Chapter XV: Norwich in the Eighteenth Century (3)

1816. January 18th. This day was appointed a thanksgiving day for the restoration of peace, and it was solemnly observed. The mayor and corporation of Norwich attended divine service at the Cathedral. Sermons were preached at the different places of worship, and collections were made for the poor.

January 25th. At the 51st anniversary of the Castle corporation, Thomas Back, Esq., alderman, presented two medals to be worn by the recorder and steward of the society. Each medal bore a good likeness of Mr. Pitt, on a beautiful cameo; the motto round which was _Non Sibi sed Patriæ Vixit_. On the reverse were the words, “Presented by Thomas Back, Junior, Esq., to the Castle Corporation, Norwich, in commemoration of the great victory of Waterloo, obtained on the 18th June, 1815, by the Allied Armies under the command of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington;” and around this was the motto, “In memory of the Right Hon. William Pitt; died the 23rd January, 1806, aged 47.”

January 29th. Died, aged 86, Robert Harvey, Esq., called the Father of the City of Norwich, for his great benevolence and liberality and promotion of trade.

February 20th. A numerous meeting was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, with the mayor, J. H. Yallop, Esq., in the chair, when resolutions against the property tax, and a petition founded thereon, were passed unanimously. Similar petitions were sent from Lynn, Yarmouth, and other towns. County meetings were also held to petition against the tax.

March 29th. At a public meeting held at the Guildhall, Norwich, with the mayor in the chair, it was resolved to establish a bank for savings, where servants and others might deposit a portion of their earnings. It was opened on April 29th, and has continued to be very prosperous.

April 3rd. A meeting of merchants, manufacturers, and others, was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, John Harvey, Esq., presiding, when resolutions were passed to instruct the city members to watch and oppose the intended measure for allowing the exportation of wool free of all restrictions. This measure was for the time relinquished.

April 4th. At a public meeting held under the presidency of the mayor, a petition to parliament was adopted for the repeal of the Insolvent Debtors’ act as being injurious to trade and commerce. It was not repealed for a long time.

May 11th. The West Norfolk militia returned to Norwich from Ireland, and were disembodied on the 17th of June.

May 16th. A number of riotous persons, chiefly youths, broke into the New Mills, in Norwich, threw some of the flour into the mill pool, and committed several outrages on persons and dwellings before they dispersed. The pretext for the disturbance was the want of employment. They assembled again on the next evening, but were dispersed by the magistrates and military, and several of the rioters were taken into custody. Similar proceedings took place at Downham and other places in Norfolk.

June 17th. At a quarterly assembly of the corporation, an address of congratulation to the Prince Regent was voted, to be presented to his Royal Highness, on the occasion of the marriage of the Princess Charlotte of Wales, and Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg. The address was presented by the city members. The marriage took place on May 2nd.

June 18th. This day being the anniversary of the glorious victory of Waterloo, the non-commissioned officers and privates of the First Royal Dragoons, and other soldiers quartered in Norwich, were treated with a handsome dinner in the cavalry riding school, several gentlemen having entered into a subscription for that purpose, the corporation adding the sum of £10. Robert Hawkes, Esq., first suggested the entertainment.

July 10th. An address of congratulation was voted by the court of mayoralty of Norwich, to be presented to the Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold on their marriage.

October 14th. A public meeting was held in St. Andrew’s Hall (Mr. Sheriff Bolingbroke in the chair), when certain resolutions, and a petition to parliament founded thereon, were agreed to. The petition was for the greatest possible retrenchment of the public expenditure, and for a Reform of the House of Commons. Thus early began the Reform movement, and it continued to extend all over the country. It became stronger and stronger, till at last it overcame all opposition.

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1817. January 1st. At a public meeting in the Guildhall, with the mayor, William Hankes, Esq., presiding, a subscription was commenced to relieve the labouring poor, which amounted to £3050. The poor people were employed on works of public improvement, and were supplied with soup, &c. Upwards of £1000 was also raised at Yarmouth for the same laudable purpose, and 460 men were employed in forming roads to the Bath House, Jetty, &c. The committee in Norwich granted £270 to be expended for labour on cutting a road through Butter Hills to Carrow Bridge, which was effected in the course of the summer.

