1867.
Jan. 1st. Oddfellows’ Hall opened in Gorleston.
Jan. 5th. Eighteen hands lost from the brigs “Sarah” and “The Ark,” in collision in the South Ham, 500 yards off Gorleston Pier.
Jan. 8th. Mr. F. W. Maryson presented with a silver star, at the Steam Packet Tavern, by the Nottingham Order of Oddfellows.
Jan. 12th. Heavy gale. Six vessels lost, and 48 shipwrecked mariners afterwards taken to the Sailors’ Home.
Jan. Fish Wharf scheme proposed, and on April 20th the wharf was commenced by “turning the sod.” The Fish Wharf and Tramway Bill cost £2,481. (See Feb. 16th, 1869.)
Jan. 16th. Loss of the “Eclipse,” at Dieppe, and three lives.
Feb. 15th. The report of the Royal Commissioners laid before the House of Commons; March 15th, Petition presented by Sir Edmund H. K. Lacon, Bart., against the Disfranchisement of the Borough; May 30th, the Borough disfranchised; June 7th, another Petition presented to the House of Commons against the Disfranchisement; and one to the House of Lords, July 29th, but all proved unavailing.
Feb. 22nd. Mr. C. Rumbold appointed as a Relieving Officer.
Feb. 26th. The Elizabethan house of C. J. Palmer, Esq., sold by auction for £1,150, and the fixtures for £64 14s. 6d.
March 21st. Mr. S. Durrell resigned the Overseership of Gorleston Parish.
April 2nd. First meeting of the Port and Haven Commissioners under the new Act of Parliament. H. N. Burroughes, Esq., resigned the chairmanship.
April 4th. Foundation stone of the Gourlay Wesleyan Day Schools laid. The founder, D. A. Gourlay, Esq., J.P., gave £1,000 towards the building.
April 20th. A party of gentlemen, comprising Messrs. Spence, Fenner, Everard, R. Veale, Moore, Silvers, Douglas, Neave, and Harrison, had their boat upset on Ormesby Broad, 100 yards from the shore, and narrowly escaped drowning.
April 21st. Heavy gale, and loss of the smacks “Swan” and “Talisman” and twelve hands.
May 8th. Service of plate presented at the Duke’s Head Hotel to W. Heath, Esq., of Ludham Hall.
May 16th. Foundation-stone of the new Primitive Methodist Chapel, Queen’s Road, laid. Chapel opened Sept. 26th. Building cost £1,000.
May 20th. Reform meeting. Mr. Edmond Beales, the great Reformer, addressed from 2,000 to 3,000 people from the balcony of the Steam Packet Tavern.
June 1st. A halibut, weighing 161 lbs., 6 ft. in length, and 30 inches across, captured by a smack; and in March, 1868, two were caught off the coast—one weighing 198 lbs., and the other 140 lbs.
June 24th. Resolved by the Town Council to have new fire engines and a fire escape for the Borough; their capabilities were tested on Sept. 9th. On Aug. 20th an engine was provided for Gorleston.
June. Sergeant John Quince presented with a gold-mounted meerschaum pipe by the officers of the Artillery Militia.
July 6th. First London daily passenger boat to Yarmouth.
July. E. H. L. Preston, Esq., received from the Belgian Government the Decoration of Knight of the Order of Leopold, in recognition of 28 years’ service as Consul.
Aug. 29th. Roman Catholic Mortuary Chapel opened by the Bishop of Demerara. Foundation stone laid on Aug. 15th, 1866, by Lady Stafford.
Sept. 10th. “Routledge’s Magazine for Boys’” lifeboat for Caister launched. Built by Messrs. Beeching at a cost of £300.
Sept. Mr. G. B. Kennett, managing clerk to Mr. W. Holt, appointed clerk to the Norwich Magistrates.
Sept. Permanent Fund established. The surplus of £500 remaining from the relief fund of Dec., 1863, was added to this institution, and in Jan., 1868, the Princess of Wales sent a cheque for £25 to this Fund.
Oct. 3rd. The dead body of an infant found wrapped up in a bundle in Mr. Knight’s yard; Jane Jarron was examined on 11th, and committed for trial at the Assizes on the charge of murder on the 18th. Acquitted Dec. 5th.
Nov. 6th. Mr. James Sharman, keeper of the Nelson Monument, died, aged 82 years. He was a Trafalgar veteran, and one who assisted Lord Nelson in his dying moments.
Nov. 10th. The Rifle Volunteer Drill Hall opened by the Mayor, Captain E. P. Youell. Cost £1,200.
Dec. 2nd. High tide; the Southtown Road and various parts of the town near the river were inundated, through the banks of Breydon being broken. On the following day there was a heavy gale, when the Gorleston lifeboat “Rescuer” was again capsized (see Jan. 13th, 1866) through collision with the fishing lugger “James and Ellen,” and 23 were drowned, including 11 of the crew of the “George Kendall,” for whose widows and orphans a special donation of £234 was received. The number of men lost off the coast was 85, leaving 33 widows and 71 children destitute.
Launches: April 16th, fishing boat “Express,” from Messrs. Hastings Brothers’ yard; May 20th, smack “Spring Flower,” from Messrs. King and Baker’s yard; July 4th, smack “Pathfinder,” from Messrs. J. and H. Beeching’s yard; July 8th, smack “Hermit,” from Mr. A. J. Palmer’s yard; Aug. 13th, smack “Mermaid,” from Mr. Rust’s yard; Aug. 20th, model pleasure boat “Nonpareil,” from Messrs. Aldred and Morl’s yard; Sept. 10th, smack “Olga,” from Messrs. Fellows’ yard; Oct. 24th, smack “Silver Cloud,” from Messrs. Critten and Clarke’s yard; Oct. 31st, Mr. Lawrie’s small steamtug “Enterprise,” she being the first iron vessel built at this Port.
Dec. 6th. The Haven Commissioners resolved to borrow £27,188 15s. for Haven improvements.
Dec. 26th. An original local Christmas pantomime, entitled Neptune’s Decree, &c., was produced at the Theatre Royal, written by “Felix,” a local author.
Deaths: March 2nd, W. H. Bessey, Esq., J.P.—Dec. 25th, W. Mayes Bond, Esq., aged 66.—Dec. 31st, Mr. J. Norman, aged 80.