Volume I Part 93 (1/2)

1839.

JANUARY.

5.-Died at Braconash, aged 85, Elizabeth, widow of Mr. Thomas Berney, and third and last surviving daughter of Sir George Duckett, Bart., of Hartham, Wilts. ”Mrs. Berney was a true representative of an English lady of times past, in its dignified and most attractive form.” At the funeral at Braconash, on the 15th, the hea.r.s.e was preceded by ”a canopy of plumes of feathers, borne by a mute with two others, one on each side.”

7.-A severe gale raged on the Norfolk coast, and many vessels were wrecked. Thirteen sail of vessels belonging to Yarmouth, with 100 hands on board, were missing, and at a public meeting held in the borough on the 23rd, a fund was started for the relief of the widows and children.

14.-At Lynn Quarter Sessions, before the Recorder (Mr. Martin John West), an indictment was preferred by Dr. John Tweedale, of that town, against Mr. William Drake, of East Dereham, and Mr. James Bowker, charging the defendants with provoking him to fight a duel, and with common a.s.sault.

Mr. Drake, a solicitor, was employed by the Conservative party in the borough to attend the revision of the munic.i.p.al voters' lists, and a quarrel arose in consequence of certain evidence given by Dr. Tweedale as a charity trustee. The defendant Drake was found guilty of a common a.s.sault, and fined 5; and Bowker was acquitted.

-The agitation for the repeal of the Corn Laws was commenced in Norwich by the holding of a preliminary meeting, at which a pet.i.tion in favour of the movement was agreed to. A common hall was held on February 7th, presided over by the Mayor (Mr. J. Marshall), when the Chartists attended and created a great disturbance. A resolution in favour of repeal was adopted. The Town Council discussed the subject on February 8th and 11th, and a motion for pet.i.tioning both Houses of Parliament for a total repeal was carried by 26 votes to 20. Meetings with the same object became general throughout the county.

16.-Heigham Episcopal chapel, Norwich, was consecrated by the Bishop of the Diocese, and was known afterwards as the chapel of the Holy Trinity.

21.-Died at Catton, aged 38, the Rev. Dacre Barrett Lennard, sixth son of Sir Thomas Barrett Lennard, of Belhus, Ess.e.x, rector of St. Michael at Plea, Norwich, and chaplain to H.R.H. the Duke of Suss.e.x and Lord Western. His remains were interred on the 28th ”in a vault near the altar of his church.”

28.-Died at Hampstead, Sir William Beechey, R.A., aged 86. He was a native of Burford, Oxfords.h.i.+re, and in early life settled and married in Norwich. Elected an a.s.sociate of the Royal Academy in 1793, he painted in the same year a full-length portrait of Queen Charlotte, who honoured him with the appointment of Queen's portrait painter. In 1798 he painted an equestrian portrait of George III., with the Prince of Wales and Duke of York, reviewing the 3rd and 10th Dragoons, attended by Lieut.-General Dundas, General Sir William Fawcett, and Major George Goldsworthy. In the same year he received the honour of knighthood, the first instance of its being conferred on an artist since the time of Sir Joshua Reynolds.

At St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich, there are four portraits by Sir William, namely, those of Admiral Lord Nelson, Mr. John Patteson, Mr. Elisha de Hague, and Mr. J. S. Patteson. His son, Capt. Beechey, R.N., was one of Capt. Sir Edward Parry's lieutenants in his second expedition towards the North Pole.

FEBRUARY.

3.-This day (Sunday) a prize-fight took place on Costessey Common, between Rix and Clarke, of Norwich, seconded by Cricknell and Blanchflower, ”of the new scientific school.” Sixty-three rounds were fought, in 1 hr. 20 mins. Rix was the victor. ”Never were two men more severely punished by each other.”

6.-The Rev. W. J. Bakewell, upwards of eleven years minister of the Unitarian chapel, Norwich, ”who is about to embark for America,” was presented by his congregation with a purse of 105 sovs.

10.*-”The week before last, in a little more than three days, Sir Richard Sutton, Bart., and a small party of friends shot 1,313 pheasants and an immense quant.i.ty of hares, rabbits, partridges, and woodc.o.c.k, on his estate at Lynford and Tofts.” (This was described as ”killing, not sporting.”)

-Mr. William Dalrymple resigned office as one of the surgeons of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, and Mr. J. G.o.dwin Johnson was elected in his place.