March 26th. The severest contest took place ever known for nominees of Wymer, or the Long ward, very few votes remaining unpolled. Some of the freemen came in post-chaises from Thetford to poll. The numbers were, Messrs. S. Mitchell, 306; J. Reynolds, 305; A. Thwaites, 292; Messrs. W. Foster, 297; R. Purland, 288; C. Higgen, 283. Mr. Foster was successful, having five votes above Mr. Thwaites, one of the old nominees.

April 4th. On Good Friday morning, Wright’s Norwich and Yarmouth steam packet had just started from the Foundry Bridge, when the boiler of the engine burst with a tremendous explosion, by which the vessel was blown to atoms, and of 22 persons on board, five men three women, and one child were instantly killed. Six women with fractured arms and legs were conveyed to the hospital, where one died. The remaining seven escaped without much injury. A subscription amounting to £350 was raised for the sufferers. Soon afterwards, a packet was introduced on the river, worked by four horses, as in a thrashing machine; the animals walking in a path 18 feet in diameter. The vessel was propelled from six to seven miles an hour, as wind and tide favoured. This packet did not long run, and steam packets were again introduced, which went from Norwich to Yarmouth daily.

September 26th. A meeting was held in St. Andrew’s Hall, when an auxiliary association to the London Society for Promoting Christianity amongst the Jews was established. The Lord Bishop of Norwich was appointed president. Annual meetings have been held ever since to promote the objects of the society.

December 3rd. At a special meeting of the corporation, two addresses of condolence, one to the Prince Regent, and the other to Prince Leopold, of Saxe Coburg, were voted, expressive of the grief of the citizens on the death of the Princess Charlotte.

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1818. January 5th. The court of guardians having determined to proceed in the valuation of the property in the city and hamlets, Messrs. Rook, Athow, and Stannard were appointed to make such valuation. They were to be paid £850 for their trouble.

A repository was established in Norwich for the sale of articles of ingenuity, to increase the funds of the society for relieving the sick poor in Norwich. The first exhibition took place on Tombland fair day, at Mr. Noverre’s room.

March 11th. This year, the several wards in Norwich (except the Northern ward) were strongly contested, particularly the Wymer ward. After a spirited poll for nominees of the common council, the numbers were for Mr. Foster, 361; Mr. Higgen, 357; Mr. Purland, 355; Mr. Mitchell, 345; Mr. Culley, 340; Mr. Beckwith, 322. The liberal party at last obtained the ascendancy, but had to pay for it. The expenditure at this local contest was estimated at some thousands. From £15 to £40 were given for votes, and the freemen were brought in carriages from the country.

May 16th. This being Guild-day, Barnabas Leman, Esq., was sworn in mayor of Norwich for the second time. The corporation went in procession to the Cathedral, preceded by the Blue and White Clubs, the freemen wearing those colours in their hats, which was considered improper and ill-timed. Mr. William Smith, before the procession started, after recommending his friends to abstain from this display of party feeling on such a day, pulled his colours from his hat and put them in his pocket. It being quite a matter of taste, his example was not followed.

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1819. This year some important meetings were held, and a good deal of political excitement prevailed in the city. Mr. E. Taylor was elected sheriff after a contest with Mr. T. S. Day. The former was evidently the popular candidate, the numbers being for Taylor 807, for Day 530. In acknowledging the honour which had been conferred upon him he said,—

“There are times, gentlemen, when the post of honour is the post of
duty—times when it is the duty of every man to stand forward to
maintain and uphold the laws of his country, and prevent them from
being outraged. Such, gentlemen, are the present. Scenes have
recently been exhibited in a distant part of this country which I
blush to mention. The laws have there been outraged and trodden
under foot, not by the people, but by the magistrates, whose duty it
was to protect them. At Manchester we have seen a merciless
soldiery, or rather, I should say, persons wearing red coats, and
pretending to be soldiers, let loose to butcher men, women, and
children in cold blood who were peaceably and legally met to
discharge a duty which they owed to their country. The right of
petitioning is a right which, till lately, we have enjoyed
uninterruptedly, none daring to make us afraid; and where is the man
who will tell me that these people did not legally and
constitutionally meet? But, gentlemen, they have been treated in a
manner so brutal and inhuman, that our history furnishes no
parallel.”

