1897.
JANUARY.
19.—The Norwich Town Council ordered a petition to be presented to Parliament against a scheme for the construction of electric tramways in the city. This course was adopted not in a hostile spirit, but with the object of making the best terms possible for the citizens. On February 9th the Corporation gave its consent to the Tramways Bill then before Parliament, and on February 23rd a petition signed by nearly 23,500 inhabitants of the city was presented to the Town Council, asking them to support the projected electric tramways as distinct from the proposed scheme of light railways. The Parliamentary and By-laws Committee on April 13th reported that they had considered side by side the merits and proposals of the New General Traction Company, Limited, to construct electric tramways in the city and Thorpe, and of the British Electric Traction Company, Limited, to construct light railways in the city and district, and were of opinion that the interests of the city would be best served by making an arrangement with the former company. It was understood that the company had given an undertaking to withdraw their Bill from Parliament at any time upon the request of the Corporation. On April 23rd the Council adopted the following motion:—“(a) To enable the New General Traction Company, Limited, to carry their Bill through Parliament if terms can be arranged with the company satisfactory to the committee, for the construction of electric tramways in the city; (b) to oppose the application of the British Electric Traction Company, Limited, for an order by the Light Railway Commissioners authorising the company to construct light railways in the city and adjoining districts; (c) that the committee be authorised to take such action and incur such costs as may in their opinion be necessary to carry out the above resolutions.” On May 31st the Norwich Electric Tramways Bill was considered by a Select Committee of the House of Commons, and it was announced that all opposition had been withdrawn; and on July 20th it was stated that the Bill had passed through the House of Commons and been read a second time in the House of Lords. (See February 5th, 1898.)
19.—The resignation of Mr. Robert Hitchman, of the office of Chief Constable, which he had held for 38 years, was received by the Norwich Town Council, who granted him a retiring pension of £273 6s. 8d.
—The Norwich Town Council accepted the offer of Messrs. Gurneys and Co. to present to the Corporation a set of civic robes.
22.—The roads in many parts of the county were rendered impassable by snowdrifts; the river traffic between Norwich and Yarmouth was impeded by ice, and in the stormy weather which prevailed much damage was occasioned to the Yarmouth fishing fleet and coast-bound vessels.
23.—A public meeting convened by the Lord-Lieutenant of the county (the Earl of Leicester) and the Mayor (Mr. C. R. Gilman) was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, to decide upon the method of celebrating locally the Diamond Jubilee of her Majesty the Queen. The Dean of Norwich moved “That subscriptions be invited in order to raise a sum of money, to be called the Diamond Jubilee Fund, for the purpose of building a new Jenny Lind Infirmary for Sick Children, it being the strong feeling of the meeting that no memorial could be found more typical of the tender sympathy and interest ever shown by her Majesty in the sufferings and needs of her people.” Viscount Coke seconded the resolution, and a committee was appointed to raise the fund. (See March 15th, 1898.)
25.—At the Norwich Assizes, before Mr. Justice Cave, Henry Greaves Corsbie (37), clerk, pleaded guilty to feloniously endorsing and uttering a banker’s cheque for the payment of £31 12s. 1d. with intent to defraud the Norfolk and Norwich Savings Bank on July 15th, 1893, and was sentenced to seven years’ penal servitude. The prisoner had been guilty of frauds extending over a period of ten years.
—John George Foster (35) was indicted at the Norwich Assizes, before Mr. Justice Cave, for the wilful murder of Alice Maria Newby, at 60, Pottergate Street, Norwich, on December 8th, 1896. He was found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to penal servitude for life.
FEBRUARY.
2.—The Girls’ Home in Botolph Street, Norwich, established by the Board of Guardians with the object of removing young children from workhouse surroundings, was opened by the Mayor (Mr. C. R. Gilman).
6.—A sudden thaw accompanied by heavy rain caused extensive floods in low-lying districts of the county. Great alarm was occasioned in Norwich by the rising of the Wensum and the flooding of premises in Heigham Street. The waters subsided on the 7th.
7.—Died at Luxor, Egypt, Mr. Alan Cozens-Hardy Colman, aged 30, son of Mr. J. J. Colman, of Carrow House, Norwich. Mr. Colman, who was a member of the Norfolk County Council, was of a studious disposition, and applied himself to mechanics. Although in affluent circumstances he voluntarily became a pupil at the Stratford works of the Great Eastern Railway Company, was for a number of years an active confrere of the workmen employed there, adapted himself to their conditions of labour, and made himself generally popular.
11.—Died at Hackford Hall, Reepham, Georgina Frances Amy, widow of Mr. John Collyer, and eldest daughter of Sir William Johnston, of that ilk, of Hilton House, Woodside, Aberdeen. Mrs. Collyer, who was in her 92nd year, was at the time of Wellington’s great campaign being educated at Brussels, where her parents resided, and were among the guests who attended the Duchess of Richmond’s ball on the night before Waterloo. She had a vivid recollection of June 15th, 1815. With her younger sisters, she in the early dawn watched from the windows of her parents’ house the troops passing to the field. Later in the day the girls attended school as usual, and soon became aware that the battle had begun. The servant sent to fetch her from school lost herself in the crowd, and the children made their way home alone, groping by the walls and passing through the throng of troops marching to the field and the thickening stream of prisoners and wounded returning. On the 17th and 18th she was all day helping her parents to hand water and wine to the wounded as they passed the door. Mrs. Collyer had personal recollections of Mendelssohn, whose wife was long her intimate acquaintance, and of Spohr, whose playing she had often heard and admired.
18.—The members at Norwich of the National Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives resolved to go out on strike. On April 17th it was stated “the desertions from the ranks of the shoe strikers and their return to work have been steady and persistent during the week, although many hundreds are still out.” Several charges of intimidation from time to time occupied the attention of the magistrates. On July 20th the Mayor made an appeal to masters and men to endeavour to formulate a plan for the settlement of their differences, but without effect. The strike having lasted six months, a meeting of the men was held at the Victoria Hall, at which it was stated that £10,000 had been expended in strike pay, and it was resolved that the struggle be continued. After lasting thirty-four weeks the strike came to an end on October 22nd, when terms were signed by the representatives of the masters and of the men. The last distribution of strike pay was made on the 23rd, and the men returned to work on the 25th (St. Crispin’s Day).
MARCH.
5.—Died at his residence in the Close, Norwich, the Rev. Canon James William Lucas Heaviside. In 1838 he was professor of mathematics at Haileybury College, in 1843 examiner in mathematics and natural philosophy at the University of London, and in 1858 examiner for the Council of Military Education. He was appointed Canon residentiary of Norwich Cathedral in 1860, and afterwards became examiner in mathematics to Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, who, when stationed at Norwich with his regiment, the 7th Hussars, was a frequent visitor at Canon Heaviside’s residence. Her Majesty the Queen, to mark her appreciation of his services, presented him with a massive silver inkstand and a portrait of the Duke. For many years Canon Heaviside was chairman of the governors of the Grammar and Commercial Schools, a trustee of Norman’s Endowed School, and one of the trustees for the management of the local charities. When the first Norwich School Board was formed in 1872 Canon Heaviside was elected chairman.
