16.—Died at Old Windsor, aged 71, the Right Hon. Lord Walsingham, of Merton Hall. He was the only son of Sir William de Grey, several years Lord Chief Justice of Common Pleas. In 1787 he was appointed joint Postmaster-General, and to within two years of his death had been chairman of the Committees of Privileges, &c., in the House of Lords.
19.—At a meeting of the inhabitants of Yarmouth, held at the New Hall, upwards of £6,000 was subscribed for aiding a plan to extend the navigation of the river Waveney from Bungay to Diss. The sum of £5,000 was raised in the latter town. At a meeting held at Bungay on February 5th the scheme was opposed by the landowners through whose property the projected canal was to pass. On February 13th the inhabitants of Thetford met to oppose the undertaking, as it was likely to be injurious to the tolls of the Lesser Ouse. It was announced on February 28th that £20,000 had been subscribed, and that the expense of carrying the scheme into execution would be £36,931. A meeting was held at Yarmouth on March 10th, at which it was decided “out of respect to Mr. Adair and the rest of the proprietors to defer application to Parliament until the ensuing Session.” Ultimately the scheme was abandoned. In the course of the discussions on the project, “it was thrown out in a highly respectable quarter that the end in view might be answered and all objections obviated by the substitution of an iron railway for a canal.” (This is the first instance in which a “railway” is mentioned in the Norfolk Chronicle.)
—Mr. Sinclair, from Covent Garden Theatre, appeared at the Theatre Royal, Norwich, as Orlando (“The Cabinet”), Apollo (in the burletta of “Midas”), and Henry Bertram (“Guy Mannering”).
26.—The stacks of Mr. John Balls, farmer, Lessingham, were destroyed by fire, his calves suspended by their necks from a beam in
an outhouse, and other outrages committed. At the Norfolk Assizes, held at Thetford in the month of March, James Thompson was indicted for firing the stacks, and, after a trial lasting five hours, was acquitted.
31.—Miss Davison, of Drury Lane, commenced an engagement at Norwich Theatre, during which she appeared as Lady Teazle, Priscilla Tomboy (“The Romp”), Lady Bell (“Know your own Mind”), Roxalana (“The Sultan”), and Lady Racket (“Three Weeks after Marriage”).
FEBRUARY.
4.—Died, at Hethersett, aged 70, Mr. John Buckle, one of the aldermen of the Great Ward of Mancroft, Norwich. He served the office of Sheriff in 1787, and of Mayor in 1793.
16.—Mr. Emery, of Covent Garden, made his first appearance at Norwich Theatre, as Tyke (“The School of Reform”). His other characters included Robin Roughead (“Fortune’s Frolic”), Zekiel Homespun (“Heir at Law”), and Sheepface (“The Village Lawyer”).
21.—Died, aged 88, Mr. William Utten, of the Lower Close, Norwich, formerly chapter clerk to the Dean and Chapter, and secretary to the Lord Bishop of Norwich.