“Neither do I speak this in reproach of any man, God is my judge; but to show that I do rejoice rather to see how God has blessed us with His good gifts, and to behold how that in a time wherein all things are grown to most excessive prices we do yet find the means to obtain and achieve such furniture as has been heretofore impossible. There are old men yet dwelling in the village where I remain which have noted three things to be marvellously altered in England within their sound remembrance. One is the multitude of chimnies lately erected; whereas in their young days there were not above two or three, if so many, in most uplandish towns of the realm (the religious houses and manor places of their lords always excepted and peradventure of some great personage), but each made his fire against a reredos in the hall where he dined and dressed his meat. The second is, the great amendment of lodging, for, said they, our fathers and we ourselves have lain full oft upon straw pallets covered only with a sheet, under coverlets made of dogswaine or hop harlots (I use their own terms) and a good round log under their heads instead of a bolster. If it were so, that the father or good man of the house, had a mattress or flock bed, and thereto a sack of chaff to rest his head upon, he thought himself to be as well lodged as the lord of the town, so well were they contented. Pillows said they, were thought meet only for women in child bed. As for servants, if they had any sheet above them it was well, for seldom had they any under their bodies to keep them from the pricking straws that ran oft through the canvass, and rased their hardened hides. The third thing they tell of, is the exchange of treene platters (so called I suppose from tree or wood) into pewter, and wooden spoons into silver or tin. For so common were all sorts of treene vessels in old times, that a man should hardly find four pieces of pewter (of which one peradventure a salt) in a good farmer’s house.”
Chapter XVI. “In times past men were contented to dwell in houses built of sallow, willow &c., so that the use of the oak was in a manner dedicated wholly unto churches, religious houses, princes’ palaces, navigation, &c., but now sallow &c., is rejected, and nothing but oak any where regarded and yet see the change, for when our houses were builded of willow then had we oaken men, but now that our houses are come to be made of oak, our men are not only become willow, but a great many altogether of straw, which is a great alteration. Now have we many chimnies and yet our tenderlings complain of rheums, catarrhs and poses; then had we none but reredosses and our heads did never ache. For as the smoke in those days was supposed to be a sufficient hardning of the timber of the house, so it was reputed a far better medicine to keep the good man and his family from the quack or pose, wherewith then very few were acquainted.”
Chapter XVIII. “Our pewterers in time past employed the use of pewter only upon dishes and pots, and a few other trifles for service, whereas now there are grown into such exquisite cunning that they can in manner imitate by infusion any form or fashion of cup made by the goldsmiths’ craft. In some places beyond the sea a garnish of good flat pewter (I say flat, because dishes and platters in my time began to be made deep and like basins, and indeed were convenient both for sauce and keeping the meat warm) is almost esteemed so precious as the like number of vessels that are made of fine silver.”
The remains of ancient houses or other buildings which have survived the process of rebuilding in our town are very few, but there is one house at least, representing the houses of Elizabeth’s time which retains very much of its original character. This is the house known as the “South Flint House,” at the top of Wilde’s score which bears the initials W. M. and the date 1586 over the front door. The front of this house is built of square flints, much more expensive work than the alternate layers of cobbles and bricks with which the other walls were made. The ground floor appears to have originally consisted of one large room, with a fireplace and chimney in the centre, corresponding with that described by Holinshed as the hall where the “good-man” dined and dressed his meat (except that the fire was not against a “reredos” at the side wall). The two rooms above this are evidently much the same as they were at first, having each a stone fireplace with W. M. The house has been enlarged since with the addition of a wing.
Part II.—Lowestoft and Yarmouth at the End of the 16th Century.
Two hundred years had passed since the termination of the Parliamentary contest about the grant of Edward the III’s. Charter. Lowestoft had not only established her right to exist, but was becoming an old town, and the events of the old contest had become matters of ancient history.
The Yarmouth bailiffs were still exercising their right to take tolls from ships loading or unloading in “Kirkley Road;” but the amount received from these tolls during a whole year, as entered in the Town Ledger, was very small, varying from a few pounds in one year to a few shillings in another. It seems that this demand had been confined to vessels trading in general merchandise, apart altogether from the claim to take tolls from fishing boats anchored off Lowestoft.
During these two hundred years Yarmouth had retained and even increased her trade, and had recovered her population, though her progress had been much retarded by the persistent action of the sea in blocking up her harbour.
The very existence of Yarmouth depended on her harbour. Her anomalous privilege of taking tolls from ships anchored in the North Sea could be no substitute for a harbour. This she knew well, and within two years of her obtaining her Charter, on the ground that her harbour was blocked up, she commenced opening another mouth.
Between 1393 and 1565 she had five times strained her resources to meet the expense of making new mouths, all of which had been blocked up; some almost immediately; one had been kept open for several years, but not without a constant expenditure of money and labour. At length in 1565 she undertook for the seventh time the work of making a new mouth. On this occasion, the assistance of a Dutch engineer was obtained, who knew how these things were done in Holland. Under his advice and superintendance a mouth was constructed, fortified by piles and stonework, and involving a much larger outlay than any of the previous works. The relief from taxes, and the reduction of her fee farm rent, which every King had granted from Richard II. to Elizabeth, was supplemented by special grants to assist the town in this undertaking. After some years of persevering effort, the work was completed and the existing Gorleston harbour was made. Ships could now freely enter her harbour and bring their cargos to the “Crane Key.” A revival of her trade followed, and the wealth of her merchants rapidly increased. It was now that those houses were built along the Quay, the remains of many of which still survive to shew the grandeur of their original structure. One of the finest of these old houses is the venerable Star Hotel in which the room, called Nelson’s room, retains its original character:—its richly carved oak pannelling, embossed ceiling, and large stone fireplace. But while her trade in general merchandise and in fish curing had increased, there had been no proportionate revival of her old fishing fleet. When Elizabeth was calling upon her subjects to supply ships to fight against the Spanish Armada, Yarmouth was joined with Lowestoft in a demand for one ship and one pinnace. The ship supplied was the “Grace” of Yarmouth, of 120 tons, and carrying 70 men. The “pinnace” was supplied by Lowestoft at the cost of £100. Such a contribution from Yarmouth was very different to that of the 43 ships and 1075 sailors, with which she supplied Edward the III. at the siege of Calais.
Meanwhile with the assistance of the Dutch and French fishermen the Free Fair at Yarmouth was going on as merrily as ever, and the Barons of the Cinque Ports still paid their annual visit to take part in its management. Even in the Armada year their visit was not withheld, as appears from the following amusing account of the termination of their journey, when coming to Yarmouth in the autumn of that year.
“The next day after we had dined at Layestoff, we took horse, and proceeded on the rest of our journey, and drawing towards Yarmouth Bridge, there attended our coming divers sorts of poor, lame and distressed people, who cried out for some relief, on whom we bestowed some pieces of money, and so riding over the Bridge about 2 o’clock in the afternoon we arrived sooner than our coming was expected. Notwithstanding there gathered and flocked together a great store of people, who very friendly bade us welcome; to whom we gave thanks and passed forward unto the town along the Quay, and there took our lodging, which had been provided for us at one Mr. Dameth’s house, where we were very courteously entertained.” [77]