6.—The removal of Judge Addison from the Norfolk County Court Circuit to Southwark, and the appointment of Mr. William Willis, Q.C., as judge in his place, was announced.
—Died, the Rev. Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, LL.D., compiler of the “Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,” and of other well-known works. Dr. Brewer, who was nearly 87 years of age, spent his younger days in Norwich as a teacher in his father’s school. In 1832 he went to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, took his degree in Civil Law in 1835, and obtained his degree as LL.D. in 1844. He was ordained in 1834 in the diocese of Ely. At the time of his death he was residing with his son-in-law, the Rev. H. T. Hayman, vicar of Edwinstowe, Newark.
16.—Died at his London residence, 37, Hyde Park Gardens, W., the Right Hon. Sir Edward Ebenezer Kay, of Thorpe Abbots, Scole. He was a son of Mr. Robert Kay, of Bury, Lancashire, and brother Sir J. Kay Shuttleworth. Born January 2nd, 1822, he studied for the law, began his career as law reporter, and became Queen’s Counsel in 1866. At the General Election in 1874 he contested Clitheroe in the Liberal interest, and was defeated. In 1878 he gave up exclusive practice in Vice-chancellor Bacon’s Court and became a special. On the retirement of Vice-Chancellor Malins in 1881 Kay was made a “journeyman judge” of the Chancery Division, and in that position he remained until the resignation of Vice-Chancellor Bacon in 1886. In 1890, on the retirement of Sir Henry Cotton, Mr. Justice Kay was promoted to the Court of Appeal. He was on the commission of the peace for the county, and was formerly a chairman of Norfolk Quarter Sessions.
17.—Sir William Harcourt, leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, addressed a meeting of the National Liberal Federation at the Agricultural Hall, Norwich. The Earl of Kimberley presided and delivered an address, which elicited severe strictures from Lord Salisbury in the House of Lords on March 19th.
21.—Died at the Cheshire Cheese Hotel, Surrey Street, Strand, when fulfilling a professional engagement in London, Mr. Mark Knights, chief reporter on the staff of the “Eastern Daily Press.” Mr. Knights was suffocated by an escape of gas in his bed-room, and at the inquest the jury returned a verdict of accidental death. He was the author of several works on archæological and other subjects. His “Highways and Byways of Norwich” and “Peeps at the Past” are regarded as standard works. Relinquishing the study of antiquarian matters, which by his skilful treatment interested a wide circle of readers, Mr. Knights had taken up the work of interpreting Shakespeare in the light of Scripture, a subject that appealed to a very limited section. He published in 1893 a book entitled “Hamlet Interpreted,” which failed to bring him a reputation such as he achieved by his archæological works. Mr. Knights was 53 years of age, and had been thirty-five years engaged on the Press.
APRIL.
13.—Mr. Edwin F. Winch, Chief Constable of Truro, was appointed Chief Constable of Norwich at the salary of £350 per annum.
14.—Mr. Sydney Cozens-Hardy, clerk to the Norwich School Board, was presented with an illuminated address by the officials of the Board on the attainment of his twenty-one years’ service.
18.—Died at Orford Hill, Norwich, the Rev. William Frederic Creeny, M.A., F.S.A., aged 72. Mr. Creeny graduated at St. John’s College, Cambridge, in 1853, and was soon afterwards ordained. After serving as curate at St. Mark, Lakenham, he removed to Wellingborough, and subsequently became chaplain to the Bishop of St. Helena, and chaplain of St. Leonard and Isle of Ryde, Sydney, where he remained until 1872. In 1873–4 he was curate of St. John, Upper Norwood, and in 1876 curate of Soham, Cambridgeshire. In the latter year he was presented by Lady Lothian to the living of St. Michael-at-Thorn, Norwich. Mr. Creeny enriched the transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Archæological Society by many valuable contributions relating to the history of Norwich, and in 1884 he published his magnificent work on “Monumental Brasses on the Continent of Europe,” a field of labour “hitherto almost untilled.” Another scarcely less laborious task was achieved by the publication by Mr. Creeny, in November, 1891, of “Illustrations of Incised Slabs.” Mr. Creeny had visited India, China, and Palestine, and his experiences in the Holy Land were afterwards published in a small book entitled “Notes of a Journey to Jerusalem.”
22.—The Norwich Diocesan Conference was opened at Noverre’s Rooms, Norwich, and concluded on the 23rd. A special meeting was held on June 10th to discuss the subject of local taxation as affecting tithe rent-charge.
30.—The Countess of Leicester opened at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, a “Foreign Fair,” in aid of the building fund of the St. George’s Home for Working Girls.
MAY.
2.—Died at Tunbridge Wells, the Very Rev. Edward Meyrick Goulburn, D.D., formerly Dean of Norwich, aged 79. Born in London on February 11th, 1818, he was a son of Mr. Serjeant Goulburn, Q.C., and was educated at Eton, whence he proceeded to Balliol College, Oxford, where he obtained his B.A. degree in 1839. In 1842 he was admitted into deacon’s orders by Dr. Bagot, Bishop of Oxford, and in the same year was ordained priest. A Fellow of Merton College, Dr. Goulburn was, on the elevation of Dr. Tait to the deanery of Carlisle in 1849, appointed to the head-mastership of Rugby School. He resigned the post in 1858, and became minister of Quebec Chapel, St. Marylebone. In 1859 he was nominated by the Bishop of London to St. John’s, Paddington, and was appointed prebendary of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Upon the deanery of Norwich becoming vacant in 1866 by the death of the Hon. and Very Rev. Dean Pellew, who had held it since 1828, Dr. Goulburn was appointed thereto. He was the author of several theological works. A learned antiquary, he succeeded Sir John Boileau, F.S.A. (who died in 1869), as president of the Norfolk and Norwich Archæological Society. He did much for the restoration of Norwich Cathedral, and expended upon the work from his own private means the sum of £10,000, and raised the further amount of £4,000. In conjunction with Precentor Symonds, Dean Goulburn wrote the greater portion of the valuable work “The Ancient Sculptures in the Roof of Norwich Cathedral”; and in 1876 published a life of Herbert de Losinga. One of his last works was the “Life of Dean Burgon.” Dean Goulburn was also the author of the “Book of Rugby School.”
24.—The Queen’s birthday was observed at Norwich by a military review on Mousehold Heath. The 7th Dragoon Guards, the depôt company of the Norfolk Regiment, the 3rd Battalion Norfolk Regiment (Militia), and the Artillery and Rifle Volunteers took part.
JUNE.
1.—The centenary of the Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society was celebrated at Norwich. A banquet was held at St. Andrew’s Hall, under the presidency of Mr. H. S. Patteson, and was attended by the society’s representatives from all parts of the world.
