27.*—“The repairs at St. Gregory’s church, Norwich, the interior of which has been undergoing general restoration, have brought to light an interesting fresco, representing the renowned fight between St. George and the Dragon, a subject which has a local association, St. George being the titular saint of the city and patron of a once flourishing civic company. The painting, which, in all probability, is of a date of the middle of the fifteenth century, was discovered on the removal of the organ at the west end of the north aisle, for the purpose of cleaning the wall. The figures are life-size, and the colours and drawing exceedingly good.”
—At the Norfolk Assizes, before Chief Justice Erle and a special jury, a libel action, Lane v. the Yarmouth Free Press and Printing Company, Limited, was tried. Damages were laid at £300. The declaration alleged that the defendants published in a paper called the “Yarmouth Independent,” certain reflections upon the plaintiff in his capacity as collector of market tolls. The defendants contended that, at the request of and by agreement with the plaintiff, they had inserted in the newspaper a paragraph explaining the alleged libel, and had exonerated him from the imputations made against his character, and plaintiff had accepted it as satisfaction. The case ended with the withdrawal of a juror.
AUGUST.
1.—Died at the residence of his son-in-law, 48, Elgin Crescent, Notting Hill, in his 84th year, Philip John Money, formerly captain of the 17th Regiment. He was a magistrate of Norwich, and served the office of Mayor in 1839.
2.—The celebrated tight-rope walker, Blondin, made his first appearance at Norwich. The rope was fixed at an altitude of about 60 feet, in a field on Newmarket Road. “It is a very fortunate circumstance for M. Blondin that he crossed Niagara and had the Prince of Wales for a spectator, for it has added a much greater interest to has performances than they would otherwise have acquired, and even, if we may judge from what we saw here, they deserved.”
4.—Mr. Edward Casson, aged 33, medical superintendent of the County Lunatic Asylum at Thorpe St. Andrew, committed suicide by poisoning himself.
8.—Holy Trinity church, Norwich, was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese. “The ceremony should have taken place three weeks previously, but at the eleventh hour the Bishop requested that a capital fund of about £300 should be provided prior to the consecration. As the committee were then about £1,000 in debt, it was felt to be indiscreet to increase their risk, and consequently it was determined to delay the opening of the church until they had received nearly all that they required. In less than three weeks more than £1,200 had been subscribed out of the £1,300 then supposed to be needed.” The consecration was attended by the Mayor (Mr. W. J. Utten Browne) and several members of the Corporation.
29.—A troop of the 15th Hussars left Norwich, en route to York; the remainder of the regiment marched on September 3rd.
SEPTEMBER.
12.—A great review of the whole of the Volunteer Companies in the county and city, with the Norwich Mounted Volunteers and the Yarmouth Artillery, was held at Holkham Park, by Major-General Sir Archdale Wilson, Bart., K.C.B. This was the first occasion on which the corps had been brigaded since their formation. The review was fixed for eleven o’clock, but in consequence of a breakdown in the railway arrangements, and the consequent detention of companies on their way to the rendezvous, the parade was not formed until 2.15 p.m. The troops numbered upwards of 1,700, and were divided into two brigades, commanded respectively by Lieut.-Col. Custance and Major the Hon. F. Walpole, West Norfolk Militia. The railway company displayed the same incompetency in conveying the corps from Holkham as in taking them there, and the Norwich men did not reach the city until six o’clock on the morning of the 13th.