5.—Died, at his residence on the Castle Ditches, Norwich, in his 89th year, Mr. Robert Ward, who served the office of Sheriff in 1800, and was for upwards of 45 years a member of the Court of Guardians.
13.—A petition by Mr. Samuel Bignold and Mr. William Rackham on the one part, and Mr. T. O. Springfield on the other part, having been presented to the Lord Chancellor relative to the composition of the trustees of the Norwich charities, the matter was argued on this date before the Master in Chancery, who ruled that in composing the list of trustees he would not admit more than four Dissenters out of the 21; further, that in the execution of their official duties, the trustees should be divided into two classes, and that none but those who were members of the Church of England should have a voice in the presentation to any Church living. On December 23rd the Master presented a draft report, stating the composition of the “Church list” and of the “general list.” The former contained eleven selected from the twenty-one names submitted by Messrs. Springfield, Finch, and Willett, and ten from the twenty-one names submitted by Messrs.
Bignold and Rackham. The “general list” contained twelve names submitted by the former and eight by the latter. (See March 18th, 1837.)
20.—The Norwich Musical Festival, “for the benefit of the Norfolk and Norwich and West Norfolk Hospitals, the School for the Indigent Blind, the Eye Infirmary, and the Dispensary,” commenced. The principals were Madame Caradori Allan, Miss Bruce, Miss Rainforth, Mrs. A. Shaw, Miss Tipping, Signora Assandri, Signer Ivanoff, Mr. Hobbs, Mr. Hawking, Mr. H. Phillips, Mr. E. Taylor, and Signor Lablach. Messrs. Cramer and Blagrove were leaders of the band, and Sir George Smart conductor. Miscellaneous concerts were given on the evenings of the 20th, 21st, and 22nd; on the morning of the 21st a selection of sacred music and “The Redemption”; on the 22nd “The Creation” and “The Seventh Day”; and on the 23rd “The Christian’s Prayer” and “Israel in Egypt.” The Festival concluded on the night of the 23rd with a fancy dress ball, at which “masks and dominoes” were prohibited.
—The Wendling Estate, near East Dereham, was sold at Garraway’s, by Mr. Spelman, of Norwich, for £14,000.
29.—A new fire escape, invented by the Rev. Mr. Arthy, of Caistor near Norwich, was exhibited in front of the Union Office, Surrey Street. “It consists of a jointed ladder, the first length 10 ft. and seven others 6 ft. 7 in. long, with a pulley inserted in the head of the first length, over which a chain passes, to one end of which a large basket is attached, and two rollers are affixed to the under side of the top length, to enable the ladder to pass freely over the brickwork, and two ropes are attached to the outer sides of the top, to guide the ladder in raising it, to bring it forward where projections occur, and to keep it from slipping either way. After the ladder is raised to the proper height, the ropes pass under the basket to keep it steady in going up or down. The machine is constructed on a small platform, mounted on wheels, and can be conveyed with great rapidity to any given point.”
OCTOBER.
24.—Ole B. Bull, the Norwegian violinist, appeared at a morning concert held at the Assembly Rooms, Norwich. The vocalists were Mdlle. De Angiole, Signor Curioni, and Mr. Bochisa.
NOVEMBER.
1.—Municipal elections were held for the first time on this date, under the Municipal Reform Act. At Norwich the contests in the eight wards resulted in the return of eight Conservatives and eight Whig-Radicals.