10.—At the Norwich Assizes, which commenced on this date, before Mr. Justice Mathew, John Furness, aged 64, solicitor, was indicted for fraudulently appropriating to his own use a deed of mortgage on December 30th, 1887. He was found guilty, and recommended to mercy on account of his age, and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment without hard labour.
16.—The Summer Show of the Norfolk Agricultural Association was opened at Fakenham. Viscount Coke presided at the public luncheon. The show closed on the 17th.
20.—The celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria began at Norwich this day (Sunday) with special thanksgiving services at the Cathedral, St. Peter Mancroft, and other churches. On the 21st 125 carcases of sheep and 20 quarters of beef allotted to Norwich out of the gift sent from Australia for distribution among the poor in the large towns of Great Britain, were divided among 1,500 recipients at Blackfriars’ Hall. The Jubilee day was celebrated on the 22nd. Early in the morning the bells of St. Peter Mancroft were rung, and a Royal salute of twenty-one guns fired on Mousehold Heath by the mounted batteries of the Artillery Volunteers. Later 9,000 children from the public elementary schools assembled in the Market Place and sang the National Anthem, and Mr. George White, Chairman of the School Board, announced, amid great enthusiasm, that the Queen had conferred the honour of knighthood upon the Mayor (Mr. C. R. Gilman). A service of praise and thanksgiving was held at the Cathedral at 11 o’clock, and was attended in state by the Mayor and Corporation. At noon the Artillery and Rifle Volunteers, with the depôt company of the Norfolk Regiment, fired a feu de joie in the Market Place, and at one o’clock Sir Charles and Lady Gilman held a reception at the Guildhall, where the company were invited to drink the Queen’s health. In the afternoon there was a floral procession through the streets of the city, sports took place on the Earlham Road Recreation Ground, a “costume” cricket match was played on the Lakenham ground, and a captive balloon made frequent ascents from the Cattle Market. In the evening the city was illuminated, a firework display was given, on Castle Meadow, and a bonfire lighted on St. James’s Hill. On the 24th the Mayor and Sheriff gave a dinner at St. Andrew’s Hall to upwards of 1,000 of the aged poor, and in the evening Sir Charles and Lady Gilman held a brilliant reception at the Castle Museum. The Jubilee was observed at Yarmouth, Lynn, Thetford, and at all towns and villages in the county.
JULY.
16.—The Wild-Collins voting apparatus, for expediting and facilitating voting at Parliamentary and Municipal elections, invented by Mr. Edward Wild and Mr. A. E. Collins, City Engineer, was exhibited at the Municipal offices, Norwich.
17.—Died at Old Buckenham, Mr. William Thomas Simpson, in his 67th year. A native of Bury St. Edmund’s, where his father was master of the Grammar School, he was the senior partner of the old established firm of Salter and Simpson, auctioneers and valuers. Mr. Simpson had great practical knowledge of agriculture, and was an excellent breeder and judge of cattle.
AUGUST.
2.—The proceedings of the High Court of the Ancient Order of Foresters opened at the Agricultural Hall, Norwich. The delegates had been received on July 31st by Sir Charles and Lady Gilman at St. Andrew’s Hall. A fête took place at Catton Park on the 2nd, and a garden party was given at Hellesdon House by Sir Harry and Lady Bullard on the 3rd.
3.—A fire occurred on Ringland Hills. It extended over an area of between seven and eight acres, and destroyed many trees in the adjoining plantation.
6.—Great damage was done by a fire which occurred at Cullingford’s paper mills, St. Martin’s Plain, Norwich.
12.—Relays of cyclists belonging to the four battalions of the Norfolk Volunteer Infantry Brigade, conveyed a message from Lynn to Yarmouth, viâ Norwich and Brandon, and back, a distance of 162 miles in 12 hours 55 minutes. The cyclists carried their usual equipment, which included rifle and bayonet, water bottle, and haversack.
—A fire occurred on premises in Denmark Street, Diss, and caused damage estimated at £6,000.
18.—The Mayor of Norwich (Sir Charles R. Gilman) received honour of knighthood at the hands of the Queen at Osborne House.
20.—The Wayside Chapel at Houghton St. Giles’ was opened. The building, which had been used at a barn, is an interesting example of the transition from the Decorated to the Perpendicular style. It was built about 1380, and had become by purchase the property of Miss Boyd, of Kilburn, a wealthy Roman Catholic lady, who undertook its restoration. A party of “pilgrims” from London formed a procession at Walsingham, and headed by a crucifix and lighted tapers, and attended by a priest, walked to the chapel, where a private service was held.
31.—The China Cup, won at the Bisley meeting by a team of Norfolk Volunteers, was ceremoniously handed over to the custody of the Mayor (Sir Charles R. Gilman) at the Castle Museum, Norwich. The Cup was first won by Norfolk in 1877.
SEPTEMBER.
2.—Died at Gressenhall Workhouse, Peter Pentney, in his 101st year. He was a native of Mattishall, and “unlike most reputed centenarians he was able to produce a duly certified copy of his baptismal register.”
4.—A waterspout occurred off Cromer in wet and stormy weather. It struck the trawler Strive about six miles south-west of Smith’s Knoll. The vessel was turned on her beam ends, and considerably damaged. The waterspout, which towered above the mast of the trawler, travelled at a rapid rate, and in three minutes was out of sight.
8.—Died at Park Lane, Norwich, Mr. James Spilling, editor of the “Eastern Daily Press.” Mr. Spilling was a native of Ipswich, where he was born in 1825, and came to Norwich in 1863 to fulfil an engagement on the “Norfolk News.” He was the author of a series of sketches in the East Anglian vernacular illustrative of rural life and humour; his more solid work was devoted to the exposition of the philosophy and theology of Swedenborg, in whose teachings Mr. Spilling had a sincere belief. These books included “The Evening and Morning,” “Amid the Corn,” “Among the Flowers,” “The Wreath and the Ring,” and “Our Society.”
13.—Died at 35, King Street, Norwich, Mr. William Philip Barnes Freeman, aged 84. He was the eldest son of Mr. William Freeman, Mayor of Norwich in 1843, and received his early education under Capt. Bailey, at Hellesdon. Afterwards he went to the Yarmouth Academy under the Rev. Mr. Bowles, where he obtained lessons in drawing from John Sell Cotman, and his education was completed at Norwich Grammar School under Valpy. His art studies were continued under Cotman for water colour and under T. B. Ladbrooke for oil painting, and he was intimate with David Cox, Stark, Henry Bright, Vincent, and other artists of his day. Mr. Freeman was a contributor to the exhibitions of the Royal Academy and of the Royal Society of Artists. His grandfather, Jeremiah Freeman, his father, and his uncle, Philip Barnes, were all members of the old Norwich Society of Artists founded by Old Crome.
20.—A Military and Naval Exhibition was opened at the Agricultural Hall, Norwich, by Colonel Burton, commanding the 9th Regimental District.
23.—Mr. Paynton Pigott, Chief Constable of Norfolk, was presented by the officers and men of the County Constabulary with a gift of silver plate on the occasion of the seventeenth anniversary of his election to the office.
