1878.
Jan. The Rev. A. J. Worlledge, M.A., appointed by the Bishop of Lincoln to an honorary canonry of Lincoln Cathedral, at the early age of 29 years.
Jan. 15th. Two fires broke out in fishhouses and premises belonging to Mr. R. T. Seago, Row 137, and Mr. Wisker, Row 138.
Jan. 16th. John Van Hutton died, aged 102, being born on March 10th, 1776, and his remains buried in the New Cemetery.
Jan. 31st. First triennial election of the School Board, who held office till Feb. 16th. The following 11 gentlemen chosen without going to a poll:—Messrs. J. H. Orde, H. E. Buxton, J. W. de Caux, (Rev.) A. Peaton, G. Baker, D. Tomkins, R. E. Dowson, S. J. F. Stafford, T. Saul, J. T. Waters, and (Rev.) J. F. Splaine, eight being re-elected. On Nov. 29th Mr. F. Dendy elected in the place of Mr. Stafford.
Feb. 8th. The Rev. E. Whitehead, M.A., incumbent of Southtown, presented with a chased silver salver by the parishioners of Denham, Suffolk.
Feb. 26th. William E. Pretyman, Esq., grandson of the late Bishop of Lincoln, died at Yarmouth. This gentleman, up to the time of his decease, spent the greater part of his time in fishing like an ordinary smacksman, for which pursuit he owned a smack—the “Lincoln”—fitted up in a superior style.
Feb. 28th. Mr. J. Ogden, Inspector of Police at Hanley, appointed, out of 50 candidates, Superintendent of the Yarmouth Constabulary in the place of Mr. Tewsley.
Mar. Rev. G. Merriman, Vicar of Martham, appointed domestic chaplain to the Marquis of Ailesbury.
March 7th. Mr. Walter Teasdel gallantly rescued a boy named Coen (12) from drowning in the river, and in April the Royal Humane Society acknowledged his bravery.
March 7th. High and boisterous tide, the lower parts of the town being inundated, and a wherry, belonging to Mr. Goff, and the smack “Two Brothers” sunk in the harbour.
March. Loss of the smack “Fawn” and all hands.
March 22nd. The claims of the shareholders in the Yarmouth and Eastern Counties’ Aquarium Company, after five years, finally wound-up, 15s. out of each £ invested being refunded by the hon. liquidator, C. C. Aldred, Esq., who was presented with a magnificent silver salver by the shareholders. The amount invested was £3,431.
March 24th. The training-ship “Eurydice” wrecked off Dunnose, Isle of Wight, and over 360 lives lost. This vessel anchored in Yarmouth Roadstead in 1877.
March 25th. The annual income this year of the Port and Haven Commissioners was £12,478 10s. 3d., and for 1879, £12,110 15s. 1d.
March 28th. Loss of the smacks “Henry,” “Dairy Maid,” and “Deerhound;” also the barque “Theresa” and brig “Vladimir” in a gale.
April 1st. Major Hector Tullock, R.E., held an enquiry at Runham-Vauxhall respecting the borrowing of £1,000 for carrying out the water and drainage scheme; also on Feb. 11th, 1879.
April. Memorial window placed in the chancel-part of the Parish Church in memory of William Palgrave, Esq. (who died in 1838), and Elizabeth, his wife, by their surviving children.
April. Intelligence received at Yarmouth of the loss of the barque “Ponda Chief” off Natal. (See Aug. 2nd, 1875.)
April 17th. Public meeting at the Town Hall to oppose the Town Council in the proposed building of a new Town Hall, but on Jan. 16th, 1879, the loan of £30,000 was sanctioned by the Treasury.
April 20th. The Army and East Norfolk Militia Reserves called up, and subsequently the former sent to Colchester and the latter to Ireland.
April 23rd and 24th. Frank Buckland and Spencer Walpole, Esqs., two of her Majesty’s Commissioners, held an enquiry at the Sailors’ Home respecting the destruction of small soles and other trawl fish, by order of the Secretary of the Home Department.
April. A handsome and costly monument, rather above 20 feet in height, erected in the Cemetery. It bears the following inscription:—“Erected by his bereaved and sorrowing mother, in fond remembrance of Charles S. T. Mills, Esq. (the dearly beloved and only son of Charles and Maria Mills), who died at Great Yarmouth on the 19th December, 1875, aged 29 years. Gone before.” This monument is of solid Aberdeen polished grey granite, surmounted by a beautiful marble upright figure representing “Truth,” the latter being the work of an Italian sculptor. The tomb is surrounded at the base by floral wrought-iron railings, fixed in 1879. (See Sept., 1883.)
