JUNE.
4.—A crane was shot at South Pickenham. It was a young male, in good condition, measured 64 inches in length, and weighed 10½ lbs.; the expanse of its wings was 93 inches. On the 12th two were killed out of four seen at Burnham, and about the same time another was shot on the Thornham salt marshes. The occurrence of so many cranes in one year was remarkable, as not more than three or four specimens were known to have been procured in Norfolk during the preceding half century.
8.—A great demonstration was held at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, in opposition to the Irish Church Bill. The meeting was convened by the Norwich Conservative and Constitutional Association, and was presided over by Sir Samuel Bignold.
9.—Died at Lugano, Switzerland, where he had gone for the benefit of his health, Mr. Charles Cory, Town Clerk of Great Yarmouth, aged 57. He was a son of Mr. Robert Cory, solicitor, a former Mayor of the borough, and was elected Town Clerk in 1851, in succession to Mr. J. Clowes. Mr. Charles Diver was elected to the vacant office on June 21st.
15.—At a special meeting of the Norwich Town Council, it was reported that new governors had been appointed under the amended Grammar School and Commercial School scheme. The Town Clerk, it was stated, had obtained for the Corporation the right of interfering in the trust, and had procured the adoption of the lists furnished by the Council. The principle obtained was an important one—that no body of trustees exercising a trust for the benefit of the city and neighbourhood should be allowed to make enormous and various changes in their government and management of the school, which was the property of the Council as much as theirs, without the sanction of the representative body.
24.—The annual show of the Norfolk Agricultural Association commenced at Attleborough, and was continued on the 25th. The members’ dinner took place at the Corn Hall, and was presided over by the Hon. Thomas de Grey, M.P.
26.—The annual camp of the 1st Administrative Battalion of Norfolk Volunteers was formed at Hunstanton Park. The Battalion was inspected by Lieut.-Col. Elliott, and the camp was struck on July 2nd.
JULY.
7.—The new dock at Lynn, completed at the cost of upwards of £80,000, was opened by the Prince of Wales, who was accompanied by the Princess of Wales. Their Royal Highnesses arrived by special train from London, and were received at the railway station by the Chairman of the Dock Company (Mr. L. W. Jarvis), the Mayor (Mr. J. Thorley), the members of Parliament for the borough, and others. Escorted by a troop of the 3rd (Prince of Wales’) Dragoons, from Colchester, the Prince and Princess proceeded to the Town Hall, where an address was read by the Recorder. After a visit to the Grammar School, where his Royal Highness presented the medal annually given by him to the head boy, the procession went to the Common Staithe Quay, where the twin screw steamer Mary, of London, was lying ready to receive the party on board. The band of the Grenadier Guards, under Mr. Dan Godfrey, played a selection of music as the vessel steamed down the Estuary Channel. Returning to the harbour, the Mary passed through the lock gate into the Dock basin, amid the loud cheers of the spectators, the playing of the National Anthem, and the ringing of the church bells. His Royal Highness having declared the Dock duly opened, said that it would thenceforth be called the Alexandra Dock. The Royal visitors and a distinguished company next proceeded to the Town Hall for luncheon. The Prince and Princess afterwards left for Sandringham. In the evening the town was illuminated, and a display of fireworks was given in the Tuesday Market Place.
8.—After lying high and dry for upwards of nine weeks, the large screw steamer, Lady Flora, was launched from Caister beach. She was a first-class vessel, of 750 tons register, and 1,000 tons gross, 205 feet in length, 29 feet beam, and was valued at £16,000. On May 1st she ran hard and fast on the beach, in close contiguity to the dangerous shoal known as the Patch. Early in June the services of Mr. T. B. Carr, engineer, of Hull, were engaged by the underwriters, and efforts were made to get her off. The steamer had become embedded in the sand to the depth of eight feet, but by the aid of very powerful hydraulic cranes and other appliances, and assisted by 120 men, Mr. Carr succeeded in lifting the vessel four feet above the beach. In these operations upwards of £2,000 was expended. Three thousand persons assembled to witness the launch. When the blocks were knocked away the vessel, by her own weight, glided broadside off, and rolled in magnificent style into 4½ feet of water. Her draught (empty) was eight feet; as the tide rose she floated with it, and was towed to Hull for repair. On November 20th it was announced that the Lady Flora, which was then engaged in the Baltic trade, had been lost at sea.