25.—At the Shirehall, Norwich, was unveiled by Mr. R. T. Gurdon a portrait of Mr. Clare Sewell Read, subscribed for by the county in acknowledgment of his valuable services in the interests of agriculture. The portrait, which was painted by J. J. Shannon, R.A., was afterwards hung at the Castle Museum.
OCTOBER.
15.—A special Church mission commenced at Norwich and was concluded on the 29th.
18.—St. Clement’s churchyard, Norwich, laid out as a public garden by the Norwich Playing Fields and Open Spaces Society, was opened by the Mayor (Sir Charles R. Gilman).
24.—Died, at Oberlin House, St. Leonard’s Road, Ealing, in his 90th year, the Rev. John Stoughton, D.D. The son of a Norwich solicitor he was born in the parish of St. Michael-at-Plea, and was for sixty-five years in the Congregational ministry. Among his literary works was his book entitled “Recollections of a Long Life.”
—Died at Cranley Place, London, Mr. Francis Turner Palgrave, formerly Professor of Poetry at Oxford. The eldest son of Sir Francis Palgrave, he was born at Great Yarmouth in 1824, and was educated at the Charterhouse and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he was a scholar. In 1847 he took his degree with a first in Classics, and was elected to a Fellowship at Exeter College. From 1850 to 1855 he was Vice-Principal of the training college at Kneller Hall, and after acting as secretary to Earl Granville, became assistant secretary to the Committee of the Privy Council on Education.
26.—A serious outbreak of typhoid fever was reported at Lynn; and by December 18th 440 cases and 43 deaths had occurred. The disease was occasioned by the impurity of the water supply, and it was stated that at least 75 per cent. of the cases could be traced to the drinking of unboiled water.
—Mr. T. Richmond Pinder resigned the head-mastership of King Edward VI. Middle School, Norwich, to which he was appointed in 1862. Mr. William Robert Gurley, M.A., of the Perse Grammar School, Cambridge, was on February 8th, 1898, elected to fill the vacancy.
—Died at Old Lakenham, Norwich, Mr. Carlos Cooper, barrister-at-law. He was the second son of Mr. Charles Cooper, and was born February 12th, 1815. Educated at Norwich Grammar School he was called to the Bar by the Society of Lincoln’s Inn in 1839, and was appointed Recorder of Thetford in 1865. He afterwards became Recorder of King’s Lynn, was placed on the commission of the peace for the city of Norwich in 1873, and shortly afterwards appointed judge of the Guildhall Court of Record on the death of Mr. Nathaniel Palmer.
NOVEMBER.
1.—At Terrington Petty Sessions, the Norfolk and Norwich Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals instituted proceedings against two persons for cruelty to 130 geese by plucking them alive on October 4th and 5th. Remarkable statements were made in the course of the hearing. The practice, it was said, was not uncommon a quarter of a century previously, but it had since ceased except in remote localities. Evidence was given to the effect that the process was unquestionally barbarous and cruel. A witness for the defence, who described himself as a “goose puller,” stated that for twenty years he had plucked 1,500 live geese annually, and 5,000 or 6,000 were so plucked every year in his village. It was the custom to pluck the same birds four times a year—first on June 18th, and afterwards at intervals of three weeks; and every goose so plucked weighed two pounds more at Christmas than those which had not been plucked, and the flesh was of better quality. The magistrates dismissed the cases.
4.—Mr. A. J. Balfour, First Lord of the Treasury, addressed a large meeting of the Conservative party at the Agricultural Hall, Norwich, at which Lord Amherst of Hackney presided. Mr. Balfour stayed at Catton Park, as the guest of Mr. S. Gurney Buxton.
9.—Mr. Clement Charles Rix Spelman was elected Mayor and Mr. Alfred Haldinstein appointed Sheriff of Norwich.
16.—The new Royal Hotel, erected on the site of Messrs. Foster and Burroughes’ offices and of a stonemason’s yard and other premises on Bank Plain, Norwich, was opened by a public luncheon at which Mr. Blofeld, chairman of the Directors, presided. The building was designed by Mr. E. T. Boardman, of the firm of Messrs. Boardman and Son, and the contractor was Mr. John Youngs.
28.—A severe gale visited the eastern coast, and continued on the 29th. At Yarmouth a high sea flooded the Beach Gardens, and the river overflowed its banks, and entered private houses, offices, and warehouses on the Quay. At Cromer a portion of the jetty was washed away, and at Horsey serious breaches were made in the sea wall and thousands of acres of salt marshes submerged. The fishermen and others on the coast sustained great damage, and a fund was opened by the Mayor of Norwich for their relief. On December 30th Capt. Vereker, the professional adviser to the Harbour Department of the Board of Trade, held an inquiry at the King’s Arms Inn, Martham, for the purpose of receiving suggestions as to the best methods of preventing future encroachments.
DECEMBER.
7.—The Norwich Town Council elected Mr. Ernest Edward Wild, barrister-at-law, judge of the Guildhall Court of Record, in place of Mr. Carlos Cooper, deceased.
22.—Died at 14, Trinity Street, Norwich, Mr. William Hunter, aged 77. He was a native of Bury St. Edmund’s, was elected Mayor of Norwich in 1881, and appointed a justice of the peace in 1893.
26.—Died at Belper, the Rev. Edwin Augustus Hillyard, vicar of Christ Church, in that town. He was formerly rector of St. Lawrence, Norwich, and the pioneer of ritualistic observances in the churches of the city. “Mr. Hillyard was the first to have celebrations for the departed, and they have been held in one church or another in Norwich ever since.”
27.—A disastrous fire occurred at Lynn, and caused destruction of tradesmen’s stock and property of the value of £150,000. It originated on the premises of Messrs. Jermyn and Perry and Jermyn and Son, wholesale and retail drapers and furniture and general warehousemen.
1898.
JANUARY.
14.—At Aylsham County Court, before Judge Willis, Q.C., was tried the action Astley and Wyrley-Birch v. MacLean. The plaintiffs sought to recover £50 damages from the defendant, who was master of the Baconsthorpe Harriers, for trespassing upon their lands and for disturbing game thereon. The defence was that a fair but unsuccessful attempt had been made to prevent the hounds from getting into the cover, and as soon as possible they were drawn out. The jury found a verdict for the plaintiffs, damages £1, and stated that in their opinion the trespass was unintentional. Under the circumstances his Honour refused to grant an injunction to restrain the defendant from committing similar trespasses.
23.—Honingham church, restored by the Hon. Ailwyn Fellowes, M.P., as a memorial of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria, was opened.
27.—Died at Catton, Mr. Donald Steward, eldest son of Mr. Timothy Steward, and a member of the firm of Messrs. Steward, Patteson, Finch, and Co. He was appointed to the office of Sheriff of Norwich, in 1878, and was formerly a captain, in the Norwich Battalion of Rifle Volunteers.
