12.—A severe gale occurred on the Norfolk coast. The barque Try Again was lost off Yarmouth, and the crew saved by means of the rocket apparatus. Other vessels were wrecked, and several lives lost.
13.*—“We are sorry to learn that the Norfolk County Cricket Club has been brought to an untimely end. The officers of the club hold out no hope that it can be carried on, as the persistent apathy of those who call themselves members, many of whom have failed to pay their subscriptions, has left the treasurer with a large amount of debts and no hope of being able to meet them.” At a meeting held on the 17th, it was agreed by the Dereham Cricket Club to hire the ground hitherto let to the County Cricket Club.
MARCH.
5.—At a meeting of the Norwich Town Council, a report was received from the Sewerage and Irrigation Committee, stating that an intimation had been made by the contractor for the construction of the intercepting sewers that he would be unable to proceed with his contract unless the Committee advanced him a sum of money. As neither the Committee nor the Board of Health had power to do so under the contract, proposals were made to the contractor (Mr. Wainwright), which resulted in the Committee taking possession of the works, materials, &c. The opinion was expressed that the Committee had acted with due consideration of the interests and safety of the public, and at the same time with consideration for the contractor, who appeared to have met with unforeseen difficulties in the prosecution of that part of the works in course of construction at Trowse, the soil there consisting of sand instead, as was supposed, of chalk. The Town Council, on March 16th, agreed that the contract with Mr. Wainwright be cancelled, upon payment to the parties entitled thereto of £2,800, in full satisfaction of all claims and for the purchase of plant and materials. On July 20th the Sewerage and Irrigation Committee reported that, in consequence of the nature of the soil through which so large a portion of the tunnelling had to be carried, and other unforeseen circumstances, the original estimate would be exceeded, but the ultimate cost of the works would not be more than £81,500, to be reduced to £78,500 by the sale of plant, &c. A description of the sewerage works was published on December 24th, from which it appeared that all the money authorised to be raised by Act of Parliament, £75,000, had been borrowed, and the greater part of it already expended. The whole of the high level sewer was completed on this date. It extended from the Ipswich Road, along Town Close Road, through Mount Pleasant Lane, across the fields and under Mill Hill Lane to West Pottergate street, Bedford Street, Opie Street, the Cattle Market, and King Street, to a point near Messrs. Morgan’s Brewery, where it joined the low level sewer, a distance of more than two and a half miles. Branch sewers had been laid in various directions. The low level sewer, from the New Mills, along Westwick Street, Charing Cross, St. Andrew’s, Prince’s Street, Tombland, Upper King Street, and along King Street to the gates had also been completed, a few short distances excepted. The work was carried out under the direction of the engineer, Mr. Morant, and of the Sewerage and Irrigation Committee, of which Mr. J. G. Johnson was chairman. (See October 1st, 1872.)
9.—Died at Torquay, Sir John P. Boileau, Bart., of Ketteringham Park. The eldest son of Mr. John Peter Boileau, he was born in 1794, educated at Eton and Merton College, Oxford, and in 1813 entered the Rifle Brigade, from which he retired in 1818. He married, in 1824, Lady Catherine Sarah Elliot, daughter of the first Earl of Minto, by whom he had two sons, Francis George Manningham, born in 1830, who succeeded to the baronetcy, and Edward William Pollin, born in 1831, and five daughters. Sir John was a magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Norfolk, and served the office of High Sheriff in 1844. As a memorial to his wife, who died in 1862, he founded the Catherine ward in the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. He was devoted to the pursuit of science and the arts, was a vice-president of the Society of Antiquaries, a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society of Artists, president of the Norfolk and Norwich Archæological Society, vice-president of the Norfolk and Norwich Museum, and a member of the committee of the Norfolk and Norwich Triennial Musical Festival.
11.—Prince’s Street chapel, Norwich, was re-opened, after having been re-arranged and improved, under the direction of Mr. Edward Boardman, architect, at the cost of £2,600. As originally planned, in 1819, it was a building of heavy and uninteresting appearance; the new designs by Mr. Boardman gave to it an imposing façade. The Rev. Newman Hall preached at the opening services.
12.—A race took place between Joseph Tuck, a pedestrian, of Little Snoring, and a trotting pony belonging to Mr. Gutteridge. The match was for £40, the distance 500 yards, and the start was from scratch. Tuck had the race in hand the whole way, and passed the winning-post thirty yards ahead of the pony.
13.*—“Mr. Bunnett, of Norwich, has successfully undergone the necessary preliminary of the searching examination in music by Professor Sterndale Bennett. As a corollary of the examination, the exercise of Mr. Bunnett for the degree of Doctor in Music was performed in the chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge, on the 8th instant, in the presence of Professor Bennett, and produced a very good impression.”
16.—The trial of the election petition against the return of the Hon. R. Bourke, one of the Conservative members for the borough, commenced at King’s Lynn, before Mr. Baron Martin. The petitioners alleged corrupt practices, treating, and intimidation. The hearing concluded on the 17th, when the Judge stated that he was clearly of opinion that the object of the petition had failed, and it would be his duty to report to the Speaker of the House of Commons that Mr. Bourke had been duly elected.
27.—At the Norwich Assizes, before Mr. Baron Pigott, Francis Howard Clare (42), shoemaker, was indicted for the wilful murder of his wife, Ann Frances Clare, on October 16th, 1868. The woman was found with her throat cut, and it was alleged that the prisoner had inflicted the wound. Mr. Metcalfe, for the defence, set up the theory of suicide, and the jury, adopting that view, returned a verdict of not guilty.