April. The congregation of St. Andrew’s presented the Rev. E. G. H. Murrell with a silver salver and two silver napkin-rings, as a wedding present.
May 1st. The new nave of St. James’ Church built and opened at a cost of £3,250. Interior length, 103 ft.; width, 33 ft.; height, 53 ft.; exterior height, 70 ft. Accommodates about 700 worshippers. This nave forms only a third of the proposed entire building.
May 2nd. Mrs. T. Burton Steward, wife of the Captain of the 1st Norfolk Artillery Volunteers, presented with a handsome silver-plated épergne, subscribed for by the officers and men of the corps.
May 3rd. Mr. Archibald Forbes, war correspondent to the Daily News, lectured at the Aquarium on the leading episodes, from personal experience, of the Battle of the Shipka Pass, crossing the Danube, and the Battle of Plevna. Mr. Forbes’ first visit to Yarmouth was in 1872, during the stay of the Prince of Wales.
May 6th. H.M. steam-yacht “Hawk” and schooner “Mermaid” anchored in the Roadstead.
May 7th. Rev. F. C. Villiers presented with a handsome épergne by the North-end Mission congregation in this town.
May. Sir Francis Goldsmid, Bart., Q.C., F.R.G.S., died from an accident. In 1854 he was a candidate with Mr. Rumbold for the representation of the Borough.
May 9th. Quay House sold by auction for £1,720.
May 12th. Fire at Messrs. H. and E. Brand’s outfitting premises, South Denes Road.
May 23rd. Fire in a tar store at Gorleston belonging to Mr. J. Fleming Hewett; damage £80.
May 26th. Mr. H. S. Baumgartner, of Gorleston, passed the preliminary examination of the Apothecaries’ Hall.
May 29th. The Venerable Archdeacon Perowne made his first visitation since being appointed to the place of Archbishop Hopper, deceased.
June 20th. Mr. Edward T. Ayers, author of several legal works, passed the intermediate examination under the Solicitors’ Act, 1877, held by the Incorporated Law Society; and on the same date Mr. W. H. Cowl successfully passed a similar examination.
June 24th. The Wellington Pier Company let by public tender their pier to Mr. S. Boughton, for three years, the average receipts for the previous three years being £481 5s. per annum.
June 28th. The Rev. George Venables appointed one of her Majesty’s Commissioners to enquire into the law and the existing practice as to the sale, exchange, and resignation of Ecclesiastical Benefices, and to recommend remedies for abuses if any found to exist.
June. A large dredger for the Haven, named the “FitzRoy,” costing £5,495, ordered by the Port and Haven Commissioners, which arrived here April 6th, 1879.
June 28th. Major Dods, E.N.M., presented with an elaborate silver épergne, with a greyhound at the base, as a testimonial, by the gentlemen forming the Norfolk and Suffolk Coursing Meeting, in token of respect, after 15 years their hon. sec.
June. Mr. Leggett’s contract of £855 for building the north transept, aisle, and porch of St. John’s Church accepted. Entire cost, £1,050.
July 4th. The Council elected Mr. William Hurry Palmer as an Alderman; and on Aug. 26th Mr. Charles Diver to fill the vacancy in the Haven Commission caused by the death of Mr. J. W. Bunn.
July 9th. Winterton Church re-opened after being partly restored at a cost of £3,000.
July 11th. Mr. Charles Jennings, son of C. H. Wiltshire, Esq., passed the preliminary examination of the Incorporated Law Society.
July. Forty-one designs for a new Town Hall for the Borough open to public inspection at the old Town Hall, three prizes having been offered by the Corporation for the three best.
July 13th. The smack “Admiral” sunk off Southwold, and on the same day one of Messrs. Hewitt’s steam-cutters collided with the steamboat “Naiad” off Gravesend.
July 26th. Encampment on the South Denes during the past week of the 3rd and 4th Norfolk Rifles, there being over 200 tents erected for their accommodation. (See July 21st, 1877.)
July 31st. Rev. G. Venables, Vicar of Yarmouth, appointed by the Bishop of Norwich Rural Dean of Flegg.
Aug. 1st. Serious fire broke out on the premises of Mr. H. Teasdel, ship-chandler, Southtown. On Sept. 24th, 1845, Mr. Teasdel’s warehouses were destroyed by the same element.
Aug. 12th. Alarming thunderstorm, accompanied with vivid flashes of lightning, heavy hail and rainfall, and a hurricane. The electric fluid did considerable damage to several houses in the town and neighbourhood, and in more than one dwelling played sad havoc with the furniture, &c.—a house in Row 63 coming off worst. A part of one of St. Mary’s Church (Southtown) pinnacles was dislocated.