29.—A great fire took place at Press’s mills, Great Yarmouth, and resulted in the destruction of property to the amount of £20,000.
FEBRUARY.
1.—Died at the Mount, Thorpe Hamlet, Mrs. Hannah Elizabeth Jarrold, widow of Mr. Thomas Jarrold. She was the author of the popular “Household Tracts,” and was for many years an active worker amongst the poor.
5.—At the Guildhall Police-court, Norwich, Mr. Edmund Reeve, on behalf of the Norwich Electric Tramways Company, applied to the justices, under the Lands Clauses Consolidation Act, for a magistrates’ certificate that the capital of the company had been subscribed. The capital was stated to be £240,000, and 50 per cent. thereof had been paid up. The application was granted. The work of laying the tramways was commenced on the Earlham and Thorpe routes on June 22nd. (See April 19th, 1900.)
8.—Mr. Edward Wild was elected leader of the Conservative party in Norwich in place of Mr. H. S. Patteson, resigned.
11.—A great sale of shire horses, the property of the Prince of Wales, was conducted at Wolferton by Messrs. Sexton, Grimwade, and Beck. Fifty-four lots averaged £224 7s. 9d., and the sale realised £12,117. The three-year-old filly, Sea Breeze, was bought by Sir Blundell Maple for 1,150 guineas.
22.—A shocking boat disaster occurred at Wells-next-the-Sea. Five members of the coastguard were drowned through the capsizing of their boat, and five men of the crew of the gig of H.M.S. torpedo boat Alarm, Sub-Lieutenant William Lowther, lost their lives through a like mishap. The second disaster, which was discovered when search was being made for the missing coastguard, was the indirect outcome of the first; for when the coastguard boat did not arrive in response to the Alarm’s signals to take off stores intended for use at the Wells coastguard station, it was decided on board the Alarm to launch the gig and execute the commission.
22.—Mr. Arthur F. Gentry, borough accountant of Colchester, was appointed City Accountant of Norwich, at the salary of £400 per annum.
—At a meeting of the Norwich Town Council, it was decided that the Norwich City Waterworks Bill, 1898, be referred to the Law and Parliamentary Committee with the object of obtaining powers in the Bill for the Corporation to purchase the Waterworks. The Bill, which was promoted by the City of Norwich Waterworks Company for raising additional capital and for obtaining powers to make additional works, came before a Select Committee of the House of Commons on March 15th. The committee stipulated that the proposed new capital should be reduced from £100,000 to £60,000, and the borrowing powers to £15,000, which with the unused capital and stock would give the company £90,000. On October 18th the Law and Parliamentary Committee reported that having regard to the importance and magnitude of the acquisition of the undertaking by the Corporation, and the limited time within which steps must be taken to promote a Bill in the next session of Parliament, they recommended that further action be delayed until next year. The recommendation was adopted.
24.—A party of members of the Norfolk and Norwich Archæological Society visited Tasburgh for the purpose of viewing a site known as the Chapel Piece, where a quantity of ancient human remains had been unearthed. “There is little doubt that the site was used as a burial-ground by the inhabitants of the Roman station over the river upon the adjacent hill, in the enclosure of which the present church of Tasburgh stands.”
25.—Dr. Nansen, the Arctic explorer, delivered at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, his lecture entitled “Across the Polar Region.”
MARCH.
5.—Died at his residence, South Kensington, Mr. Edmund Tattersall, head of the well-known firm of horse auctioneers. Mr. Tattersall was born at Sculthorpe, neap Fakenham, in 1816, and at an early age went to London to assist his uncle, whom he succeeded as sole partner in 1858.
12.—The freehold of the old Norfolk Hotel, Norwich, it was announced, had been purchased for £9,500, by a syndicate who proposed to erect upon the site a modern theatre to be called “The Norwich Opera House and Theatre of Varieties,” at an estimated cost of between £25,000 and £30,000. On the 19th particulars were published of another new theatre to be erected upon a site south of Prince of Wales Road. Plans of both the proposed theatres were prepared and were approved by the Corporation. In due course the foundations of the first-named theatre were laid, after which the work came to an abrupt termination.
15.—At a special meeting of the governors of the Jenny Lind Infirmary, at Norwich, plans for the new building were adopted, and an offer made by Mr. J. J. Colman to purchase such portion of the old infirmary premises as would not be required for the out-patient department, for presentation to the city as a playground for children, was accepted. (See December 13th.)
18.—Died at Upper Norwood, aged 78, Mr. Frederic Grimmer, formerly of Haddiscoe, who was appointed Sheriff of Norwich in 1871.
—Died at St. Moritz, the Engadine, the Rev. Thomas Parry Garnier, rector of Banham, and honorary canon of Norwich. Born February 22nd, 1841, he was the second son of the Very Rev. Thomas Garnier, Dean of Lincoln, and one of the most distinguished clergymen in the diocese of Norwich. He was the author of “The Parish Church,” “The Title Deeds of the Church of England,” “Church and Dissent,” “A Story in Outline of the Church of England,” “The First Book of Worship,” “The First and Second Book of Church Principles,” “The First Book on the Church,” &c. Both at Winchester College and Oxford University he greatly distinguished himself in scholastic work and in sport. In 1858 and 1859 he played with the Winchester team against Eton, and for four years, from 1860 to 1863, did admirable service for his University in the matches with Cambridge. He also played in 1861 with the Gentlemen of England in their match with the Players. Canon Garnier married in 1873 the Hon. Louisa Warren Vernon, daughter of the fifth Lord Vernon.
25.—St. Paul’s church, Great Yarmouth, was consecrated by the Bishop of Norwich.
29.—Died at the Great Hospital, Norwich, Susan Rope, aged 101 years five months. She was a native of Earl Soham, and had been upon the foundation of the Hospital since October 31st, 1865.
APRIL.
7.—Died at Cringleford, Mr. Henry Staniforth Patteson. He was a son of Mr. John S. Patteson, and was born in November, 1816. For more than thirty years he was an alderman of Norwich, was appointed Sheriff in 1858, and in 1862 was elected Mayor. He was actively identified with the Norwich Rifle Volunteers for more than a quarter of a century, and retired with the rank of major, and he succeeded Col. Bignold as leader of the Conservative party in the city.
—Mr. Samuel Hoare, M.P., and Mrs. Hoare, in a letter to the Dean of Norwich on this date, the thirty-second anniversary of their wedding day, offered to defray the whole cost of removing from the walls, columns, and other portions of the nave of the Cathedral the thick coating of whitewash which for centuries had defaced and obscured the masonry. Shortly afterwards was initiated the fund for the provision of a new organ for the Cathedral. (See May 25th, 1899.)
13.—Sir Charles R. Gilman was presented by the district managers and inspectors of the Norwich and London Accident Insurance Association with a piece of silver plate weighing 150 ozs., “as a mark of their esteem and to commemorate the honour conferred upon him by the Queen during the second term of his mayoralty of the city.”