He alluded to the “Peterloo Massacre” as it was then called, and which excited universal indignation throughout the country.

January 25th. The birthday of Mr. Fox was commemorated, by nearly 250 gentlemen, at the Assembly rooms. The earl of Albemarle presided, supported by Mr. Coke and Viscount Bury. The high sheriff was at the head of the right hand table, and Mr. Wm. Smith of the left. After dinner, speeches were delivered, setting forth the views of the Liberal party.

April 15th. A public meeting was held in St. Andrew’s Hall, when a petition to the House of Commons against the duty on coals (6s. 6d. per chaldron) was adopted by acclamation. R. H. Gurney, Esq., M.P., assured the meeting that he should support the prayer of the petition, and do everything in his power towards alleviating the burdens of his fellow-citizens. The tax was ultimately abolished.

April 22nd. The duke of Sussex arrived in Norwich and lodged at the house of William Foster, Esq., in Queen Street, where his royal highness was waited upon by the mayor and corporation. Mr. Steward Alderson, in an address of congratulation on his arrival, informed his royal highness that the whole body corporate had voted to him the freedom of the city, which the royal duke was pleased to accept, at the same time returning a dignified answer. On the next day a grand meeting of the Masonic brethren, 320 in number, was held in Chapel-field house. The large Assembly room was decorated in the most splendid style. At 10.30 a.m., the duke of Sussex (as grand master of England) installed Thomas Wm. Coke, Esq., M.P., as provincial grand master, with the accustomed Masonic ceremonies. His royal highness delivered an impressive charge, on investing Mr. Coke with the jewel, apron, and gloves. After this ceremony a procession was formed, every officer and member of the assembled lodges wearing his full masonic costume and jewels, and the banners were carried in the procession to the Cathedral. In the evening, there was a sumptuous banquet in St. Andrew’s Hall, at which the royal duke presided, supported by Mr. Coke and I. Ives, Esq., the deputy provincial grand master. About 254 persons dined, and many ladies were present to witness the festive scene. Toasts were proposed in right royal style, and duly responded to. Next day His Royal Highness was admitted to the honorary freedom of the city at the Guildhall, where he took the customary oaths. After visiting the exhibition of the Artists’ Society, the royal duke left Norwich about noon and proceeded to Holkham, paying a visit to Sir George Jerningham, at Cossey Hall, on his way thither.

May 28th. The anniversary of the birthday of the Rt. Hon. Wm. Pitt was commemorated at the Assembly rooms, Norwich, by a very numerous company of noblemen, gentlemen, and citizens.

June 4th. The anniversary of the birthday of the long afflicted sovereign, George III., who had entered on the eighty-second year of his age, was celebrated for the last time in Norwich, Yarmouth, Lynn, and other towns, with the accustomed demonstration of loyalty and attachment.

July 15th. Meetings were held in Norwich, and resolutions were passed, and petitions to parliament adopted, against the proposed additional duties on malt and on foreign wool. Petitions were also presented to parliament praying for an alteration in the corn laws, in consequence of the depressed state of agriculture.

September 16th. A public meeting was held in St. Andrew’s Hall, in order to take into consideration the late disastrous transactions at Manchester, on August 16th. The mayor, R. Bolingbroke, Esq., presided, when resolutions were adopted asserting the right of the subject to petition the king, and the legality of the late meeting at Manchester, censuring the conduct of the magistrates and yeomanry, and recommending a subscription for the relief of the sufferers. An address to the prince regent was agreed to for the removal of ministers from his presence and councils for ever. The address was afterwards presented by the city members.