11.-A trotting match took place at Attleborough, between a horse named Scroggins, belonging to Mr. Ling, of Besthorpe, and a cob the property of Mr. Robert Large, of Ellingham. The match was run in two mile heats, and was won by the former, in the presence of upwards of 3,000 spectators.

19.-Mr. Hotson, solicitor, of Long Stratton, while driving to Norwich, was robbed of a purse of money and a case of bank notes, near Harford Bridges. One of his a.s.sailants pulled him back in the gig and covered his mouth with his hand while three others rifled his pockets. At the Norwich Quarter Sessions, in April, a man named Daniel Archer was charged with the offence, and acquitted.

21.-The litigation respecting the Norwich charities entered upon its final stage in the House of Lords, when the appeal, Bignold and others _v._ Springfield came on for hearing. Lord Wynford said the question he had to propose was that the judges should state their opinion whether, having reference to the 74th section of the Munic.i.p.al Corporation Act, the administration of the charities continued in the old Corporation after August 1st, 1836. Mr. Justice Littledale asked for time to consider the question. On June 24th the House decided in favour of the then trustees. Lord Chief Justice Tindal said: ”Upon the whole we think the administration of the charity estates did not continue in the persons described in the 71st section of the 5th and 6th William IV. after August 1st.” The order was confirmed, with costs against the appellants.

-The Marquis of Douro presented to the House of Commons a pet.i.tion signed by 1,600 of the inhabitants of Norwich for leave to bring in the Norwich Improvement Bill. The Bill was read a first time. It pa.s.sed its second reading on March 21st, and was read a third time on June 19th. The object of the Bill was to repeal the then existing Acts and to subst.i.tute a more effectual provision for the better paving, lighting, and improvement of the city. At a special meeting of the Town Council on July 16th it was agreed to pet.i.tion the House of Lords in opposition to the Bill ”in the way it should come from the Commons.” When the Bill was before the Committee of the House of Lords on July 23rd objection was taken that the notices on the part of the promoters were insufficient, and the Bill was consequently lost. At a meeting of the Paving Commissioners on December 17th it was reported that costs amounting to 1,500 had been incurred in opposing the Bill.

MARCH.

2.-Smallpox was reported to be very prevalent in Norwich. Within the preceding month one hundred persons died of the disease.

5.-An alarming report was circulated about the arming of the Chartists in Norwich, where, it was stated, a club had been formed for the more extensive distribution of pikes and other weapons. ”Some are formed like a common halbert, others have a crescent at the bottom and the blade pointed forward, with a sharp edge, supposed to be designed for cutting the girths or reins of horses. It is said that about 60 will leave Norwich armed with these weapons, and some of them with pistols, for the north of England.” At a meeting of the Town Council on March 11th the Mayor said, in reply to questions by Mr. Bignold, that the report had been greatly exaggerated. Pikes had been manufactured, but there was not a great number of them. Meanwhile the Chartists held meetings in Norwich Market Place, on Mousehold Heath, and elsewhere. In August pikes and guns were taken by the police from various persons, and on the 10th of that month John Dover, the keeper of a beer shop in St. Paul's, was apprehended on the charge of giving an order to James Tillett, a smith, to make pikes for unlawful purposes, and was bound over to appear at the a.s.sizes. On the 14th the Chartists made a demonstration on Mousehold Heath; the police force was strengthened in consequence, special constables sworn in, and the staff of the West Norfolk Militia held in readiness for immediate action. On Sunday, the 18th, the Chartists attended the Cathedral service in a body, and were appealed to by the Bishop to take to heart the words of advice he addressed to them. On the evening of the same day they attended St. Stephen's church and interrupted the preacher, the Rev. P. Booth, with hisses and noise. The church of SS. Simon and Jude was visited on Sunday, the 25th, and hundreds were unable to gain admission in consequence of the crowd. ”A text had been sent to the Rev. John Owen by some of the Chartists, with a respectful request that he would preach from it, and the greatest order prevailed.”

8.-A heavy fall of snow took place. The Birmingham mail coach arrived in Norwich ten hours late, and on the 9th several carriers were unable to reach the city.

11.-At a meeting of the Norwich Town Council a pet.i.tion ”from certain persons, denominating themselves anglers,” was read, requesting that means should be taken to prevent the dragging of the river for fish. It was stated that fis.h.i.+ng for smelts was at one time a source of income to many persons, several boats having earned as much as 23 a year. The pet.i.tion was referred to the magistrates, who were asked to prohibit illegal fis.h.i.+ng.