Aug. 22nd. Loss of the “Norfolk Lass” (140 tons), of this port, and five hands, including Capt. A. W. Vince and his son, aged 12, on Corton Sand. She was built by Messrs. Fellows in 1841.
Aug. An old wreck found under-water near the entrance of the Harbour, supposed to have been sunk two centuries before to prevent the old fort from being undermined by the current. In 1555 a vessel was sunk here, but whether the same, is doubtful. It was 77 ft. long by 27 ft. wide.
Aug. 28th. A horse and cart belonging to Mr. Norton fell over the Quay-head opposite Town Hall and the animal drowned.
Aug. 29th. Eight houses in St. George’s Terrace sold by public auction for £4,400.
Sept. 3rd. A member of Mr. B. Fielding’s Concert Party lost his wife and two children among the 600 drowned in the ill-fated steamship “Princess Alice,” which collided with s.s. “Bywell Castle” off Barking.
Sept. 19th. Fishing boat “Stately” wrecked on Yarmouth Beach.
Sept. 25th. New Post office at Gorleston opened.
Sept. 26th. Vice-Admiral Spencer Smyth, of this town, promoted from the rank of Vice-Admiral to that of Admiral on the retired list. (See April, 1870, and June 12th, 1873.) He died on April 3rd, 1879, aged 87 years, and his remains were subsequently interred in Gorleston Churchyard.
Sept. 28th. The body of a newly-born female babe found by two smack-boys on the beach wrapped in a white cotton bundle, and a reward of £50 was offered by Government for the apprehension of any person concerned in the murder.
Sept. 29th. A fine sturgeon, 5 ft. long, and weighing about 90 lbs., captured in the Roadstead; also a young porpoise and (in Dec.) a live seal, all of which were taken to the Aquarium.
Sept. 29th. One thousand five hundred and twenty-six police cases summarily dealt with by the Magistrates during the past year.
Sept. 29th. The Port and Haven Commissioners’ receipts from dues for the past half-year amounted to £6,883 18s.
Sept. 30th to Oct. 1st. The celebrated actress, Mrs. Rousby, appeared at the Theatre Royal as “Princess Elizabeth” in ’Twixt Axe and Grown. Mrs. Rousby died in April, 1879.
Oct. The high flint wall enclosing St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Regent Road, pulled down, and a low wall, surmounted with a light handsome palisading, put in its place. In 1879 the Roman Catholic Cemetery, Caister Road, was enclosed with a stone wall mounted by an iron railing.
Oct. 10th. Three men belonging to the “Sea Gull,” owned by Messrs. Hewitt and Co., drowned at sea whilst ferrying fish.
Oct. 13th. The Lord Bishop of British Columbia (Dr. George Hills) again preached in St. Nicholas’ Church.
Oct. 15th. The Right Rev. Bishop Mackenzie, Sub-Dean of Lincoln and Bishop Suffragan of Nottingham, died at Lincoln. (See 1844 and Aug., 1869.)
Oct. 21st. Messrs. Grout and Co. presented at the Paris Exhibition with a gold medal for superiority in the manufacture of pure silk crape.
Oct. 23rd. The fishing lugger “Eustace” foundered at sea.
Oct. 23rd. Inspector George Tewsley, chief-clerk in the Leeds Police Force, and son of our late Superintendent of Police, promoted to Lieutenant in the Edinburgh Constabulary, at a salary of £170 a-year. On Jan. 1st, 1879, the Leeds Force presented him with an illuminated address.
Oct. 24th. The Gorleston Storm Company’s lifeboatmen gallantly rescued the crew of the brig “Fuschia,” which foundered on Scroby Sands.
Oct. E. P. Youell, Esq., appointed by the Lord Lieutenant a Magistrate for the County of Suffolk.
Nov. 2nd. Mr. J. Green, of Gorleston, sprang into the river at the Brush and rescued a child named Warner from drowning. In March, 1879, he was awarded the Royal Humane Society’s bronze medal and clasp for his gallantry.
Nov. 4th. A wooden building constructed on the North Nelson Road, which Messrs. W. and G. Pinder used as a circus up to March 22nd, 1879. Messrs. Pinder first made their acquaintance with Yarmouth during the existence of the Regent Hall.
Nov. 5th. 80th birthdays of Mrs. Bowles and Mrs. Marshall, twin sisters, of this town, the only two surviving “children” of the late Robert Blake, fish merchant, out of a family of 22.
Nov. 8th. A terrific gale and serious damage to fishing craft (about 70) and shipping generally, with loss of life, including three hands belonging to the smack “Olive Leaf.”
