Chapter M: A. Jefferies threw himself from the bridge (3)

Deaths: Jan. 11th, Arthur Steward, Esq., aged 68.—March 4th, William Jex, Esq., Master of the Hopton Hunt, aged 68.—April 14th, William Hill Winmill, Esq., of Gorleston, aged 35.—Aug. 10th, Edward Trafford, Esq., of Wroxham.—Dec. 8th, Mr. Stephen Hardingham, aged 74.

1870.

Jan. 2nd. New organ at Roman Catholic Church opened.

Feb. 14th. The schooner “St. Cyran” came ashore south of the Britannia Pier, and the crew rescued by the rocket apparatus; the Austrian brig “Giovanning” came ashore in the South Ham; the steamer “Sea Queen,” 677 tons burthen or 903 dead weight, laden with 1,100 tons of coal, wrecked off Yarmouth, and her crew of 24 hands perished; and the barque “Victoria” wrecked on Gorleston Beach, 500 yards from the shore, and out of a crew of 16 but fire were rescued.

Feb. 15th. The schooner “Favourite” came ashore between the Jetty and Wellington Pier, and the crew, except one boy, saved; and on the same morning, the crew of the lifeboat “Friend of All Nations” courageously proceeded out of the harbour to a vessel in the South Ham, and the perilous venture of the crew was hailed with lusty cheers from a crowd assembled on the Gorleston Pier. In these gales the smack “Chance It” was burnt to the water’s edge off Yarmouth, and the crew gallantly rescued by the smack “William and Ann,” of this port.

Feb. 23rd. The organ at St. Nicholas’ Church, after being repaired by Messrs. Hill, of London, at a cost of £820, was opened by a grand choral service. Before removal it contained 2,133 pipes, which number has been increased to 2,873, viz., great organ 1,311, swell 908, choir organ 504, pedal organ 150; 45 stops and 7 couplers.

Feb. Rev. A. P. Holme appointed by the Bishop of Chester to the Rectory of Tattenhall, Cheshire; and on Mar. 1st the rev. gentleman was presented with a silver inkstand, value £25, marble timepiece £5, and an electro-plated cruet stand.

March 5th. Collision in the Roadstead between the s.s. “Chester,” value £8,000, and s.s. “Thames,” the former being run ashore north of the Britannia Pier.

March 20th. Fire on board the iron s.s. “Emily.”

April 27th. The first portion of St. James’ Church, which cost about £1,000, was opened by the Bishop of Columbia. The entire building, when finished, will cost £8,000 or £10,000.

April 28th. The south aisle of St. Nicholas’ Church, after being rebuilt, opened with a full choral service, the Lord Bishops of Rochester and Norwich officiating in the service. This service was the grandest since Aug., 1848, when Dr. Stanley and Dr. Wilberforce preached at the opening services, after the old galleries, pews, &c., had been swept away. The Church covers an area of 23,085 square feet; is 228 ft. long and 110 ft. wide, transept 148 ft.; and will accommodate 5,500 worshippers.

April. Captains Spencer Smyth, R.N., and C. Dent promoted to the rank of Rear-Admirals. The former served in several naval engagements from March, 1803 (when he entered as Midshipman on board the “Dreadnought,” 98 guns), to Oct. 22nd, 1827, the date he was promoted to the rank of Commander; and from 19th of March, 1833, to Oct., 1835, he filled the position of Assistant-Commander of the Coastguard at Yarmouth; and promoted to Captain on the reserve list F.G., July 28th, 1851, for meritorious services. (See Aug. 3rd.) Admiral Dent also served in several similar engagements since the year 1810.

May 18th. Gaol Street altered to its original name, Middlegate Street.

May. Baptist Chapel in Row 14 sold to Sir E. H. K. Lacon, and converted into a beer store. In excavating, an immense leaden coffin was discovered, besides the human bones of persons long since departed this life, which were re-interred. On Aug. 25th the cornerstone of the new Chapel on Wellesley Road was laid. (See April 7th, 1871.)

May 30th. Lord Mahon, eldest son of Earl Stanhope, returned as Member of Parliament for East Suffolk, including Gorleston. Votes—Mahon, 3,456; Colonel Sir Shafto Adair, Bart., 3,285; including Gorleston votes, M., 245; A., 183.

June 6th. Mr. E. Cattermoul, librarian, presented with a watch, value £25, and a cheque for £31 10s., by the subscribers to the Public library.