14.—The Norwich Diocesan Conference opened at Noverre’s Rooms, Norwich, and was concluded on the 15th.
18.—A Missionary Loan Exhibition was opened at the Agricultural Hall, Norwich, by the Countess of Leicester, in celebration of the jubilee of the Church Missionary Society. It was closed on the 23rd.
23.—Notice was published of an intended application to the Light Railway Commissioners for powers to construct a light railway from Trowse, viâ Arminghall, Brooke, and Loddon, to Beccles. On July 12th Lord Jersey, chairman of the Light Railway Commission, and Col. Boughey, R.E., C.S.I., sat at the Shirehall, Norwich, for the purpose of receiving information on the subject. It was stated that the length of the proposed line would be 17½ miles; the capital to be authorised by the Bill was £100,000, with borrowing powers for £33,000, and Sir Douglas Fox, consulting engineer, stated that the contractor would be able to construct the line for £93,000.
27.—Mr. John Cross tendered his resignation of the office of Clerk to the Norwich Board of Guardians, and on May 25th Mr. E. R. Woodward was elected to fill the vacancy.
MAY.
7.—Died at Kirkley, Lowestoft, Mr. Robert Hitchman, formerly Chief Constable of Norwich, aged 72. He was appointed Chief Constable on March 24th, 1859, and retired on April 30th, 1897.
12.—Polling took place in the Southern Division of the county in consequence of the resignation of Mr. Francis Taylor (Liberal Unionist). The candidates were Mr. J. Sancroft Holmes, of Gawdy Hall, Harleston (Conservative), and Mr. A. W. Soames, architect, of London (Liberal). The poll was declared at the Shirehall, Norwich, on the 13th: Soames, 4,626; Holmes, 3,296.
19.—Intelligence was received in Norwich of the death of Mr. Gladstone. Both political parties paid becoming respect to the memory of the deceased statesman. Resolutions of sympathy were passed by the members of the Norwich and Norfolk Conservative Club and of the Gladstone Club, and on the day of interment, the 28th, a memorial service, attended by the Mayor and Corporation, was held at the Cathedral.
24.—The Norwich Town Council considered a report of the Executive Committee containing recommendations for the alteration of the names of various streets and roads in the city. The report, with certain modifications and amendments, was adopted at a subsequent meeting.
26.—A new Voluntary school for the accommodation of 400 boys, erected on Hall Road, Lakenham, by the supporters of Church education in Norwich at the cost of £2,600, was opened by the Lord Bishop.
27.—Died at Mulbarton, Mr. George Frederick Cooke, formerly District Registrar of the High Court of Justice, and Registrar of the County Court, Norwich, in his 80th year. He was the youngest son of the Rev. William Cooke, vicar of Bromyard, Herefordshire, and brother of Mr. Cooke, a former judge of the Norfolk County Court.
28.—The members of the Automobile Club of Great Britain arrived at Norwich in the course of a Whitsuntide tour through East Anglia.
JUNE.
9.—A verdict of accidental death was returned by a coroner’s jury at Norwich in the case of Henry Skepworth, a sergeant in the 7th Dragoon Guards, who died from injuries received when returning from Wymondham, where a party of non-commissioned officers and men of the regiment had given a military display at the athletic sports. It was subsequently announced that “certain irregularities having lately occurred at sports and other displays in which soldiers have taken part, and notably in the Colchester district, where a sergeant met with his death, the Commander-in-Chief has refused applications for their services on such occasions.”
16.—Mr. Ben Greet’s company gave pastoral representations of “As You Like It” and “The Comedy of Errors” at Bracondale Woods in aid of the endowment fund of the Jenny Lind Infirmary at Norwich.
20.—The railway from North Walsham to Mundesley was opened for goods traffic. The first passenger trains were run on July 1st.
21.—The Norwich Corporation Baths at the old Museum premises, St. Andrew’s Broad Street, were opened by the Mayor (Mr. C. C. R. Spelman).
—At the Norfolk Assizes, before Mr. Justice Hawkins, Samuel Frederick Steele (27), railway carman, was indicted for the wilful murder of Thurza Ann Bensley, at Yarmouth, on February 23rd. The jury found him guilty, but considered him insane when he committed the act, and expressed the hope that he would be kept in strict custody for the rest of his life. His lordship said he would add that as a rider to the verdict.
—It was reported at a meeting of the Norwich Town Council that Messrs. Hughes and Lancaster had completed their contract, amounting to £21,522 for supplying Shone’s ejectors, &c., in connection with the sewerage works.
22.—George Watt (44), labourer, was indicted at the Norwich Assizes, before Mr. Justice Hawkins, for the wilful murder of his wife, Sophia Watt, at Sprowston, on April 14th, and was found guilty, and sentenced to death. The execution (by Billington) took place at Norwich Prison on July 12th.
25.—The championship meeting of the National Cyclists’ Union was held on the Earlham Road Recreation Ground, Norwich. The five miles’ professional championship was won by H. E. Meyers, Dutch Cyclists’ Club, in 15 minutes 36 1-5th seconds; the five miles’ amateur championship by A. S. Ingram, Polytechnic Club, in 14 minutes 11 2-5ths seconds; and the 25 miles’ amateur championship by H. W. Payne, West Roads Cyclists’ Club, in 1 hour 4 minutes 52 4-5ths seconds.
29.—The Summer Show of the Norfolk Agricultural Association was opened at King’s Lynn. Sir William ffolkes, Bart., was deputed by the president, the Duke of York, to perform his duties at the show in consequence of his Royal Highness’ absence on naval service. The Duchess of York arrived from London by special train, and was received at Lynn railway station by Sir William ffolkes, and at the entrance to the show ground by the High Sheriff (Mr. Simms Reeve) and the show officials. Her Royal Highness before returning to London was entertained to tea by Lady ffolkes in a marquee erected on the grounds. The show closed on the 30th.
JULY.
9.—Died at Surrey Street, Norwich, Mr. Henry George Barwell. Born on February 4th, 1829, he was the fourth son of Mr. John Barwell, and was educated at Hofwyl, near Berne, and at Norwich Grammar School. He was engaged as private secretary to Mr. Birkett, brother-in-law of Sir Morton Peto, and was afterwards employed in the construction of a portion of the Great Northern Railway between Lincoln and Newark, and on its completion was sent out to Flensburg as one of the staff in the making of the Royal Danish Railway. In 1856 he joined the firm of Barwell and Sons. Taking up the practical study of art in 1870, he became a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Institution of Painters in Water Colours; he was one of the founders of the Norwich Art Circle, and for twenty-five years was hon. secretary of the Norwich School of Art.
15.—The Norfolk Infantry Volunteer Brigade went into camp at Colchester under the command of Col. G. S. Burton, commanding the 9th Regimental District. The four battalions numbered about 2,000 men.
—The 7th Dragoon Guards left Norwich by train for Bulford Camp, Salisbury Plain, to take part in the cavalry manœuvres.
