occurred along the coast.
18.—The jubilee anniversary of the Eldon Club, formed in 1831, was celebrated at the Bell Hotel, Norwich, when the members dined under the presidency of Lieut.-Colonel Bignold.
21.—A girl, named Hannah Brett, was brutally murdered at Saham Toney, by an ex-convict, named Henry Stebbings. At the Norfolk Assizes, on February 9th, 1882, before Mr. Justice Grove, he was found guilty and sentenced to death, but was respited, on the ground of homicidal mania.
23.—Died at Woking, Sir William Henry Ernest Bagge, Bart., of Stradsett Hall, aged 41. In default of issue, he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his only brother, Commander Alfred Thomas Bagge, R.N.
NOVEMBER.
1.—Salhouse church was re-opened, after restoration at the cost of £2,100.
3.—The Norwich Diocesan Conference met at Noverre’s Rooms, Norwich, and the proceedings were continued on the 4th. A special meeting was held on December 19th, to consider proposals for the revision of the Education code.
—The Ven. Archdeacon Nevill was elected vicar of St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, on the resignation of the Rev. Sidney Pelham.
9.—Mr. William Hunter was elected Mayor, and Mr. J. J. Winter appointed Sheriff of Norwich.
10.—Died at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, aged 53, Edmund Stephen Weller, formerly of the 16th Landers. As colonel’s trumpeter, he sounded the famous charge of the regiment at Aliwal, on January 28th, 1846.
15.—The squadron of the 3rd Hussars marched from Norwich, for Aldershot. The headquarters of the 7th Dragoon Guards, commanded by Colonel Colin Campbell, arrived on the 17th. “Since the regiment was last quartered here, Captain Mollyneaux, a former officer, obtained from the Tower of London and presented to the regiment a pair of kettledrums captured by the 7th at the battle of Dettingen, in 1743.”
DECEMBER.
17.*—“A line of wire has been suspended between Messrs. Morgan’s Brewery, King Street, and Mousehold House, the residence of Mr. W. H. Hackblock, who is a member of the firm.” This is the first record of a telephone wire erected in Norwich. The line was constructed by the United Telephone Company.
19.—The Prince and Princess of Wales arrived at Holkham, on a visit to the Earl and Countess of Leicester.
26.—For the first time for many years there was no pantomime at Norwich Theatre. The Christmas attraction was the appearance of Mr. George Loveday’s London Folly Company, in Paul Merritt’s “Rough and Ready” and Pinero’s “Hester’s Mystery.” The company included Messrs. John Billington, E. D. Ward, E. W. Garden, Misses Ada Mellon, Emily Thorn, Eliza Johnstone, &c. At John Sanger and Son’s Circus, on Castle Meadow, was produced the equestrian spectacle, “Dick Whittington and his Wonderful Cat.”