10.—Upwards of 10,000 people were present at a Primrose League fête given at Houghton Park by Mr. E. Kenyon-Stow. Addresses were delivered by Lord Henry Bentinck, M.P., Mr. Weston Jarvis, M.P., and Mr. Whitmore, M.P.
18.—Died, at Norwich, Mr. Henry Stevenson, F.L.S. He was the youngest son of Mr. Seth William Stevenson, and was born at Surrey Street, Norwich, March 30th, 1833. Educated at King’s College School, London, he became, on attaining his majority, a co-partner in the proprietorship of the Norfolk Chronicle, and at the age of 22 was elected honorary secretary of the Norfolk and Norwich Museum, a position which he filled with marked ability to the close of his life. Volume I. of his standard work, “The Birds of Norfolk,” was published in December, 1866, and Volume II. in September, 1870; and Volume III. was in course of publication at the time of his death. His other literary work included a memoir of his friend, the Rev. Richard Lubbock, M.A., rector of Eccles, published with a revised edition of Lubbock’s “Fauna of Norfolk,” edited by Mr. T. Southwell (1879), and numerous contributions to the Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society, of which he was one of the founders, and filled the office of president in 1871–72. Mr. Stevenson was appointed Sheriff of Norwich in 1875. He married, in 1856, Eliza Dangerfield, stepdaughter of Mr. Edward Slater, who died from injuries received in a carriage accident on July 17th, 1862; his second wife was Ann Emilia, eldest daughter of Mr. Wm. Self, surgeon, of Hackney.
30.—Lord Walsingham killed to his own gun, on his small moor at Blubberhouses, Yorkshire, 1,058 grouse. Of these, 1,036 were taken home the same night, and 22 were picked up the following day. “The record of his having killed 842 grouse to his own gun on August 28th, 1872, had been so freely disputed by many persons, who professed to regard it as a physical impossibility, that it was his lordship’s intention to prove more could be accomplished.”
SEPTEMBER.
6.—Died, at Ormesby Lodge, Sir Edmund Henry Knowles Lacon, Bart. He was the eldest son of Sir Edmund Knowles Lacon, and his wife, Eliza Dixon, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Mr. Thomas Beecroft, of Sculthorpe Hall. Born August 14th, 1807, he was educated at Eton and Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he took his B.A. in 1828 and his M.A. degree in 1831. In 1839 he married Eliza Georgiana, daughter of Mr. James Esdale Hammet, of Battersea. He succeeded to the baronetcy in 1839. Sir Edmund was first returned to Parliament for the borough of Yarmouth in 1852. At the next General Election, in March, 1857, Mr. McCallagh and Mr. E. A. Watkin gained the representation of the constituency by a narrow majority over Sir Edmund and his colleague, the Hon. Charles Smyth Vereker, son of Viscount Gort. A petition was presented, and a Committee of the House of Commons declared the election void. Thereupon Sir Edmund issued an address, but subsequently followed the example of Mr. Vereker, and retired, so that Serjeant (afterwards Mr. Justice) Mellor and Mr. Adolphus W. Young had a walk-over. On the dissolution taking place in 1859 he and Sir Henry Stracey defeated Messrs. Watkin and Young; a petition and enquiry followed, but they were declared duly elected. In 1865 Sir Henry Stracey retired, leaving Sir Edmund with Mr. James Goodson as his colleague, and both were returned in opposition to Mr. Alexander Brogden and Mr. Philip Vanderbyl, who presented a petition, which, though the sitting members were undisturbed, resulted in the Committee reporting that they had reason to believe corrupt practices had prevailed. A Royal Commission and the disfranchisement of the borough followed. Then came the Reform and Redistribution Acts of 1868, under which the county of Norfolk was divided into three parts, and Yarmouth was merged in the Northern Division. At the first election under the new arrangement Sir Edmund Lacon and his colleague, the Hon. Frederick Walpole, were returned, notwithstanding the powerful opposition of the Liberal party, who had brought forward Mr. Edmond R. Wodehouse and Mr. R. T. Gurdon. A petition was presented, and failed. In 1869 Sir Edmund was presented by his constituents with a piece of silver plate weighing 900 ozs., and valued at upwards of £600, in recognition of his services to the Conservative cause. In 1874 he and Mr. Walpole were returned unopposed, and in 1880 there was again no contest, when Sir Edmund and Mr. (afterwards Sir Edward) Birkbeck were elected on the death of Colonel Duff, who had succeeded Mr. Walpole. Under the redistribution scheme of 1885 Yarmouth was allowed one member, but at the next General Election Sir Edmund retired, and Sir H. W. Tyler was elected in his stead. Sir Edmund Lacon was senior partner in the banking firm of Lacons, Youells, and Co., and in the extensive brewery of Lacons and Co. On the death of Lord Sondes in 1875 he was appointed High Steward of Yarmouth; he was a Deputy Lieutenant for Norfolk and a magistrate for Norfolk and Suffolk. Sir Edmund was formerly Colonel Commandant, and at the time of his death Honorary Colonel, of the East Norfolk Militia.
9.—A serious fire occurred at the Orchard Street Saw Mills, Norwich, occupied by Messrs. Cunnington Bros, timber merchants. Considerable damage was done to the machinery and stock-in-trade, and a large building was destroyed.
11.—The detachment of Royal Engineers, who had for ten years been engaged on the Ordnance Survey, left Norwich for York. The work in Norfolk was completed in 1883, and it was found that very little alteration was needed in the map drawn thirty or forty years previously. The survey of the northern half of Cambridgeshire was then commenced and was completed in 1885; this was followed by the survey of a portion of Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire, including the city of Peterborough; and finally the southern half of Lincolnshire, which was finished in April, 1887. The detachment, including women and children, numbered 120, and the official papers, books, &c., weighed between 30 and 40 tons. The first commanding officer was Captain Macpherson, who was succeeded by Captain Day and by Major Washington.
20.—The new Hospital, erected at Dene Side, Yarmouth, was publicly opened by Sir James Paget, the distinguished physician, a native of the town. The total cost of the institution was estimated at £10,750.
OCTOBER.
19.—A great Conservative demonstration took place at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich, in connection with a conference of the Eastern Division of the National Union of Conservative Associations. Lord Walsingham presided, and Sir John Gorst, Q.C., M.P., Under Secretary for India, was the principal speaker.