A Comprehensive History of Norwich

by A. D. Bayne

In 1797, February 14th, the Norwich Light Horse Volunteers were organized, of which John Harvey, Esq., was afterwards appointed captain and major. On February 22nd, the Norwich Loyal Military Association was formed, of which John Patteson, Esq., was appointed captain, and afterwards major; and R. J. Browne, C. Harvey, and A. Sieley, Esqs., were appointed captains. Military matters then occupied a great deal of the attention of the citizens.

On March 4th, intelligence was received here of the defeat of the Spanish fleet by Admiral Jervis, and served in some measure to dissipate the general gloom which at this time pervaded the public mind.

On April 25th, a great county meeting was held in the open air on the Castle Hill, and a petition was almost unanimously adopted, praying His Majesty to dismiss his ministers, as the most effectual means of reviving the national credit and restoring peace. This was moved by Mr. Fellowes, seconded by Mr. Rolfe, supported by Lord Albemarle, Mr. Coke, Mr. Mingay, Mr. Plumptre, Mr. Trafford, and others. On April 28th a counter county meeting was held, and an address to the king was adopted, expressing confidence in the ministry of the day.

On May 16th the citizens followed suit. At a numerously attended common hall a petition to His Majesty, praying him to dismiss his administration, was carried unanimously, with the exception of one spirited Tory, who had nearly fallen a victim to popular vengeance on the spot. A counter address of the citizens was afterwards signed and presented to the King, who must have been a good deal bothered at the time by such evidences of the violent agitation of his subjects.

On May 26th, attempts were made here to seduce the military from their allegiance; and on the following day the republican orator, Thelwall, arrived in this city, which caused a great commotion. On the 29th, a party of the Inniskilling Dragoons proceeded to his lecture room, opposite Gurney’s bank, drove out the persons assembled, destroyed the tribune and benches, and then attacked the Shakespear Tavern adjoining, in which a disturbance had taken place. After destroying the furniture and partly demolishing the house, and also breaking the windows and destroying the furniture of the Rose Tavern, in which they supposed the lecturer had concealed himself, the dragoons, on the appearance of their officers and the magistrates, retired to their barracks. Thelwall, in this affray, fortunately for him, escaped and fled to London. Davey, the landlord of the Shakespear Tavern, on being pursued by the soldiers, threw himself from the garret into the street, and was much injured. At the subsequent assizes, Luke Rice, a tailor of this city, was indicted capitally for aiding and abetting the soldiers in this outrage; but as the offence charged in the indictment did not come within the meaning of the statute, he was acquitted. He had, however, a very narrow escape. On June 1st of the same year, (1797) a mutiny broke out on board the fleet at Yarmouth, and several sail of the line hoisted the red flag of defiance.

In January, 1798, the sword of the Spanish Admiral Don Francisco Winthuysen, presented by Admiral Nelson to the corporation of Norwich, was placed in the Council Chamber of the Guildhall, with an appropriate device and inscription.

On February 28th, at a general meeting of the inhabitants of this city, more than £2,200 were immediately subscribed as voluntary contributions towards the defence of the kingdom. In a few weeks afterwards, the whole subscription amounted to more than £8000, a proof of the loyalty as well as liberality of the well-to-do citizens. In May, the following Loyal Volunteer Corps were formed for the purpose of preserving internal tranquillity, and supporting the police of this city, viz., the Mancroft Volunteers, Capt. John Browne; St. Stephen’s Volunteers, Capt. Hardy; St. Peter per Mountergate, &c., Capt. Herring; St. Saviour’s and St. Clement’s, Capt. Fiske; St. Andrew’s, Capt. T. A. Murray.

On June 19th, the Norwich Light Horse Volunteers and Loyal Military Association attended J. Browne, Esq., to the cathedral, previous to his being sworn into the office of mayor; afterwards the Association fired a feu de joie in the Market Place.

On October 11th, at a meeting of the wealthy inhabitants of the city, a subscription was entered into for the relief of the orphans of those brave seamen who fell on August 1st in the ever memorable battle of the Nile; and on the 24th of the same month, at a special assembly of the corporation, an address of congratulation was adopted to his Majesty on the late victory; and it was agreed that a request should be made to Lord Nelson to sit for his portrait, to be placed in St. Andrew’s Hall. His Lordship assented and the portrait was painted by Beechey and placed in the hall, where it may still be seen.

November 29th was appointed as a day of a public thanksgiving for the late naval victories, and was celebrated as such in Norwich with the greatest festivity. In the morning the mayor and corporation, accompanied by the Light Horse Volunteers and the Parochial Associations, attended divine service at the cathedral, where an excellent sermon was preached by the Rev. T. F. Middleton, afterwards Bishop of Calcutta. The sword, taken by Lord Nelson was borne in the procession. On their return to the Market Place there was a feast, and in the evening an illumination.