1850.
Jan. 5th.—At the Hospital meeting it was stated that £96 4s. 11d. had been collected for that institution on the general Fast Day. Mr. B. Dowson occupied the chair, and Messrs. G. D. Palmer, J. G. Cannell, W. Steele, W. H. Palmer, and Dr. Impey took part in the proceedings.
Jan. 12th.—The Haven Commissioners were being urged to lengthen the Jetty, to enable vessels to land there when they could not enter the port.
Jan. 19th.—An address of condolence had been voted by the Town Council to the Queen on the occasion of the death of the Queen Dowager.
The parsonage house had been purchased from the Corporation by private subscription.
The Revs. J. Everitt, S. Dunn, and W. Griffiths, three Wesleyan Ministers, expelled by the Conference, had held a meeting of their friends at the Corn Hall.
Jan. 26th.—The annual meeting of the Royal Life Fund had been held, W. H. Palmer, Esq., in the chair, when the expenditure for the year appeared to have been £174 11s. 9d., as against assets amounting to £172 15s. 9d.
The Rev. Bowyer Vaux had delivered a lecture on “Nineveh.”
The “Enterprise,” steamer, was being repaired by Mr. A. R. Palmer, prior to her resuming her passage between this port and Rotterdam.
Feb. 9th.—The fishery business was in a very depressed state, and it was computed that from £15,000 to £20,000 less cash would on that account be circulated in the town.
Ninety volumes of books had been given to the library of the Young Men’s Institute by the Mayor (D. A. Gourlay, Esq.), Admiral Hills and Robert Steward, Esq.
Feb. 16th.—An endeavour was being made to reduce the wages paid to coalheavers.
Feb. 23rd.—Disturbances had arisen on this account, and a man named Lightning had complained to the Mayor that he had been assaulted by James Miller and others because he agreed to the owners’ terms.
Mr. Henry Pickard (relieving officer) had been charged before the Magistrates for the manslaughter of Sarah Auger (aged 20) and acquitted.
The smack “Good Intent” had been seized and condemned as a smuggler, and Richard Parmenter, of the White Swan Inn, and George Shirley, fish curer, had been committed to Norwich Castle upon Exchequer writs for £8,230 each.
A meeting had been held with regard to the legalisation of marriage with a deceased wife’s sister (the Mayor in the Chair), when a petition in favour of that measure was adopted.
March 9th.—The “Sacramento” (400 tons) had been launched from Mr. H. Fellows’ yard.
March 16th.—Mr. Worship, Mr. Ferrier, and Mr. Jay, had attended a meeting of the Haven Commissioners, and suggested that the first stone of the bridge should be laid with Masonic honours.
Mr. Benjamin Button had been appointed one of the parish surgeons in the place of Mr. William Burgess deceased.
The highest tender for the ballast dues had not been taken owing to a mistake of the Deputy Town Clerk.
The conduct of the prisoners in the gaol had been of an extremely disorderly character.
March 23rd.—The “Eagle” (recently launched from the yard of Mr. T. Barber) had been lost off Jaffa. Mr. Barber was insured to the extent of £4,000.
Five wherries had broken adrift at night and fouled the Haven bridge but they had all been secured by the river watch.
March 30th.—There had been a heavy fall of snow and intense cold, the thermometer standing at 23 deg.
Two new oyster beds had been discovered in the roadstead, and oysters vended at 1d. to 3d. per quarter.
April 6th.—The first boilers ever made in the town had been manufactured by Mr. S. V. Moore, for the “Enterprize,” and fixed in her at the Crane. They weighed 13 tons each.
William Barth, Esq., had died in London.
Mr. Robert Waters’ mill at Southtown had been burnt. It was insured for £1,600 in the Sun and Norwich Union Fire Offices.
April 13th.—The death of Admiral Hills is recorded.
The following Guardians had been elected:—The Mayor (D. A. Gourlay, Esq.), T. Brightwen, James Jackson, George Danby-Palmer, S. C. Marsh, J. Fish, J. Fiddes, and B. Fenn, Esqs., and Messrs. M. Blowers, R. Ecclestone, C. Steward, J. Lawn, T. Lettis, jun., S. Norman, J. D. Chapman, and S. J. Fill.
April 20th.—A petition for the abolition of Church Rates was being signed in the town.
April 27th.—The Congregationalists had determined to build a new chapel upon part of the site of the late Mansion of John Penrice, Esq., in King Street, and £1,107 10s. 7d. had already been subscribed.
Dr. Smyth had delivered a lecture on “Respiration and Atmospheric Air,” at the Y.M.I. The attendance was small.
May 4th.—Contains the record of the death of Samuel Palmer, Esq., from the effects of an accident. Mr. Palmer was taking a drive in the afternoon, and while going over the Bridge his pony took fright at the firing of some cannon in commemoration of the marriage of Miss Costerton, Mr. Palmer in attempting to jump out of his gig was thrown with great force upon his head, which injury proved a fatal one.