October 18th. A public meeting was held by adjournment at the Guildhall to take into consideration the propriety of erecting a bridge over the river, near the Duke’s Palace, to connect Pitt Street with the Market Place. A proposition to that effect was negatived, but a bill for erecting the bridge was introduced into parliament and ultimately passed. Nearly £9,000 were proposed to be raised, by shares of £25 each, to complete the same. The bridge was built in course of time, and toll had to be paid for many years. By the exertions and influence of the late T. O. Springfield, Esq., the bridge was made a free thoroughfare, greatly to the convenience of the citizens.

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1820. January 5th. At a special meeting of the Diocesan Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, held in Norwich, (the Lord Bishop presiding) resolutions were adopted to counteract the evil effects of infidel and blasphemous publications, by issuing tracts of the Parent Society at very reduced prices, and a subscription was entered into for that purpose.

January 24th. The anniversary of the birthday of the Right Hon. C. J. Fox was commemorated by a grand public dinner in St. Andrew’s Hall by 460 noblemen and gentlemen, amongst whom were the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Albemarle (who presided), Viscount Bury, Lord Molyneux, and many other leading gentlemen of the liberal party. The hall was handsomely decorated, and the names of FOX and ALBEMARLE appeared in variegated lamps, and in a semi-circular transparency was that of SUSSEX, in letters of gold upon a ground of purple silk.

January 30th. A messenger from London brought to Lord and Lady Castlereagh (who were at Gunton Hall) the melancholy tidings of the death of King George III., which became known in Norwich on the following morning, when nearly all the shops were closed, and the bells of the churches were tolled for three hours. The king died on January 29th, in the 82nd year of his age, and the 60th of his troubled reign, during which long wars desolated Europe, doubled our national debt, and impoverished the country. His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, (who was appointed regent on February 6th, 1811,) immediately ascended the throne. King George IV. was soon afterwards seriously indisposed with inflammation in the lungs, but happily recovered from the attack in the course of a week.

February 1st. King George IV. was proclaimed on the Castle Hill by the High Sheriff, Sir William Windham Dalling, Bart., amid the cheers of those assembled. On the same day His Majesty was proclaimed in the city in full form and with great rejoicings.

March 6th. A spirited contest took place for the gown, vacant by the death of Starling Day, Esq., alderman of Wymer ward. At the close of the poll the numbers were for Henry Francis, Esq., 413; John Lovick, Esq., 372; majority for Mr. Francis 41, who was declared duly elected. In this month Messrs. Mitchell, Beckwith, and Culley were elected nominees for the long ward without opposition. The other three wards were contested. After the elections for Wymer and the Northern wards, processions took place at night to celebrate the triumph of the two contending parties.

August 2nd. A common hall was held for the purpose of getting up an address to be presented to Queen Caroline. Mr. Alderman Leman presided, and Mr. Sheriff Taylor introduced the subject, declaring that their duty was not merely to vote an address to Her Majesty on her accession, but to protest against the proceedings adopted by His Majesty’s ministers, against her “whom we ought to honour as our Queen, and esteem as a woman.” He denied the imputation that this meeting was held for factious and seditious purposes. He reviewed the various charges which had been brought against Her Majesty, and mentioned several instances of noble conduct on her part. He regarded the erasure of her name from the liturgy as a gross insult, and spoke of the firmness, and sagacity, and judgment which characterised her determination to return to England. He reminded his hearers of the enthusiasm which attended her entry into London. But no sooner was she arrived than a large green bag was laid on the table. Now he had an instinctive horror of a green bag, as he had once the honour of occupying a small corner of one. He then challenged the ministers, through Mr. Coke, to prove any one of the charges brought against him in the green bag; and he received an answer that it was all a mistake, and that Norwich should not have been inserted. The resolutions were carried by acclamation, and he afterwards presented an address to the Queen at Brandenburgh house.

