Yarmouth Notes, 1830-1872. Collated from the File of the Norwich Mercury

by Frederick Danby Palmer

Two men (Seager and Hanson) had quarrelled in the Bear Tap, when Nathaniel Lacey, in trying to part them, was knocked down and his leg broken.

August 22nd.—“As early as nine o’clock on Friday morning an immense concourse of genteely-dressed persons had congregated before St. Peter’s Church, anxious not to miss the opportunity of witnessing the solemn and imposing ceremonial about to take place. At ten o’clock the principal door was thrown open, and this large assemblage entered. The greatest order and decorum prevailed, owing certainly to the excellent arrangement of C. Symonds, Esq., one of the Churchwardens for the year, who, to prevent confusion, had issued tickets, which were left at the houses of the respectable housekeepers, without the least distinction, as also at the various lodging houses for the use of the visitors. About eleven o’clock the Mayor (John Baker, Esq.), with the customary regalia, attended by several other members of the Corporate body entered the church, and were shown to the pews appropriated for their reception. The Bishop of Winchester soon arrived with his Chaplain and Registrar and proceeded up the middle aisle to the altar, where the service began by the latter gentleman presenting the petition to the Bishop, who redelivered it to the Registrar, when it was by him read aloud. The Right Rev. Prelate then pronounced the following words, in a solemn, appropriate, and sonorous tone of voice—“I am now ready to give my full consent to that which you have desired, and may Almighty God bless the good work in which we are about engaging.” His Lordship then, with his officers and clergy, walked to the west end of the church and back again to the altar, repeating alternate versicles of the 42nd Psalm. The Bishop having seated himself at the table, the Deed of Consecration was read by the surrogate (the Very Rev. the Dean of Norwich), after which his Lordship read the exhortation, prayers, &c., appointed for the occasion. The usual morning prayers were read from the desk by the Hon. and Rev. E. Pellew, with the exception of those parts especially appropriated to the occasion, which were read by the Bishop. The reading Psalms most judiciously selected for the occasion were the 84th, 122nd, and 132nd; the lessons, parts of the 8th chapter of 1st Kings, and of the 10th chapter of Hebrews. After the prayers, verses 6, 7, and 8 of 26th, with Gloria Patri, was performed by a very full orchestra of instrumentalists and vocalists. The common service was performed by the Bishop, with the exception of the Epistle and the Nicene Creed, which were read by his Lordship’s Chaplain, the Rev. Alexander Dallas. The 100th Psalm (Tate and Brady’s version) was then sung by the whole choir. The sermon, a striking, apposite, and eloquent one, was preached by the Rev. Mr. Clark, the appointed minister of the Church, from Genesis, chapter 28th, verses 16 and 17—“And Jacob awaketh out of his sleep, &c.” [832 young persons were confirmed by the Bishop of Winchester.]”

August 29th.—The Races had been held, and on “Tuesday and Wednesday the great annual main of cocks had been fought at the Bush Tavern, South Quay, between the gentlemen of Norwich and the gentlemen of Yarmouth for £5 a battle and £50 the odds, which was won by Norwich, who were six battles a head.”

Sept. 15th.—The smack Endeavour, of London, had been seized with 65 casks and 16 bales (2,800 lbs. in weight) of tobacco on board her.

The following Corporate officers had been chosen:—John Danby-Palmer, Esq., Mayor; Mr. James Jay, Chamberlain; F. R. Reynolds, Esq., and J. M. Bell, Esq., Churchwardens.

The late gales had caused an immense quantity of sand and shingle to be washed into the Harbour, so as to form a point opposite the South Pier.

Oct. 3rd.—The following is the report of the Yarmouth Guild Day:—

On Monday the Mayor and the Mayor Elect (J. Danby-Palmer, Esq.), accompanied by the Earl of Orford and the members of the Corporation, attended divine service at St. Nicholas’ Church, by the Hon. and Rev. Edward Pellew, after which the Rev. Thomas Baker, Chaplain to the Body Corporate, preached an excellent sermon. After service the Corporation adjourned to the Guildhall, where the Mayor-Elect was sworn into office with the customary ceremonies.

The Recorder (Mr. Sergeant Merewether) being absent, the Town Clerk, previous to presenting the patent of appointment as Lord High Steward of the Borough to the Earl of Orford, addressed his Lordship, observing that the Corporation entertained a high sense of the honour conferred upon them by his Lordship’s acceptance of an office which (as constituted by one of the charters of the borough) assimilated with that of Lord High Steward of England, an office of great power and authority, having under the King the regulating the administration of justice, which had not since its forfeiture in the reign of Henry the Third, by its hereditary possessor, been granted to any one except upon and for particular occasions, and had only been presented to one of the Nobility and a Lord of Parliament. So by the Charter of King Charles, the High Steward of the borough of Yarmouth must be ‘unus praeclarus vir,’ the meaning of which might be gathered from the appointment of William, Earl of Yarmouth, to be the first modern High Steward, and that to the present time the office had been filled by noblemen distinguished by their talents and services as statesmen, or great naval and military commanders. Amongst them were the celebrated Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford, a second Robert Earl of Orford, and George Earl of Orford, who together held that office for nearly 60 years, much to the honour and advantage of the Borough. Although their connection with that noble family had been interrupted, it had not been forgotten by the Corporation, who were happy in having the honour of renewing it in the person of his Lordship, in whom they found that ‘praeclarus vir’ pointed out by the charter, and they doubted not but that his Lordship would support them in all transactions grounded in honour, honesty, and good faith, and having for their object the public good, and that he would defend and maintain their ancient rights, privileges, and immunities. The Town Clerk then presented Lord Orford with his appointment, and assured his Lordship that his presence among them would always be hailed with pleasure by the Corporation.