July 12th. Middlegate Congregational Church rebuilt and opened. This building alone cost £4,000, the architect being Mr. J. T. Bottle, of Yarmouth.

July 18th. John Bately, Esq., of Southtown, was admitted a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of London, having passed on Sept. 24th, 1864, the examination in Arts at Apothecaries’ Hall; on May 6th, 1868, admitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons; and on July 2nd of the same year, a licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries of London. On October 1st, 1868, this gentleman, at the opening of the Medical Session of Queen’s College, Birmingham, by Lord Littleton, received from the hands of the Bishop of Worcester the Council Prize of the Sydenham College—the highest honour the College could confer.

July 27th. Mr. M. E. Sturge, the newly-appointed bandmaster of the East Norfolk Militia, presented with a richly-chased ebony and gold baton by the members of the band, as a mark of their respect and esteem.

Aug. 3rd. Police-constable Shreeve gallantly rescued a lady, who had fallen overboard while in the act of landing from the London passenger steamer “Albion,” from drowning.

Aug. 3rd. Mr. W. S. Stanford appointed Harbour Master in the place of Rear-Admiral S. Smyth.

Aug. 7th. H.M.S. “Penelope” put into Yarmouth, but left on the 12th. This ironclad vessel, under the command of Lieut. Mogel, is a double screw corvette, 600 horse-power, 3,096 tons, carries ten guns, and a crew of 400 all told.

Aug. 8th. Edward Youell, Esq., died at Yarmouth, aged 89 years. This much respected gentleman was a partner for 42 years in the banking firm, of Lacons, Youell, and Co., from which he retired in 1863, having been in the house nearly 70 years.

Aug. 8th. A fishing trawler driven into the new works of the Jetty (see Aug. 20th, 1808), carrying away one of the piles, and knocking down the pile-driving machine, which fell on her deck and completely crushed it.

Aug. Mr. William James Palmer, L.S.A., admitted a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Aug. 18th. Mr. J. S. Dominy, previous to leaving for York, resigned the position of Head Master of the Government School of Art in favour of Mr. J. F. Ryan.

Aug. 20th. Mr. John Harrington gallantly rescued two men from drowning on Yarmouth Beach; and during the present year he was instrumental in saving the lives of two others, for which he was awarded a testimonial on vellum by the Royal Humane Society.

Aug. 23rd. Great Yarmouth Annual Marine Regatta took place. The first Annual Roads Regatta was held Aug. 1st, 1834.

Sept. 1st. Meeting convened by the Mayor at the Town Hall on behalf of the sick and wounded in the Franco-German war; £297 6s. 7d. collected in the town, out of which sum £291 16s. was forwarded, when the list closed in Jan., 1871, to the National Society.

Sept. 22nd. S. J. F. Stafford, Esq., surgeon, presented with an elegant crystal-and-gold claret jug, and on Dec. 29th with a silver salver by the Nottingham Order of Oddfellows, as a token of their esteem.

Sept. Miss Emma Pearson, daughter of the late Capt. Pearson, of Yarmouth, sacrificed the comforts of her home to undergo suffering and privation in a foreign country as head nurse amidst the carnage of battle fields, and too much cannot be said in praise of her conduct. On being invited by Count Bernstoff to the Prussian Embassy, she received many merited thanks for her kindness and attention to the German wounded. (See Aug., 1872.)

Oct. 14th. Heavy gale, in which the “Ex,” of Yarmouth, foundered; and on the 16th, the lugger “Proverb,” of Gorleston, and six other vessels.

Oct. 24th and 25th. The most beautiful display of the Aurora Borealis witnessed since 1707.

Nov. 18th. The s.s. “M. E. Clarke” totally lost on Hasbro’ Sands, and her crew of 16 hands landed at Cromer.

Nov. 26th. The s.s. “Dolphin,” with cattle for London, towed into Yarmouth Roadstead. To save the vessel, 150 bullocks and 250 sheep were thrown overboard.

Dec. 13th. The catch of herrings this season up to this date was 18,394 lasts, which realised no less a sum than £180,000. One boat brought in 142 lasts, another 132 lasts, and others were almost equally successful. Last year’s catch was about 13,221 lasts; and in 1868, 15,476 lasts. 12 vessels left with 28,390 barrels of bloaters for exportation.