25.—In the Court of Appeal, before Lords Justices A. L. Smith, Rigby, and Vaughan Williams, judgment was given in the long pending appeal the Corporation of Thetford v. the County Council of Norfolk. This was an appeal from a judgment of Mr. Justice Wills. The question was whether in the case of a borough of not less than 10,000 inhabitants and having separate courts of Quarter Sessions and Petty Sessions, the salaries of the recorder and the clerk of the peace, and of the clerk to the borough justices in Petty Sessions in such borough, and certain other expenses connected with the Quarter Sessions and Petty Sessions were transferred from the borough fund to the county fund. Thetford was a borough containing a population of less than 10,000, and was situated for administrative purposes within the county of Norfolk. It had a separate court of Quarter Sessions presided over by a recorder, who was paid a salary of £40 per annum, and there was a clerk of the peace who was paid by fees. Before and since the Local Government Act of 1888 the salary of the recorder and the fees (with certain exceptions) of the clerk of the peace were paid out of the borough fund, and the clerk to the borough justices was paid a salary out of the same fund. The plaintiffs contended that by the Act of 1888 the liability for the expenses was transferred to the defendants, and they claimed a declaration to that effect, and they further claimed to be reimbursed the expenses paid by them. There was also a question raised by cross-appeal as to the payment of the salary of the clerk of the Petty Sessions. The court dismissed the appeal, and allowed the cross-appeal.
26.—Dr. J. E. Talmage lectured at Victoria Hall, Norwich, on “Utah and its People.”
—The Norwich Town Council adopted the report of a special committee appointed to enquire into the sanitary condition of the courts and yards of the city. The effect of the recommendations was to enforce upon the owners of property the fulfilment of the provisions of the Public Health Act and the Norwich Corporation Act of 1889.
AUGUST.
1.—On this date occurred the most serious and destructive fire that had taken place in Norwich during the century. At an early hour in the morning the premises of Mr. Daniel Hurn, rope maker, Dove Street, were discovered to be on fire. The flames spread southwards to Messrs. Chamberlin and Sons’ wholesale warehouse, northwards towards Pottergate Street, and westward to the Public Library. The premises in which the fire originated, the warehouse, and a portion of the property on the north were speedily destroyed, and ultimately the Library building was consumed with its 60,000 volumes and the valuable Norton library. On August 5th the Edinburgh public-house, at the corner of Dove Street and Pottergate Street fell with a crash, and two or three persons were severely injured.
2.—Died at Scone Palace, near Perth, William David Murray, fourth Earl of Mansfield, K.T., aged 93. The deceased nobleman was better known to Norwich politicians of a by-gone generation as Lord Stormont, who with Sir James Scarlett, afterwards Lord Abinger, was returned as Conservative member for the city at the first Parliamentary election after the passing of the Reform Act. It was not until 1895 that the Conservative party once more obtained the undivided Parliamentary representation of Norwich by the return of Mr. Samuel Hoare and Sir Harry Bullard.
12.—Died at Swaffham, Mr. Herbert William Day, aged 76, who for upwards of twenty-five years held the office of County Treasurer, and retired shortly after the passing of the Local Government Act, 1889.
23.—At the Norwich Police-court, Samuel Matthews, of Raglan Street, Dereham Road, was charged on eight summonses with unlawfully using the name and title of doctor and of surgeon, thereby implying that he was a registered medical practitioner. The Bench decided that Mr. Matthews, in using the word “doctor,” did not wilfully and falsely pretend to be registered as such, and, therefore, dismissed the case; but they considered there had been an infringement of the law in the use of the word “surgeon,” for which the defendant was fined £1, and 12s. costs. At the Norwich County Court on the 24th Mr. Matthews was sued by the Master, Wardens, and Society of the Art and Mystery of Apothecaries of the City of London to recover the sum of £20 for unlawfully acting as an apothecary by attending, advising, and supplying medicines to certain persons. A special jury was empanelled to try the case, which was admitted. Judgment was entered for the plaintiff society for £20 and costs. Mr. Matthews was afterwards presented with a gift of plate weighing 300 ounces, subscribed for by the citizens as a mark of their esteem and sympathy.
26.—The promises of Messrs. Pinchen and Co., brewers and mineral water manufacturers at South Creake, were destroyed by fire. The damage was estimated at £3,000.
28.—The church of St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, was re-opened upon the completion of the work of restoring the chancel to its original level. This portion of the great work of restoration was carried out at the expense of an anonymous donor.
30.—At the Episcopal Consistorial Court, held at Norwich Cathedral, before Mr. Chancellor Blofeld, was heard an application for a faculty in which citation had been granted against the Rev. Robert Middleton, rector of St. Michael-at-Coslany, Norwich, for illegally, without any faculty and in spite of remonstrance of William Joseph Simmons, one of the churchwardens, removing a re-table from its position above the communion table, and moving from the church certain ornaments which stood there, namely, a cross of brass, two candlesticks, and two flower vases, and for refusing to replace them. Mr. Middleton was cited to appear and show cause why a faculty should not be granted to the churchwardens directing them to replace the articles. The faculty was granted as prayed, with costs against Mr. Middleton.
SEPTEMBER.
1.—A ball was given at Drayton House in celebration of the silver wedding of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Walter, who were the recipients of many presents and congratulations. On the 3rd the workmen employed at the Taverham and Bawburgh mills and the labourers on the estate were entertained to dinner.
6.—Barnum and Bailey’s great show visited Norwich, and was located upon a piece of land on Unthank Road. The performances were repeated on the 7th. Upwards of 42,000 persons visited the show. (See July 29th, 1899.)
13.—Died at Earlham Road, Norwich, Mr. John William Sparrow, solicitor, for many years Registrar of the Guildhall Court of Record.
—The coming of age of Mr. Robert Hamilton Kemp, eldest son of Sir Kenneth Kemp, Bart., was celebrated at Gissing Old Hall.