A finely-toned bell weighing 10 cwt. 3 qrs. 14 lbs. in the key G, bearing the inscription “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,” had been fixed in the tower of the new Roman Catholic Church.
The Poor’s box in the Parish Church had been broken open, and the contents, believed to be a large amount, stolen.
May 11th.—Mr. E. H. L. Preston had been appointed Receiver of Admiralty Droits in the place of Mr. Samuel Palmer deceased.
The following compensation had been awarded, with regard to the properties taken for the approach to the new bridge:—
| Mr. Puncher | £1,757 |
| Mr. Teasdel | £418 |
Messrs. Preston’s case was going to a Suffolk jury.
May 18th.—The “Bear Hotel,” was being demolished for the new bridge approach.
The Jury impannelled in the case of Preston v. The Haven Commissioners, after hearing the evidence of the plaintiff, and Mr. Palmer in reply, awarded them £950 damage and £100 for the value of the land taken.
May 25th.—Rustic sports had been provided on the South Denes, at Whitsuntide, when there had been a great influx of people brought by rail and the “Earl of Liverpool” steamer.
The “Prince of Wales,” Revenue cutter, Lieut. John Allen, had brought into the harbour the “Seaflower,” having on board 122 parcels of leaf tobacco of 50 lbs. each.
June 1st.—The Queen v. The Justices of Great Yarmouth, as to rating Vauxhall Gardens, had been heard and the rule obtained for the parish, discharged with costs. Mr. O’Malley appeared for Mr. C. Cory, and Mr. Palmer for the parish.
The Southtown tolls had been let by auction to Mr. W. Matson for £344 per annum. In 1820 these tolls had only realised £248.
A large meeting had been held at the Angel inn on the subject of the exceedingly high Poor’s rate levied in the parish, Mr. Richard Ferrier in the chair.
June 15th.—It appeared from the Guardians accounts that 25 per cent. was allowed in their accounts “for waste in the consumption of meat.”
June 22nd.—The following persons had been elected Poor’s rate collectors, viz., Mr. Robert Bullen, Mr. Thomas Kelf, Mr. High, Mr. R. Harbert, and Mr. William Nutman.
Bro. Richard Ferrier had entertained his brother Masons at Burgh Castle, in commemoration of the completion of his new mansion, the foundation of which was laid with Masonic honours.
July 6th.—Mr. Joseph Clarence had obtained a license for the Theatre for six months, subject to certain more stringent regulations than had previously prevailed.
July 13th.—The flag on the church and the town flags on the hall had been hoisted at half-mast upon the day of Sir R. Peel’s funeral.
William Johnson, Esq., of Southtown, had given an entertainment on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter to William Mart, Esq., of London.
July 27th.—A meeting had been held with regard to the “Public Health Act.”
Aug. 3rd.—A Mrs. Baker (a visitor) had attempted to commit suicide in one of Mr. Brown’s bathing machines.
Aug. 10th.—Youell’s nurseries were in full bloom.
Mr. John Morton, of Caister, had taken the degree of a M.C.S. Edin.
Aug. 17th.—The late high tide had removed nearly 60 acres of beach and sandbanks at Caister, and a shoal called the Hood, lying to the North of the village had disappeared. Consequent upon this there had been a large deposit of sand upon Yarmouth Beach.
Robert Rising, Esq., the auditor, having applied for a summons against Mr. Henry Pickard, late assistant overseer and rate collector, on a charge of embezzling £675 13s. 8¾d., at the hearing of such information the prisoner pleaded “guilty,” and failing sufficient distress he was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment. He had sureties to the amount of £400 who were being proceeded against.
Aug. 24th.—Col. Peel, M.P., J. S. Dunkald, Esq., and Sir E. H. K. Lacon, Bart., had acted as Stewards of the Races.
The Ferries had been let by William Walpole, Esq., by auction, the upper ferry for £250, and the Gorleston ferry for £175 per annum.
Aug. 31st.—Lady Bolton, a niece of Lord Nelson, had visited Capt. Manby, who had been a schoolmate of his Lordship 79 years previously.
Sept. 14th.—The churchwardens and overseers had been summoned before the Justices to show cause why they neglected or refused to pay over to the Guardians the sum of £789, in accordance with their order, and the hearing of the case adjourned.
Sept. 21st.—A supplemental rate of 2d. in the £ had been made to meet this demand. It appeared that the Guardians asked for £2,800 for the current quarter, but the overseers insisted that £2,200 would suffice, and only in the first instance raised that amount, hence the deficiency.
Sept. 28th.—There was likely to be an appeal against this supplemental poor’s rate.
A meeting of the electors for the Regent Ward had been held at the “Star and Garter” Inn, at which Mr. Thomas George presided, when S. C. Marsh and R. H. Harmer, Esqs., offered themselves as candidates, the determination of D. Turner, Esq., to retire was announced by Mr. W. Worship.
