A great part of the nation was hostile to the Hanover succession; but it was a divided party, and could never be brought to act in concert, or with whiggish energy. The Tories were then a very powerful body, and mostly in favour of the Pretender, but not so decidedly as the Jacobites, who were to a man violent for his restoration. These two parties were then more numerous and powerful than the Whigs, or adherents of the House of Hanover and the protestant succession. But they wanted the talents, the unanimity, and the decision of the latter, and therefore proved unable to gain their point, or introduce the pretender and place him on the throne. An attempt, however, was made, chiefly in Scotland, to bring him in, in 1715, and again in 1745; but they both miscarried, so that the present family in the end got firm and undisputed possession of the sovereignty of these realms; and the pretending or rival family is now extinct. Considering the many adverse appearances, at and before the queen’s death, George’s quiet accession was not a little remarkable and surprising. His success, it has been thought, “was principally owing to the abilities, prudence, activity, and foresight of the great Whigs, and to the precautions which they had always taken, and now took to promote the succession in the protestant line, with whom the Hanoverian agents in London concerted their mode of conduct, and to whom George, from the first news he received of the queen’s death, wholly resigned himself and his cause.” In nothing did he discover so much discretion and wisdom, as in acting under the guidance of such able and trusty adherents.
The history of Lynn during this reign, seems remarkably barren of interesting, or very memorable incidents. Scarce any thing that we know of, relating to this town, occurred within that time that is worth recording. The town no doubt, or at least the members of the corporation, derived many good things from the high station then occupied by Walpole, their great patron and representative; and this circumstance would hardly fail to render Lynn the envy of most other corporations, who would naturally be desirous of obtaining so powerful a patronage. But upon this subject we will not here enlarge.
Among the principal objects that engaged the attention of our corporation during this reign, was an inquiry into the extent and limits of the estates in Dunham and East Lexham, belonging to the Gaywood Hospital, of which they were the trustees or guardians. This inquiry commenced as early as 1710–11. as appears from the following note or hint in our volume of Extracts—“March 23. 1710–11; St. Mary Magdalen estate to be surveyed and new buttal’d.”—Afterwards, under the year 1715, we read as follows; “July 27. upon reading the report of the Comittee, ordered to inspect the Estate in East Lexham and Dunham, belonging to Gaywood Hospital, It is ordered that a Letter be sent to Edmd. Wodehouse, Esq. to request and demand a new particular and abuttals of the lands there late in his possession, and that the Town Clerk attend the persons employed to new abuttal the same, as occasion shall require.”
This work appears to have been attended with considerable difficulty, and therefore to have made for a great while but very slow progress; but our gentlemen still persevered, and seemed fully determined to effect their purpose, in spite of all obstacles. Accordingly the affair is thus further noticed under 1718: “April 7th. Ordered a Letter be wrott to Edmd. Wodehouse, Esq. to desire new abuttals of the lands in Dunham and East Lexham, belonging to St. Mary Magdalen’s Hospitall, which he and his predecessors have holden 99 years by lease lately expired.”—A month after (i.e. May 7. 1718.) it was further “ordered that Mr. Mayor, (Ja: Boardman Esq.) Mr. Turner, Mr. Berney, Mr. Bagge, Mr. Rolfe, Aldermen; Mr. Robotham, Wm. Allen, Tho. Allen, Town Clerk, and Chamberlains, be a Comittee to inspect the Hospitall lands belonging to St. Mary Magdalen, at Dunham and East Lexham, and settle the schedules, and treat for a new Lease thereof; likewise to consider of the regaining the foldcourse at Dunham.”
Somewhat more than a year and half after the last date, we find the same business still employing the attention of our gentlemen. Hence, in our volume of Extracts, the following passage occurs.—“December 23rd. 1710. Order’d that alderman Bagg, with the town clerk, be desired to wait upon Mr. Wodehouse at Lexham, and endeavour to ascertain the lands late in his lease from St. Mary Magdalen’s Hospitall, and enquire after what other lands there are in Dunham and East Lexham for which no rent is paid.” [897] How they succeeded, or how the inquiry finally turned out, does not appear. But it is pretty certain that the Hospital and poor pensioners there, have never owed much obligation to the Wodehouse family; and but for the interference of the corporation, this charity, in all probability, had long ago been alienated and lost. Let this therefore stand on record among the good and worthy deeds of our body corporate.