18.—Died at the Clyffe, Corton, Mr. Jeremiah James Colman, of Carrow House, Norwich, aged 68. Mr. Colman came of an old family of Norfolk yeomen. One of his ancestors, Jeremiah Colman, who was born in 1777, established a flour mill at Bawburgh, and afterwards carried on business at Norwich, whence he removed to Stoke Holy Cross, where was formed the nucleus of the great commercial undertaking now existing at Carrow. The subject of this notice was the son of James Colman, and was born in 1830. In 1856 he married Caroline, daughter of Mr. W. H. Cozens-Hardy, of Letheringsett. Mr. Colman was interested in agricultural pursuits and the breeding of stock, and his famous herd of red-polls, and equally well-known flock of Southdowns were for years represented at all the great shows. Art and literature obtained his attention, and he collected an unrivalled library of local works at Carrow Abbey. Mr. Colman embarked largely in commercial enterprises connected with the Press. With Mr. Jacob Henry Tillett he was instrumental in founding the “Norfolk News” and other newspapers published by that company, and was largely interested in the “Star,” the “Morning Leader” and the “East Anglian Daily Times.” In 1862 Mr. Colman was appointed Sheriff of Norwich, and in 1867 was elected Mayor. He was first nominated for Parliamentary honours upon the unseating on petition of Mr. Tillett in 1871. His Conservative opponent was Sir Charles Legard, whom he defeated by 1,200 votes. This was the last election contested by open voting, in Norwich. At the General Election of 1874 Mr. Tillett, freed of his disabilities, was nominated as colleague of Mr. Colman; the Conservative candidates were Mr. Huddleston, Q.C., and Sir Henry Stracey, Bart. Mr. Colman and Mr. Huddleston were returned. The next election took place in 1880, when the Liberal party once more made a strenuous effort to secure the return of Mr. Tillett by the aid of Mr. Colman’s popularity. The Conservative nominees were Mr. Henry Harben and the Hon. W. F. B. Mainwaring. The Liberals were returned by an overwhelming majority. At the election of 1885 occurred the first indication of the disasters which were to befall Liberalism in Norwich. Mr. Harry Bullard was nominated to oppose Mr. Colman, with whom as second Liberal candidate was Mr. R. S. Wright. For the first time in his political career Mr. Colman had to be content with second place, for Mr. Bullard was returned at the head of the poll with 7,297 votes, against 6,666 polled by Mr. Colman, and 6,251 by Mr. Wright. Mr. Bullard was unseated on petition, and it was stated at the time that Mr. Colman was opposed to the course taken by his party. Mr. Samuel Hoare was then elected unopposed in the place of Mr. Bullard. At the General Election in 1886 Mr. Colman regained his former position at the head of the poll with 6,295 votes as against 6,156 polled by Mr. Hoare, who had Mr. C. S. Read as his colleague. This election was noteworthy as the last occasion upon which Mr. Tillett was nominated. In 1892 Mr. Colman made his last appearance as a Parliamentary candidate, and with him was nominated Mr. James Bedford. Mr. Hoare, Conservative candidate, was returned by a majority of 311 above Mr. Colman; and the representation of the city remained thus until the General Election of 1895, when Mr. Colman retired, and for the first time in sixty years the Conservative party returned two members, Mr. Hoare and Sir Harry Bullard. Mr. Colman, who was one of the greatest benefactors in Norwich, was held in deserved esteem alike by political friends and opponents, and many expressions of public regret were recorded. He was predeceased (on the 15th) by his mother, Mrs. Mary Colman, who died at Town Close Lodge, in her 93rd year. It was announced at a meeting of the Norwich Town Council on October 18th that Mr. Colman had bequeathed to the Castle Museum, free of duty, his collection of oil paintings and water colours by Norfolk and Norwich artists. The collection was valued at £5,000.
OCTOBER.
16.—Died at Fairstead House, Newmarket, aged 82, Mr. John F. Clark, the famous racing judge. Mr. Clark was a native of Norwich, and on leaving school joined his father as a builder. He afterwards became an architect, and during his professional career designed many ecclesiastical buildings, and restored others. He also planned most of the modern grand stands upon the principal race courses in England. Mr. Clark was appointed judge by the Jockey Club in 1852, and was the third member of his family who had held the office, from which he retired at the close of 1888.
18.—The Norwich Town Council decided to widen Fye Bridge from 22 feet to 36 feet at the estimated cost of £1,000, two-fifths of which were payable by the Norwich Electric Tramways Company.
24.—The National Union of Women Workers of Great Britain and Ireland opened its annual conference at Prince’s Street Rooms, Norwich; and on the 27th the Mayor and Mayoress held a reception at St. Andrew’s Hall.
30.—Died at Lowestoft, Mr. Frederick Elwin Watson, aged 88. He twice served the office of Mayor of Norwich, in 1866–67 and in 1870–71. He was for many years a warm supporter of the Norwich Church of England Young Men’s Society.
NOVEMBER.
8.—Died at Wymondham Vicarage, in his 96th year, the Rev. Robert Eden, M.A., Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and honorary canon of Norwich Cathedral. He was the author of several works, including “The Churchman’s Theological Dictionary,” “Some Thoughts on the Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures,” “A History of Preaching,” “The Title Page of the Revised Version of the Holy Bible,” &c. In his young days Canon Eden was acquainted with Whately, the famous divine, and was for a time assistant librarian at the Bodleian Library.
9.—Mr. George Henry Morse was elected Mayor and Mr. Henry Skelton appointed Sheriff of Norwich.
18.—The Norwich and Norfolk Conservative Club was opened in its new premises, the Royal Arcade, Norwich. Sir Alfred Jodrell, Bart., presided on the occasion.
26.—The remarkable recovery of a lost register belonging to the parish of Gressenhall was reported. “The books, which dated from 1538 to 1710, were discovered lying on a shelf in an upper room with a number of other old documents, at Docking Hall. A certain Hon. Hugh Charles Hare, who was rector of Docking from 1708 to 1711, was also rector of Gressenhall, and probably to him may be traced the removal of the books to Docking, where they had remained for nearly two hundred years.”
28.—The 7th (Queen’s Own) Hussars, arrived by train at Norwich, from Southampton, where they had disembarked the same day from the Simla.
DECEMBER.
13.—At a meeting of the Norwich Town Council, Mr. Edward Wild moved the adoption of a report of the City Committee affirming “that the inadequate and unsuitable existing accommodation for the transaction of the public work of the city is a hindrance to the proper dispatch of the business, detrimental to the health of the officials and members of the Corporation, and disproportionate to and unworthy of the position and dignity of this important city.” The subject was referred to a committee to report thereon to the Council. (See September 5th, 1899.)
13.—The foundation stone of the new Jenny Lind Infirmary, Unthank Road, Norwich, was laid by Geoffrey R. R. Colman, son of Mr. Russell J. Colman. In a cavity of the stone was a brass plate with the following inscription:—“The Jenny Lind Infirmary was founded 1853; rebuilt 1898, foundation-stone laid by G. R. R. Colman. Norwich population, 113,000; fastest train to London 2 hours 37 minutes; electric tramways commenced. Price of a large sheep 63s.; bricklayers’ wages 7½d. per hour.” (See June 30th, 1899.)
14.—Died, Mr. Robert Wortley, of Suffield. He was one of the best known agriculturists in Norfolk, an excellent judge of stock, and a noted hackney breeder.
24.—Shernbourne church, restored from designs by Mr. Herbert J. Green, and Sir Arthur Blomfield (consulting architect), was re-opened. The Prince and Princess of Wales, accompanied by the Duke and Duchess of York, Princess Victoria of Wales, and Prince Alexander of Teck, attended the service. The Prince of Wales had taken great interest in the work, and had subscribed to the restoration fund, which was raised mainly through the efforts of the rector, the Rev. F. J. W. Girling.
—A young man named Horace Alfred Cox entered a café in St. Benedict’s Street, Norwich, and fired three shots with a revolver at Ellen Parker, one of the assistants. The bullets missed Parker, and Cox then turned the weapon upon himself. He sustained injuries to the head, from which he died shortly after removal to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.