During the summer season, the town was visited by upwards of 78,000 people, viz., 63,000 by rail, and 15,000 by the passenger steamers “Albion” and “Seine.”

A mackerel, 19 in. long, 10½ in. in girth, and weighing 2 lbs. 11 ozs., brought ashore.

One hundred and fifty-six fully-licensed public-houses, 16 hotels, and 88 beer-houses, including Gorleston—making a total of 260.

Deaths: Jan. 9th, Thomas Brightwen, Esq., J.P., senior local partner in the banking firm of Messrs. Gurneys, Birkbeck, and Co., aged 57.—Feb. 24th, D. Stewart, Esq., aged 79.—Feb., Mr. Henry Jay, shipowner, and formerly a Member of the Corporation.—April 4th, the Rev. John Meffin, 50 years minister of the Countess of Huntingdon Connexion, aged 93.—May 25th, John Branch, Esq., aged 74.—May 31st, Mr. George Alexander, artist, aged 64.—June 1st, at Yarmouth, Alex. John, son of the late Samuel Grimmer, Esq., of Haddiscoe Hall, aged 61.—July 21st, Mr. Samuel Cubitt Richmond, merchant, a Member of the Town Council.—Oct. 6th, at Portsmouth, Col. Edwin Wodehouse, C.B., R.A., Aide-de-camp to the Queen, eldest son of the late Admiral the Hon. Philip Wodehouse, aged 53.—Oct. 17th, Mr. Edward Stagg, a Member of the Town Council, aged 57 (see Feb., 1866).—Nov. 14th, C. E. Bartram, Esq., J.P., and Town Councillor, aged 72.—Nov. 30th, Henry Holt Barber, Esq., a Member of the Town Council, aged 38.—Dec. 19th, Mr. Henry Fellows, shipbuilder, at Southtown, aged 69.

The cost of lighting the town (330) lamps with gas this year was £1,178 12s.

Launches: Feb. 14th, the smack “Valentine;” June 20th, the brigantine “Ethel,” 100 feet long, and 200 tons register, belonging to W. J. Foreman, Esq., launched, after being repaired, from Mr. Rust’s yard; Aug. 29th, the new trawling smack “Bonny Boys;” Oct. 1st, the fishing lugger “Guiding Star;” Nov. 17th, the lifeboat “Bolton,” built by Messrs. Beeching, of Yarmouth, publicly inaugurated at Kessingland; Nov. 19th, trawling smack “Statesman;” Dec. 14th, smack “Galatea.”

1871.

Jan. 3rd. A male otter caught in one of the Broads near Yarmouth. It weighed 30 lbs., and was four feet long, the tail alone measuring 21 inches.

Jan. 9th. Lady King, late of Telegraph House, died at Maddingley Hall, Cambridge.

Jan. 13th. Race for £100 on the ice covering the Southtown marshes, between Mr. Barnes’ pony (ridden by the owner) and an excellent skater named Woodhouse. The rough-shod pony won by several yards.

Jan. 13th. Public subscriptions for aiding the wounded in the Franco-German war amounted to £297 6s. 7d. Jan. 27th. Forty-five screw steamers passed up through the Roadstead within three hours.

Jan. 18,709 lasts of herrings caught during the last voyage, or 5,353 lasts more than the previous year’s catch.

The rateable value of the Borough as per last poor rate, £96,556 10s., and the number of ratepayers 9,750.

Seventy-five schools provided accommodation for 5,370 pupils, viz., Yarmouth, 65 schools, 4,587 children; Gorleston and Southtown, 10 schools, 781 children.

The total receipts of the Board of Health for the past year were £6,819 8s. 8d., and the expenditure £6,698 19s.

Feb. 4th. Robert Steward, Esq., J.P., died at Cambridge, aged 57. This gentleman was five times Mayor of the Borough, and was also a Member of the Town Council for upwards of 20 years.

Feb. 7th. Fire in Broad Row at the shop of Mr. J. H. Lay. About £100 worth of damage done.

Feb. 18th. Mantby Hall destroyed by fire.

Feb. Two whitings caught by the smack “Dutch Trader”—one measured 26 inches and the other 24 inches.—The number of fishing boats belonging to Yarmouth, according to a Parliamentary return, amounted to 900, of the aggregate tonnage of 14,788, giving employment to 4,051 men and 530 boys.

March. Lieut. Fyson appointed Captain of the 2nd Company of Rifle Volunteers on the retirement of Capt. Tomlinson.