January 24th. The anniversary of the birthday of the Right Hon. C. J. Fox was commemorated by a grand public dinner in St. Andrew’s Hall by 460 noblemen and gentlemen, amongst whom were the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Albemarle (who presided), Viscount Bury, Lord Molyneux, and many other leading gentlemen of the liberal party. The hall was handsomely decorated, and the names of Fox and Albemarle appeared in variegated lamps, and in a semi-circular transparency was that of Sussex, in letters of gold upon a ground of purple silk.
January 30th. A messenger from London brought to Lord and Lady Castlereagh (who were at Gunton Hall) the melancholy tidings of the death of King George III., which became known in Norwich on the following morning, when nearly all the shops were closed, and the bells of the churches were tolled for three hours. The king died on January 29th, in the 82nd year of his age, and the 60th of his troubled reign, during which long wars desolated Europe, doubled our national debt, and impoverished the country. His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, (who was appointed regent on February 6th, 1811,) immediately ascended the throne. King George IV. was soon afterwards seriously indisposed with inflammation in the lungs, but happily recovered from the attack in the course of a week.
February 1st. King George IV. was proclaimed on the Castle Hill by the High Sheriff, Sir William Windham Dalling, Bart., amid the cheers of those assembled. On the same day His Majesty was proclaimed in the city in full form and with great rejoicings.
March 6th. A spirited contest took place for the gown, vacant by the death of Starling Day, Esq., alderman of Wymer ward. At the close of the poll the numbers were for Henry Francis, Esq., 413; John Lovick, Esq., 372; majority for Mr. Francis 41, who was declared duly elected. In this month Messrs. Mitchell, Beckwith, and Culley were elected nominees for the long ward without opposition. The other three wards were contested. After the elections for Wymer and the Northern wards, processions took place at night to celebrate the triumph of the two contending parties.
August 2nd. A common hall was held for the purpose of getting up an address to be presented to Queen Caroline. Mr. Alderman Leman presided, and Mr. Sheriff Taylor introduced the subject, declaring that their duty was not merely to vote an address to Her Majesty on her accession, but to protest against the proceedings adopted by His Majesty’s ministers, against her “whom we ought to honour as our Queen, and esteem as a woman.” He denied the imputation that this meeting was held for factious and seditious purposes. He reviewed the various charges which had been brought against Her Majesty, and mentioned several instances of noble conduct on her part. He regarded the erasure of her name from the liturgy as a gross insult, and spoke of the firmness, and sagacity, and judgment which characterised her determination to return to England. He reminded his hearers of the enthusiasm which attended her entry into London. But no sooner was she arrived than a large green bag was laid on the table. Now he had an instinctive horror of a green bag, as he had once the honour of occupying a small corner of one. He then challenged the ministers, through Mr. Coke, to prove any one of the charges brought against him in the green bag; and he received an answer that it was all a mistake, and that Norwich should not have been inserted. The resolutions were carried by acclamation, and he afterwards presented an address to the Queen at Brandenburgh house.
There was but one opinion here as to the character of George IV., and with respect to the Queen, all the world agreed that she was much to be pitied. Men’s passions were so strongly excited, that whichever side they took, whether for her or against her, her conduct was viewed through a false medium. Nothing showed this more strongly than the behaviour of the two parties upon her death. The blue-and-whites, many of whom had never put on black for a royal personage before, were to be seen dressed in black and white, while on the other hand the orange-and-purples, not content with appearing in their ordinary attire, flaunted about in the gayest colours.
December 12th. In consequence of the numerous robberies committed in the city and county, public meetings were held, and resolutions passed to grant high rewards to watchmen who might apprehend offenders. More burglaries had been committed in that year than in the preceding twenty years. Increased poverty had produced crime, and the “Old Charlies” were of little use.
1821. March 7th. E. T. Booth, Esq., (sheriff) was elected an alderman of Great Wymer ward in the room of the late William Foster, Esq., who had died on March 3rd. There was an opposition; at the close of the poll the numbers were, for Mr. Booth 444, Mr. R. Shaw 433.
March 31st. The freedom of the city having been voted at the quarterly assembly of the corporation on the 24th ult., to be presented to Captain William Edward Parry of the Royal Navy; that gallant officer attended in full uniform, and was sworn in at a full court of mayoralty. The parchment containing the freedom of the city was presented to him in a box formed of a piece of oak, part of the ship Hecla, with an appropriate inscription.
April 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th. Cleansing Week ward elections took place. Conisford ward no opposition, Messrs. J. Kitton, J. Angel, and J. P. Cocksedge (nominees); Mancroft ward no opposition, Messrs. P. Chamberlin, J. Bennett, and J. Goodwin, (nominees); Wymer ward, Mr. A. A. H. Beckwith 432, Mr. J. Culley, 432, Mr. J. Reynolds 423 (nominees), Mr. J. Parkinson 254, Mr. Newin 249, Mr. R. Purland 236, Mr. S. Mitchell 45; Northern ward, Mr. T. Barnard 418, Mr. T. O. Springfield 416, Mr. S. S. Beare 416, (nominees), Mr. G. Morse 231, Mr. Troughton 230, Mr. T. Grimmer 231.