On August 16th, the Norfolk and Norwich Art Union opened their exhibition of pictures at the Bazaar in St. Andrew’s. About 400 pictures were exhibited, some of them of great merit.
About this time much excitement prevailed in the city respecting the designs of the Chartists, who, although they were not numerous, were considered dangerous, as they were known to possess arms, many guns and pikes having been taken from them by the police. On Sunday, August 18th, the Chartists attended divine service at the Cathedral, when the bishop made a spirited appeal to them. Many meetings of the Chartists were held, and exciting harangues were delivered, advocating the five points of the charter, including universal suffrage, and vote by ballot, which, some of their opponents said, meant “Universal suffering, and vote by bullet.”
1840. On February 10th, Queen Victoria’s wedding day was kept as a holiday, and addresses were adopted, to be presented to Her Majesty and Prince Albert. The poor of the various parishes were substantially regaled, and the citizens were admitted free to the pit and gallery of the theatre. On many subsequent occasions, on the birth of a prince or princess, the citizens have shown their loyalty by presenting addresses of congratulation.
On February 25th, a meeting was held in St. Andrew’s Hall to consider the necessity of a bill then before parliament, for “repealing and altering the existing paving acts,” and to oppose the same, if necessary: when a petition was adopted to be presented to the House of Commons, praying that the bill might not pass. The Marquis of Douro presented the petition.
On June 15th, at a meeting in the Guildhall, addresses of congratulation were agreed on, to be presented to the Queen and Prince Albert, on their happy escape from an attempt at assassination.
The first annual meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich Protestant Association was held on October 15th in St. Andrew’s Hall, when 2000 persons were present. Addresses were delivered advocating the Protestant cause. Subsequently many similar meetings were held in this city. The speakers always raised the cry of “no popery,” explaining that they meant, “No withholding of the bible from the people; no worshipping of God in a dead language; no bowing down before images as helps to devotion; no divine homage offered to a human being, though the mother of our Lord; no prayers to saints; no priests pretending to offer the sacrifice of Christ continually in the mass; no polluting confessional; no persecuting inquisition; no Jesuits with their hidden works of darkness; no licenses for doing evil that good may come; no absolution for the worst of crimes; no power of a priesthood over courts of law; no canon law to overrule the statutes of the realm; no cursing with bell, book, and candle; no enforced celibacy; no nunneries where women are buried alive; no convents for lazy, vicious monks; no masses for the dead; no fictitious purgatory; no power of priests to forgive sins,” &c., &c
1841. In June this year the census of the united kingdom was taken, and the result, as regarded this city, showed but a small increase of the population, the total number being 62,294, while in 1831 the number was 61,304. The number of hand-loom weavers had been greatly diminished by the competition of steam power. Many of them left the city, and others went into the boot and shoe trade, which had now become of some importance.
This year many political meetings were held in the city, of Tories, Whigs, Radicals, and Chartists. The prospect of a general election kept the city in a state of great excitement. The leaders of the two former parties tried to prevent a repetition of such scenes as had taken place, by a compromise, which was a most hateful thing to the freemen, and working men generally. When the election came on in June, Mr. Dover, a Chartist, nominated Mr. Eagle, a Chartist, of Suffolk, and afterwards, it was said, received a bribe of £50 to withdraw the nomination. In consequence of this, a riotous mob assembled in the Market Place, and Dover had to be protected by the police from their violence, for if they had got hold of him, they seemed as though they would have torn him in pieces. On the following day the mob having learned that Dover was at a public house in St. George’s Colegate, went there and dragged him thence, threatening to throw him into the river. He was much injured, and would probably have lost his life but for the timely arrival of the police.
1843. On August 9th, a dreadful storm of hail, rain, wind, and thunder, passed over the city and county, and did immense damage to property, especially to the growing crops. Parochial subscriptions were raised to the amount of £5,622, and private subscriptions £4,391, towards compensating the sufferers for their losses. An immense number of windows were broken by the hail in the city, and many places were flooded.
1844. This year the railway was opened between Yarmouth and Norwich, and in the next year the line was opened from Norwich to Brandon, simultaneously with the Eastern Counties line from London to Ely. This caused an entire change in the mode of travelling, and in the carrying trade of the district. All the old stage coaches were of course discontinued.