The Earl of Orford was then sworn, and immediately addressed the Mayor and Corporation in an eloquent speech, in which he said he claimed no merit to himself for the choice which had been made by the Corporation, but attributed it solely to the recollection of the former connection of the borough with his ancestors, which had been so handsomely alluded to by the Town Clerk, and to that firm line of conduct in political life which he had thought it his duty steadfastly to pursue, which it was his pride and pleasure to maintain, and that although the Corporation might have selected a person of more influence than himself, yet he would yield to no one in zeal, and no exertion on his part would be spared to uphold the rights, privileges, and immunities of the Corporation, which had that day been entrusted to the Mayor, and which it was to be hoped he would be permitted to resign unimpaired to his successor. He himself should always feel it his duty and pleasure to render his services available to the true interests of the borough.

The other annual officers were then sworn, and the Mayor, accompanied by the High Steward and the Corporate Body, walked to the Town Hall, where a most splendid entertainment was provided for upwards of three hundred and thirty gentlemen, among whom were the Right Hon. the Earl of Orford, the Right Hon. Viscount Nevill, the Hon. Mr. Justice Alderson, the Hon. the Rev. E. Pellew, the Hon. P. H. Abbott, Sir E. K. Lacon, Bart., Vice-Admiral Sir George Parker, K.C.B., Col. Petre, Col. Mason, Robert Marsham, Esq., J. Postle, Esq., Stratton Marsham, Esq., E. H. K. Lacon, Esq., W. M. Praed, Esq., Rev. C. Penrice, Rev. J. Humfrey, Rev. — Clarke, Rev. J. Gunn, Rev. B. Winthorp, John Penrice, Esq., R. Rising, Esq., S. Palmer, Esq., W. Carpenter, Esq., Capt. Onslow, R.N., Capt. M. Kelly, R.N., Capt. Travers, R.N., Major Travers, Capt. Carew, R.N., H. Munro, Esq., B. Caldecott, Esq., &c., &c.

The healths of their Majesties—the Princess Victoria and the rest of the Royal Family—his Majesty’s Ministers, and the Duke of Wellington, were drank. On the health of the Earl of Orford being given, the noble Lord, in returning thanks, alluded to the commission for investigating Corporations, declaring ‘that he denounced the illegality of the commission.’ His Lordship gave the health of the Mayor and Prosperity to the Town of Yarmouth, for which the Chief Magistrate expressed his acknowledgment, stating his determination to do all he could to forward the best interests of the town on every occasion.

On the health of Mr. Justice Alderson being given, the learned Judge spoke of the Constitution of this country as being so framed as to allow all who had the talents and industry to arrive at the very highest dignities the King could confer, and concluded by saying that the question for the people to consider was whether they would close the avenues to those dignities. The healths of Lord Nevill, Mr. Charles Palmer (the son of the Mayor), Sir E. K. Lacon, Lord Walpole and the House of Wolterton, Lord Wodehouse and the House of Kimberley, and a variety of other toasts were given; after which the Mayor and a large party adjourned to the Ball at the Bath Rooms, where dancing continued till a late hour.

Oct. 31st.—“On Monday evening last, as Mr. Marsh, of the house of Marsh and Barnes, wine and spirit merchants, was returning in his gig from Beccles, he overtook a female on the road near Fritton, who, as Mr. M. passed, implored assistance. He pulled up, and finding the poor creature in an exhausted and high state of nervous excitement, and that she was on her way to this place, he took her up, when she stated as follows—that she had walked from Yarmouth to Heckingham House to obtain relief for a relative residing in Yarmouth, that she had obtained 3s., was returning home across the Marshes, and when near the New Cut and bridge over the dam, she saw two men, who appeared to come from a wherry, and when they met her one of them presented a pistol and threatened to shoot her, but she answering in the negative to the enquiry of “Do you know us,” one of them said, “Don’t shoot her.” They then searched, took from her 2s. 6d., some halfpence, and a handkerchief with some trifles, knocked her down by a blow on the face, and so left her. When she recovered she proceeded on her journey till the above gentleman humanely assisted her into the town and relieved her; but she was so weak from the fright as to stagger when she left the gig. She states that she thinks she could recognize one of the men. Might not some enquiry as to what wherry was moored in the Cut at that time lead to the detection of the perpetrators of so diabolical an act as that of distressing the distressed. We respectfully submit to the gentlemen who are the guardians for the hundred of Heckingham if some safe plan could not be devised to relieve non-resident paupers, so as to obviate the necessity of a journey by them of so many miles.”

Dec. 5th.—The winter assemblies having been discontinued for two years had been revived, and the first assembly had been held at the Town Hall, (the Mayor (J. Danby Palmer, Esq.) and Vice-Admiral Sir George Parker, K.C.B., Stewards). It was attended by all the principal families of the town and neighbourhood.