13.—Mr. George Buttler Kennett, clerk to the justices, was appointed Town Clerk of Norwich, in place of Mr. H. B. Miller, at the salary of £1,200 per annum.
15.—Died, at his residence, Pine Banks, Thorpe, Mr. John Oddin Howard Taylor. The son of Mr. John Oddin Taylor, he was born March 2nd, 1837, and received his education under the tuition of his uncle, the celebrated Dr. Brewer, at Mile End School, Norwich, and was afterwards placed with the Rev. Francis Valpy, rector of Garvestone. Having adopted the legal profession, he became a partner with his father in the firm of Taylor and Son. In addition to carrying on a large and responsible private practice, they acted as local solicitors to the Great Eastern Railway Company. As secretary to the undertaking for the improvement of the Cattle Market and the construction of Prince of Wales Road, Mr. Taylor discharged the duties relating to the legal and Parliamentary business with great efficiency. In October, 1862, he was appointed secretary to the Norfolk and Norwich Musical Festival. In collaboration with Bishop Fraser he was instrumental in bringing about a change of the law with reference to the system of employing women, and children of tender years, in hard agricultural labour. In later years Mr. Taylor devoted himself to the task of developing the fisheries of East Anglia, and was the principal author, in conjunction with Mr. Field, of the Act for the preservation of the inland waters of Norfolk and Suffolk. His literary ability was of a very high order. He was a great chess player, and as a writer on that game acquired world-wide fame by his “Chess Brilliants” and “Chess Skirmishes.”
16.—Mr. Gladstone visited Norwich. The right hon. gentleman, accompanied by Mrs. Gladstone, arrived by special train at Thorpe station, where he was received by Mr. Colman, M.P., and Mrs. Colman, and by the representatives of Liberal associations in the city. On his way to Carrow Abbey, the residence of the senior member for Norwich, Mr. Gladstone was warmly welcomed by the citizens. In the evening a great meeting was held at the Agricultural Hall, under the presidency of Mr. Henry Birkbeck, at which Mr. Gladstone was presented with an illuminated address by the Liberal and Radical associations and trades unions in Norwich and Norfolk. After addressing the vast assemblage Mr. Gladstone proceeded to Stoke Holy Cross as the guest of Mr. Birkbeck. Returning to the city on the 17th, the ex-Premier visited the Castle and the Cathedral, and in the afternoon left for Lowestoft, en route to Corton, where he remained as the guest of Mr. Colman until the 20th.
21.—Mr. Sims Reeves made his farewell appearance at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich.
28.—Died, at Norwich, Mr. John Gunn, M.A., F.G.S., many years rector of Irstead with Barton Turf, aged 89. “It was with painful surprise that the public received a few years ago the announcement of Mr. Gunn’s retirement from the Church on the ground of conscientious scruples concerning certain Biblical statements which he conceived to be irreconcilable with the teachings of Natural Science, and of his desire no longer to be addressed by his clerical title. He did not dissociate himself from the observances of religion, for he was a constant attendant at the Cathedral services.” Mr. Gunn, in 1864, was one of the founders of the Norwich Geological Society, and its first president. “He has left behind him in his great collection of fossils a monument, ære perennius. His association with the investigation of the Mammalian remains of the Cromer beds is recorded in the classics of English geology, and will be handed down to posterity long after the fossils in our Museum have crumbled into dust.”
JUNE.
2.—Major F. A. Cubitt was presented by past and present officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the 1st Volunteer Battalion Norfolk Regiment with a silver candelabrum upon retiring from the adjutancy of the battalion, after nearly fifteen years’ service.
6.—Mr. W. R. Cooper, solicitor, was elected Clerk to the Norwich magistrates in succession to Mr. G. B. Kennett, resigned.
11.—Died, at Unthank’s Road, Norwich, Mr. James Calthrop Barnham, aged 82. He was descended from an old Norwich family, and one of his ancestors, James Barnham, was a Sheriff of the city in 1738. Mr. Barnham was a governor of Norwich Grammar School, and one of the original members of the Norfolk and Norwich Horticultural Society.
12.—Died, at Newmarket Terrace, Norwich, Mr. Samuel Daynes. Born in December, 1815, he was a member of the Town Council, and a persistent advocate of the adoption of the wood pavement scheme. A Guardian of the Poor, he was thoroughly versed in the details of Poor-law administration, and as a member of the School Board he displayed great earnestness as a public economist. Mr. Daynes was prominently associated with the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows, and in 1851–52 served the office of “Grand Master” of that body.