1.—The Summer Show of the Norfolk Agricultural Association opened at East Dereham. The Hon. Ailwyn E. Fellowes, M.P., presided at the luncheon. The exhibition closed on the 2nd.
—The octo-centenary thanksgiving services commenced at Norwich Cathedral. The opening service was attended by the high official dignitaries of county and city, who entered the Cathedral in procession, marshalled by officers of the 7th Dragoon Guards. The Archbishop of Armagh preached to a vast congregation, and at the conclusion of the service the Dean and Mrs. Lefroy entertained a large and distinguished company to luncheon in a marquee erected in the Deanery grounds. The services were continued throughout the week.
1.—A party of American Congregationalists on a tour through Europe arrived at Norwich from Ely, attended the commemoration service at Norwich Cathedral, and were included among the guests at the Dean’s luncheon. In the evening they were present at a gathering held in their honour at the Old Meeting House, “the oldest home of Congregationalism in the city.” The Mayor (Mr. John Moore) presided, and the visitors were accorded an enthusiastic reception.
9.—Three sisters, Clara, Eleanor, and Ida Elizabeth Louisa Vipan, were drowned whilst wandering upon the treacherous sands at Holkham.
10.—The old colours of the 2nd Battalion Norfolk Regiment, brought from Aldershot by Colonel Shepherd and other officers, were laid up in the choir of Norwich Cathedral. The colours were borne under escort from the west door to the choir, the band of the 4th Battalion playing “The March of the Israelites.” With the usual ceremony the colours were then handed over to the care and custody of the Dean and Chapter.
21.—Mr. Ben Greet’s Company of Woodland Players gave at Bracondale Woods, Norwich, open air representations of “Twelfth Night” and of scenes from “Much Ado about Nothing,” in aid of the building fund of the Jenny Lind Infirmary.
22.—The marriage took place at Buckingham Palace of Princess Maud and Prince Charles of Denmark. Their Royal Highnesses were enthusiastically received at Lynn and Sandringham on their way to Appleton Hall. At Norwich the marriage was celebrated by the ringing of bells and by the display of flags on the public buildings. The county of Norfolk presented to their Royal Highnesses as a wedding gift an oak chest containing a service of plate, and the citizens of Norwich gave a handsomely appointed victoria. Gifts were also sent by the boroughs of Yarmouth and Lynn, and by the tenantry on the Sandringham estate.
AUGUST.
2.—The Norfolk Volunteer Infantry Brigade went into camp at Colchester under the command of Brigadier-General W. E. G. L. Bulwer.
5.—The Lord Chief Justice, with whom was Mr. Justice Lawrence, sitting as a divisional court, delivered judgment in an application “in re a solicitor, ex parte the Incorporated Law Society.” In this case the Statutory Committee of the society on July 10th, 1896, made a long and elaborate report, in which they stated that a certain number of allegations of professional misconduct had been proved to their satisfaction. The Lord Chief Justice dealt at considerable length with various points in the case, and concluded by saying: “The court would be failing in its duty if it did not in the most emphatic way mark its sense of the scandalous story disclosed in this report.” The order of the court was “that Isaac Bugg Coaks, of Bank Plain, Norwich, be struck off the rolls, and that he do pay the costs of the inquiry before the Statutory Committee and the costs of this application.”