The origin of the appointment of Watchmen for this town, is a circumstance that seems to be very little known here: but from the following hint in our volume of Extracts, it seems to be now of near 90 years standing.—“Feb. 3. 1719–20, Order’d that a Letter be sent to the members of parliament, to gett a clause incerted in the act now about passing for night watches for the city of Westminster, in favour of this corporation to have the like regulation.” It seems probable therefore, that Lynn had its night watchmen as early as the city of Westminster, and of course earlier probably, than most other places in the kingdom. Somewhat more than two months after the last date, the following circumstance is memorized in our book of Extracts—“April 6. 1720, Mr. John Cary junr. is elected Master of the Writting School, and aldermen Berney and Scarlet, governors and inspectors of the said schoole.” This school still exists; but who are its present governors and inspectors we have not learnt. They may be supposed to be expert penmen, or good judges of penmanship. On the 23rd. of the following December, it was “ordered that a book be prepared to register all the Acts of our Common Councell that pass the seale.”—This book of the Acts of our Common Council, though not quite so interesting as the book of the Acts of the Apostles, may nevertheless contain some very curious passages, which might be very useful for this work, could we have been favoured with a sight of it. But it is supposed to be a book of secrets, and so not accessible to the uninitiated and unprivileged. Containing now the acts of near 90 years, it may be presumed to be, by this time, rather bulky.
In the spring of 1722, our book of Extracts speaks of the Blockhouse being let on lease to one Quash. The reason of noticing this here, is, because the passage alluded to shews that one of the gates of the town anciently stood there, and bore the name of St. Agnes.—The passage reads thus:
“April 4th. 1722, Ordered that a lease be made to Wm. Quash, mariner, of the messuage called the Blockhouse, in North End, being formerly St. Agness Gates, for the terme of 99 years, at 10s. per annum, from Lady Day last, he putting the same into repair, and so keeping it as a dwelling house during the said terme, and leaving the same in tennantable repair at the expiration, excepting to this corporation the common way and passages as usual through the same.”
On the 23rd. of the following November, according to the Hall Books, it was “ordered that the tolls for the carriage of goods through the two gates be suspended for one year, from Lady Day next.” This shews that toll was formerly paid for the passage of goods through our gates; but we have not learnt the reason of the suspension of that payment now for one year. It was a measure, no doubt, which some circumstances were thought to render necessary, at least by way of experiment. Its country and commercial connections had long given Lynn a bad name, for its extortioning spirit, and exorbitant exactions; and it is probable that the town had suffered on that account: this might therefore be an expedient used, along with others, for the purpose of retrieving its character. Whether it promoted that object in any degree, or proved of any material benefit to the town, we have not been able to discover.—Under the date of March 1. 1722–3, (or 1723, as we reckon) the following short note or hint occurs in our book of Extracts—“Market Tolls declared to be the Mayor’s.” By which it would seem that there were before some doubts entertained here upon this subject, and that it had never been fully settled, till now, to whom those tolls belonged.
In the following August, the resentment of the Hall, was excited in a very high degree against Dr. Browne the physician, for having set up, on some occasion, a kind of competition for precedence with the very Mayor himself. This daring deed is thus memorized in our book of Extracts—“August 29. 1723, Ordered that a Letter be written by the Town Clerke to Dr. Wm. Browne, to acquaint him with the resentment of this corporation of his affront to the mayor (Richd. Harwich Esq.) justices and gentlemen of this corporation, by an undue precedence he assumed and persisted in, on Monday last.” [also] “that the Letter now written by the Town Clerke, on that occasion, be sent to Doctor Browne.”—Things must have been then queerly situated at Lynn; especially between the mayor and Dr. Browne. What effect the Town clerk’s Letter had upon the doctor, we have not been able to discover. But we have always understood that there was never any great cordiality between him and the corporation. He resided here long after this, and afterwards removed to London, where he received the honour of knighthood, and became president of the Royal College of Physicians, to the no small gratification of his vanity, of which he had a most enormous portion. He has been spoken of as a good physician, but beyond that, or out of the line of his profession, he is not known to have acquired much respectability. In one thing he seemed more fortunate than his contemporary Hepburne; for he died rich, and the other poor. Hepburne’s numerous patients were, it seems, more liberal in feasting than in feeing him; whereas Browne would not have been satisfied with that sort of liberality. He was the grandfather of our present parliamentary representative, Sir Martin Browne Folkes, baronet. [901a]