Oct. 12th.—The season, in consequence of the high position Lowestoft had taken as a watering place, had been far from prosperous.
Sept. 26th.—The new Roman Catholic Church had been licensed for marriages.
The following tenders had been sent in for the draining the Denes:—J. Thompson, (Yarmouth), £4,424; W. Johnson, (London), £4,393; G. Piggins, (Yarmouth), £4,234 19s.; R. Page, (Yarmouth), £3,922; and R. Pratt, (Yarmouth), £3,715. The lowest tender was accepted; about 7,400 feet of sewer being required.
A Vestry Meeting had been held as to the Rating of small tenements, when the poll taken on an amendment in favour of applying the Act, was 329 as against 68 against it.
A special Sessions had been held to hear upwards of 250 appeals against the recently made Poor’s Rate.
Mr. J. H. Harrison’s was the case taken, and after hearing Mr. Chamberlin on his behalf, and examining the Rate Book, Mr. Preston moved and Mr. G. Danby-Palmer seconded, and it was carried by the vote of the bench that an unequal assessment existed and the rate was accordingly quashed. Mr. Cufaude on behalf of the Overseers, then stated that he agreed to this. The decision was received with applause.
Sir J. Walmesley, M.P., J. Hume, Esq., M.P., and T. Norton, Esq., attended a meeting as a deputation from the Financial Reform Association.
Nov. 9th.—The result of the Municipal Election had left the parties equally balanced in the Council; the means used in these contests having in most instances been “disgusting and disgraceful.”
The following was the polling:—
GorlestonWard. | |
E. H. L. Preston, (C) | 185 |
W. Hammond, (C) | 170 |
S. Crowe, (L) | 78 |
F. S. Costerton, (L) | 64 |
NorthWard. | |
J. Jackson, (L) | 108 |
W. N. Burroughs, (L) | 105 |
S. Nightingale, (C) | 90 |
C. Cory, (C) | 68 |
RegentWard. | |
S. C. Marsh, (C) | 105 |
J. D. Chapman, (L) | 103 |
H. R. Harmer, (C) | 94 |
F. Palmer, (L) | 83 |
J. G. Plummer, (C) | 130 |
J. C. Smith, (C) | 116 |
J. Barker, (L) | 101 |
NelsonWard. | |
G. D. Palmer and T. Lettis, (unopposed). | |
MarketWard. | |
C. Aldred, (C) | 129 |
F. Worship, (C) | 123 |
J. Owles, (L) | 104 |
J. Cobb, (L) | 84 |
Nov. 16th.—At the Council Meeting on the 9th, 46 members being present, Mr. George Danby-Palmer proposed and Mr. P. Pullyn seconded Capt. Charles Pearson, R.N., for the office of Mayor, and Mr. Wm. H. Palmer proposed and Mr. E. H. L. Preston seconded, Sir E. H. K. Lacon, Bart., for that office.
Upon taking the votes it appeared 25 were for Capt. Pearson and 21 for Sir E. H. K. Lacon. Mr. Ferrier then remarked “The majority for Capt. Pearson is 4, and as 10 Aldermen voted for him, he is in fact returned by gentlemen who are now out of office.” Messrs. J. Fyson, Chas. J. Palmer, J. C. Smith, H. Jay, W. Yetts, (Conservatives) and the Mayor and Messrs. J. Pike, J. Fiddes, J. Bayly, J. Barker and B. Fenn, were then nominated for Aldermen, when 42 members voted for Mr. Fenn and 21 for the other 5 party candidates, whereupon Mayor gave his casting vote in favour of the Whig Nominees.
The Mayor’s dinner was held at the “Star” on the following Monday, when His Worship occupied the chair and R. Hammond, Esq., the Vice-chair. D. A. Gourlay, Esq. (Deputy-Mayor) P. Pullyn, G. Danby-Palmer, H. Worship, F. Palmer, W. N. Burroughs, Esqs., and the principal Liberal members of the Corporation were present.
The price of Gas had been reduced to 5s. per thousand cubic feet.
H. Palmer, Esq., had notified his intention to resign the Town Clerkship.
Mr. Cufaude, Mr. C. Cory, and Mr. J. Clowes, were spoken of as probable candidates.
Mr. G. Johnson had been elected master of the Workhouse.
Nov. 23rd.—The crew of a Sheringham smack had been fined £100 each, or six months’ imprisonment for smuggling 2,760 lbs. of tobacco.
Dec. 14th.—Several houses on the Denes had been broken into, and some brushes stolen from Mr. J. Palmer’s warehouse at the Bridge foot, where the thieves missed taking a considerable amount of gold and silver carelessly left on the premises.
Dec. 21st.—W. Lee, Esq., had held an Inquiry as to the drainage of the Denes.
THIRD SERIES, 1851–60.
“When found, make a note of”—
Capt. Cuttle.