27.—Considerable opposition was manifested, not only by the villagers, but by the citizens of Norwich, to an attempt made by Capt. Bellairs to enclose Mulbarton Common. A meeting was held in the village, at which a strong protest was made against the proposal, and it was asserted that if ever the ancestors of Capt. Bellairs had possessed the power to effect the enclosure, they had allowed their rights to lapse.
JUNE.
2.—The detachment of the 16th Lancers, en route to India, marched from the Cavalry Barracks, Norwich, accompanied to the city boundary by the officers and band of the Norfolk Light Horse Volunteers.
7.—Mr. A. Dennison, brother of the Speaker of the House of Commons, visited Norwich, for the purpose of hearing the bells of St. Peter Mancroft. “He rang the tenor in good style, and was highly delighted with the quality of tone of this far-famed peal of twelve.”
9.—In the Court of the Queen’s Bench, application was made in the action, the Queen v. the Middle Level Commissioners, for a rule calling upon them to show cause why a mandamus should not issue commanding them to make and maintain a bridge with a commodious road or hailing path in the place formerly occupied by their sluice which was destroyed in the great inundation in 1862. A rule was granted. (See January 7th, 1867.)
13.—At a special meeting of the Norwich Town Council, a report was received from Mr. Bazalgette, C.E., who had visited Norwich with the view of determining what steps could be taken for the immediate purification of the river Wensum in the vicinity of the city. He stated that it would be impossible to render the river pure so long as it continued to be a receptacle for the town refuse; and he had examined the city and suburbs to ascertain how to improve the drainage and to dispose of the sewage. The time would come, he added, when a drainage scheme would be urgently necessary, and very costly. The Council authorised the Sanitary and River Committees to expend a sum not exceeding £50 in obtaining levels and plans and other information required by Mr. Bazalgette, “to assist him in the preparation of his scheme for diverting the drainage from the river.” On October 17th Mr. Bazalgette’s scheme was laid before the Council. It provided for two intercepting sewers, one for the higher and the other for the lower parts of the city, both forming a junction on the opposite side of the river near Trowse Station, whence the sewage would be conveyed to a point on Mr. Harvey’s estate at Crown Point, to the east of the old Whitlingham Road. The plan also comprised the completion of the drainage of the western part of the city, then unconnected with the main sewers. For the first part of the scheme £50,000 was required, and for the latter £30,000. On October 31st the Council adopted a recommendation of the Sanitary and River Committees, that it was desirable to try more fully the possibility of cleansing the river by flushing and sluicing or otherwise before proceeding to carry out Mr. Bazalgette’s report; that the City Engineer be instructed accordingly; and that immediate steps be taken to improve the drainage on the south side of the city, at a cost not exceeding £10,000. (See April 21st, 1866.)
15.—The first two-days’ show of the Norfolk Agricultural Association commenced in Chapel Field, Norwich. The society’s dinner was held at the Royal Hotel, and was presided over by the Marquis Townshend.
17.—Died at Elm Lodge, near Hampton, Lord Charles FitzRoy, second son of the fourth Duke of Grafton. His lordship was born on February 28th, 1791, and married, in 1825, Anne, eldest daughter of George Augustus Henry, first Earl of Burlington. Lord Charles was at the battle of Corunna, and served in the Walcheren Expedition with the Guards. In 1811 he joined Lord Hill’s staff, and was present at the siege and capture of Badajoz, and at the battles of Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, Othes, Toulouse, and Waterloo, and received the war medal with eight clasps. For two years he served with the army of occupation in France. His lordship sat in Parliament, as member for Thetford, from 1818 till the passing of the Reform Bill, and at the General Election which ensued was elected for Bury, in the Liberal interest. He was Vice-Chancellor of the Household from 1835 to 1839, and was also appointed a Privy Councillor. In four successive Parliaments he represented Bury, and resigned his seat in 1847.
JULY.
1.—The 5.30 p.m. express from London to Norwich had a narrow escape. On reaching a portion of the line near Harford Bridges, the engine, on running down the incline, left the metals, and, tearing up the permanent way for some distance, stopped on the wooden bridge which crosses the Yare a little below Old Lakenham. “One of the carriages was overturned, and the occupants, among whom was Lord Stafford, had to make their escape by climbing through the windows which were then uppermost.” None of the passengers were seriously hurt.