Nov. 16th. Destructive floods throughout the County—Norwich on this date being the greater sufferer; part of the Great Eastern Railway was submerged, as well as the Hundreds in the Northern and Eastern Divisions.
Nov. 27th. The Town Council appointed as Burial Board for the parish of Gorleston, and in 1879 the new Cemetery at Gorleston was formed.
Dec. 14th. The news of the death of her Majesty’s second daughter Princess Alice observed in the town with the usual outward manifestations of sorrow.
Dec. Smack “Ingomar” lost through a collision.
Dec. 18th. Robert David Barber, Esq., J.P., T.C., and Actuary of the Yarmouth Savings Bank, died, aged 72 years. Mr. Barber was Mayor of the Borough in 1874. He was succeeded in the Council by Mr. Fredk. Carpenter on Jan. 16th, 1879; W. Barnard, Esq., as a Magistrate on March 7th, 1879; and Mr. Alfred Teasdel in the banking firm.
Dec. 20th. The s.s. “C. S. Butler,” with 900 tons of coal, of London, wrecked on Hasbro’ Sand, but her crew of 17 saved by the “Tyro.”
Dec. 23rd. Lieut.-Colonel James Duff, M.P. for North Norfolk, died in London, aged 47 years. His remains were interred in the quiet churchyard at Westwick, Westwick Park. As a Statesman, an officer in the army, a Freemason, or a private gentleman, Col. Duff’s general manner, his courtesy, and his hospitality endeared him to the hearts of all classes and sects who had the honour of his acquaintance.
Dec. 26th. Three Yarmouth gentlemen skated a distance of 23 miles over the rivers Thirne and Bure.
Dec. 31st. During the past half-year the Y. and N. N. Railway had carried 89,762 passengers, and taken £2,607 14s. 5d. The gross receipts amounted to £3,503 16s., and the expenditure was £1,629 8s.
Dec. 31st. The number of herrings landed at the Fishwharf during the season amounted to 10,150 lasts; and in the previous year 19,405 lasts, by about 650 fishing boats.
Dec. One hundred and eighty-four public-houses and 121 beer-houses in Yarmouth.
Dec. Three hundred and thirty-seven English and foreign vessels arrived in port during the year. Number of coasters 973. 24 vessels were totally lost off this coast in 1878, one with all hands, and 67 assisted in by lifeboat crews.
The receipts for this year’s Roads Regatta were £203 7s. 8d. The expenditure left a balance of £11 2s.
Marriages: Jan. 10th, A. E. Cowl, Esq., to Miss Emma E. Gambling; Feb. 16th, E. B. K. Lacon, Esq., to Florence A. Foster; Feb. 27th, J. S. Cobb, L.D.S., R.C.S., to Caroline S. Simpson; March 5th, Mr. Jas. Rivett to Miss A. Pike; April 30th, Rev. E. G. H. Murrell to Miss Agnes E. Aldred; May 7th, Rev. R. J. Tacon, J.P., of Rollesby, to Caroline B. Pitt; June 11th, Rev. H. J. Bode to Miss G. H. Murrell; Aug. 8th, Mr. F. W. Dendy to Miss J. Baumgartner.
Deaths: Jan., Capt. Cox, late County Court Bailiff; Jan. 18th, Mrs. Geo. Danby Palmer, aged 91; Jan. 26th, Mr. H. W. Weller, seven years manager of Southtown Gas Works, aged 47; March 17th, Mr. T. G. Ridgway Knight; May 31st, Rev. G. W. Steward, of Caister, aged 73; June 1st, Mr. Frank Noverre, aged 71; June 4th, Mr. J. T. Savage, aged 52; June 2nd, Garson Blake, Esq., J.P., aged 63; June 3rd, Capt. John Porter Laws, aged 71; June 11th, Capt. T. Davis, R.N.; June 24th, Mr. Alderman J. W. Bunn, aged 49; Dec. 18th, R. D. Barber, Esq., J.P., aged 72; Dec. 30th, Rev. J. Randerson, aged 72; Dec. 31st, Mr. T. W. Attwood, aged 60.
Launches: Jan. 2nd, dandy smack “Charlie”; Jan. 11th, smack “Rover”; Feb. 7th, smack “Daylight”; May 16th, dandy cutter “Susie”; June 5th, dandy cutter “Moggy”; June 17th, smack “Oak”; Aug. smacks “Myrtle,” “Prompt” and “Violet May”; Aug. 29th, trawling smack “Cyprus”; Sept. “Hilda”; Sept. 18th, “Progress”; same month “William Henry” and “Ettie.”