There was but one opinion here as to the character of George IV., and with respect to the Queen, all the world agreed that she was much to be pitied. Men’s passions were so strongly excited, that whichever side they took, whether for her or against her, her conduct was viewed through a false medium. Nothing showed this more strongly than the behaviour of the two parties upon her death. The blue-and-whites, many of whom had never put on black for a royal personage before, were to be seen dressed in black and white, while on the other hand the orange-and-purples, not content with appearing in their ordinary attire, flaunted about in the gayest colours.

December 12th. In consequence of the numerous robberies committed in the city and county, public meetings were held, and resolutions passed to grant high rewards to watchmen who might apprehend offenders. More burglaries had been committed in that year than in the preceding twenty years. Increased poverty had produced crime, and the “Old Charlies” were of little use.

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1821. March 7th. E. T. Booth, Esq., (sheriff) was elected an alderman of Great Wymer ward in the room of the late William Foster, Esq., who had died on March 3rd. There was an opposition; at the close of the poll the numbers were, for Mr. Booth 444, Mr. R. Shaw 433.

March 31st. The freedom of the city having been voted at the quarterly assembly of the corporation on the 24th ult., to be presented to Captain William Edward Parry of the Royal Navy; that gallant officer attended in full uniform, and was sworn in at a full court of mayoralty. The parchment containing the freedom of the city was presented to him in a box formed of a piece of oak, part of the ship Hecla, with an appropriate inscription.

April 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th. Cleansing Week ward elections took place. Conisford ward no opposition, Messrs. J. Kitton, J. Angel, and J. P. Cocksedge (nominees); Mancroft ward no opposition, Messrs. P. Chamberlin, J. Bennett, and J. Goodwin, (nominees); Wymer ward, Mr. A. A. H. Beckwith 432, Mr. J. Culley, 432, Mr. J. Reynolds 423 (nominees), Mr. J. Parkinson 254, Mr. Newin 249, Mr. R. Purland 236, Mr. S. Mitchell 45; Northern ward, Mr. T. Barnard 418, Mr. T. O. Springfield 416, Mr. S. S. Beare 416, (nominees), Mr. G. Morse 231, Mr. Troughton 230, Mr. T. Grimmer 231.

May 1st. The election for mayor came on. At the close of the poll the numbers were for Alderman Rackham 986, Alderman Hawkes 950, Alderman Marsh 630, Alderman Yallop 631. The former two were returned to the court of aldermen, who elected William Rackham, Esq., to serve the office of chief magistrate.

June 18th. This being Guild day, William Rackham, Esq., was sworn in mayor, on which occasion he gave a sumptuous dinner to about 650 ladies and gentlemen in St. Andrews Hall, the hall having previously undergone various alterations and improvements.

July 27th. The coronation of George IV. was celebrated here in a very splendid manner, and gave occasion for a display of the exuberant loyalty of the citizens. This king, called “the finest gentleman in Europe,” had governed the realm for nearly ten years, and visited the city in 1812. His reign was peaceful and prosperous, and he was a great promoter of the arts and sciences. The most important event of his reign was the passing of the act for Roman Catholic emancipation, by which Roman Catholics became entitled to all the rights and privileges enjoyed by the rest of the community, a measure strongly supported here by the liberal party. During this reign the citizens of Norwich took a very active part in all the great movements of the age—the Roman Catholic Emancipation movement, the Anti-Slavery movement, and the Reform agitation. Strong contests at elections took place on all these questions. Bribery, corruption, treating, cooping, and intimidation, were resorted to by both parties on every occasion, as will appear in a subsequent chapter, on our political history. Party spirit never ran higher in any town than in Norwich.

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1822. January 24th. The anniversary of the birthday of the Rt. Hon. C. J. Fox was commemorated by a public dinner of the liberal party at the Assembly Rooms.

