1567. St. Margaret’s Spire, with divers little crosses and ornaments on different parts of the church, shot down by a Dutch ship that lay then in the harbour. Which seems rather a blind and queer kind of a tale.
1568. Popish vestments and relics brought from St. John’s and Tilney, and burnt in the market place.
1569. Marshland drowned, to the great loss and damage of the inhabitants, many of whom were forced to leave their houses, and glad to save their lives in boats which came to their assistance.
1570. Monday and Tuesday, the 2nd. and 3rd. of October, Marshland and Wiggenhale overflowed with salt water, so that from Old Lynn to Mawdlin bridge there were not left ten roods of the bank whole and firm, to the great damage of the whole country, (see p. 116.)—Quere, If this flood and the preceding were not the same: some careless writer of memoranda antedating it under 1569?—another account seems to have post-dated it under 1570.
1574 or 1575. Earthquake and plague in this town. Also in the latter year Henry Wodehouse, vice admiral of Norfolk, seized two fly-boats here by process, which the mayor refused to serve, and thereby brought great trouble on himself and several others.—In one MS. the admiral is called Sir Thomas Wodehouse.
1576. Commissioners of Sewers cut off the water from Sechy river, which worked the town mill, which caused great loss; no less than 1000 marks having been laid out to bring the water hither.
The Queen about this time coming into Norfolk, was presented by our corporation with a rich purse, finely wrought and adorned with pearl and gold, containing 100 old angels of gold: the whole valued at 200l.
1579. The town-ditches from the South-gate to Kettle-mills scoured, and the walls also repaired and cast with black mortar.
1581. That part of St. James’s church that had not been demolished repaired, and fitted up for a workhouse, to employ the poor in the manufacture of Bays; which not found to answer the cost, was afterwards given up.—St. Nicholas’ also was then repaired at considerable expense.
1582. Ringing having been here for some time disused, certain young fellows, attempting to revive it, were opposed by divers of the aldermen, which occasioned no small disturbance and the spending of a great deal of money. But it is not said in what way it was spent, or how the affair ended.