22.—At a Levée held at St. James’s Palace, the King conferred the honour of knighthood upon Mr. John Harrison Yallop, Mayor of Norwich, on his presenting to his Majesty the address adopted at a Common Hall held in Norwich in the previous October, on the subject of the Reform Bill.
MARCH.
2.—The funeral took place at Scole of Ann Chapman, aged 92. “Her head was placed contrary to the usual way, agreeably to her desire, which she had made known to the sexton. She was 47 years old when she married, and her husband only 17. She had 18 children, 13 sons and five daughters, all of whom arrived to the age of maturity. Five of the sons served in the Army. This remarkable woman seldom took more than two or three hours’ sleep of the twenty-four. She could see to thread the finest needle, and she retained her faculties to the latest period of her existence.”
6.—At a ploughing match at Roughton, John Colman, aged 92, beat all competitors, and was awarded the prize.
13.—Married, at St. Cuthbert’s, Thetford, Mr. Bussey, schoolmaster, aged 29, to Mrs. Judith Millen, aged 78. “A party of heroines attended the happy couple, and performed their melodious chorus upon saucepans and kettles, and to complete the band a watchman’s rattle was added.”
14.—Beard, the guard of the Red Rover coach, “made an attempt” to play Crack (“The Turnpike Gate”), at Lynn Theatre. “The best advice we can give him is to stick to his own stage in future. His comic singing, however, was good.”
20.—Three troops of the 7th Hussars, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Keane, marched into Norwich from Birmingham.
21.—This day being appointed by Royal proclamation for fasting and humiliation, the Mayor and Corporation of Norwich attended service at the Cathedral, and collections were made at the doors for
charitable uses. Services were held at the parish churches, and alms were given for the poor. The day was similarly observed at Yarmouth.
23.—At the Lent Assizes at Thetford (held there for the last time), before Mr. Baron Vaughan, the libel action, Hunter v. Platten, was tried by a special jury. Defendant was steward to Sir Thomas Hare, and sent to the Norfolk Chronicle and “Norwich Mercury,” for publication, a paragraph in which he described the plaintiff as “a person who has been for many years a notorious game buyer and a disgrace to the name of gentleman.” The Chronicle modified the expressions contained in the paragraph; the “Mercury” published it as sent. Witnesses for the defence proved that they had seen 15 or 20 head of game on the plaintiff’s premises at one time, and that he had stated “he would buy game as long as money would purchase it, as the gentry round that part of the country were mean humbugs.” The jury returned a verdict for plaintiff, damages one farthing, and costs.