February 24th. At a quarterly meeting of the corporation it was unanimously resolved, that a piece of plate, of the value of 150 guineas, be presented to Charles Harvey, Esq., the recorder of Norwich, as a testimony of the high appreciation entertained by that assembly of his upright and impartial conduct in the performance of the duties of his office, and of his zeal on all occasions for the interests of the city.

March. When the elections came on in Cleansing Week, there was no opposition for the Conisford and Mancroft wards, and the orange-and-purple party maintained their ascendancy. Wymer ward, Mr. J. Reynolds 401, Mr. A. A. H. Beckwith 401, Mr. J. Culley 401, (nominees); P. Greenwood 56, W. Simmons 56, R. Widdows 54. Northern ward, Mr. A. Shaw 379, Mr. S. S. Beare 368, Mr. E. Taylor 200, (nominees); W. G. Edwards 189, A. Beloe 193, T. Grimmer 190, St. Quintin 190.

May 1st. The election of mayor came on. At the close of the poll the numbers were for Alderman Hawkes 957, Alderman J. S. Patteson 908, Alderman Thurtell 364, Alderman Yallop 318; the former two were returned to the court of aldermen, who elected Robert Hawkes, Esq., to serve the office of chief magistrate.

June 18th. This being Guild day, Robert Hawkes, Esq., was sworn in as mayor, and he gave a grand dinner to the citizens in St. Andrew’s Hall.

September 27th. The weavers, 2,361 in number, subscribed for, and presented a piece of plate to John Harvey, Esq., as a testimony of the high esteem in which they held him; and he deserved it, for he was a great promoter of the manufactures of the city, and a friend of the operatives. They were then in a prosperous state, and well employed by many large firms who executed orders for the East India Company to the extent of 20,000 pieces of camlets yearly. This trade continued till 1832.

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1823. January 23rd. At a meeting held in the Old Library Room, St. Andrew’s Hall, a society was formed for supplying the poor with blankets at a reduced price; and upwards of 1100 were distributed during the winter.

February 24th. At a quarterly assembly of the corporation a lease was granted to the magistrates of the city, for 500 years, of the piece of land outside of St. Giles’ Gates, on which it had been decided to build the new jail, at the annual rent of £50.

March 4th. At a meeting held at the Guildhall, petitions to parliament were adopted against the Insolvent Debtors Act.

March. Cleansing Week for the ward elections passed off without any opposition; the orange-and-purple party kept the Conisford, Mancroft, and Wymer wards, and the blue-and-white the Northern ward.

April 14th. At a special assembly of the corporation, a petition to His Majesty was adopted, praying for two jail deliveries in the course of the year.

April 25th. At a meeting held at the Guildhall, to take into consideration the state of the West India Colonies, with a view to promote the abolition of slavery, resolutions in favour of the object were carried.

May 1st. The election of mayor took place, and at the close of the poll the numbers were, Alderman J. S. Patteson 835, Alderman Francis 774, Alderman Leman 101, Alderman Yallop 94. The two former were returned to the court of aldermen, who elected J. S. Patteson, Esq., to serve the office of chief magistrate.

May 3rd. At a quarterly assembly of the corporation, the freedom of the city was voted to the Hon. John Wodehouse, lieutenant of the city and county.

June 17th. This being Guild day, J. S. Patteson, Esq., was sworn in mayor; and he gave a splendid dinner to a large party in St. Andrew’s Hall.

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1824. In September of this year the first Norfolk and Norwich Musical Festival was held in St. Andrew’s Hall, and the concerts given were well attended by the nobility and gentry of the county. This Festival was very much promoted by Mr. Edward Taylor, Mr. R. M. Bacon, then editor of the _Mercury_, and other amateurs in the city, and proved eminently successful, the hospital receiving the sum of £2,399 out of the profits. In 1825, King George IV. presented the hospital with a copy of Arnold’s edition of Handel’s Works. It was determined that a triennial festival should be held in aid of the funds of the institution, and that the Norwich Choral Society should be maintained in an efficient state for that purpose.