Chronological Retrospect of the History of Yarmouth and Neighbourhood

Sept. 26th. First number of Yarmouth Chronicle published by Messrs. Steer and Godfrey.

Oct. 3rd. The cutter “Samuel and William” (60 tons), belonging to Messrs. Smith and Sons, launched, this being the first built at Runham, near the Suspension Bridge. She was built by Messrs. Winter and Pigg. The father of the latter built the yacht, “Red Rover,” the property of S. Nightingale, Esq.

Oct. Mr. C. C. Newcombe, appointed Postmaster.

Oct. A pedestrian named Elson, of Nottingham, walked for several days from Yarmouth to Lowestoft and back three times each day – a distance of sixty miles a-day.

Nov. 2nd. The Board of Health decided to borrow £3,000 for extending the Parade south, on the suggestion of C. J. Palmer, Esq.

Nov. 9th. R. Steward, Esq., elected as Mayor. On March 10th, 1864, Mr. Steward was presented with a testimonial, value £200, subscribed for by the town. It comprised an elegant tea and coffee service, a silver salver, and a cake basket.

Nov. 16th. The Royal Sea Fisheries Commissioners held an enquiry at the Sailors’ Home.

Nov. 20th. Destructive fire at the farm of Mr. J. Hammond, at Gorleston.

Nov. 21st. Mr. Robert Hales, the Norfolk Giant, died in Yarmouth, aged 43 years. He was born at West Somerton, May 2nd, 1820. In the prime of life his height was 7ft. 6in., and he weighed 33 stone. He measured round the chest 64in., waist 62in., thigh 36in., calf of leg 21in., across the shoulders 36in. His father was 6ft. 6in., and mother 6ft. in height. His brothers averaged 6ft. 5in., and sisters 6ft. 3in.

Nov. 29th. Rear-Admiral Sir J. H. Plumridge, K.C.B., died at Hopton. He was distinguished for many gallant services in Egypt, Denmark, Genoa, and Bomarsund. He was Knighted in 1855.

Nov. 30th. Mr. H. Panks presented with a silver watch and chain, and a book, as a mark of esteem and appreciation of his efficient services as organist, by the congregation of St. John’s Mission Room.

Nov. The Rev. W. T. Harrison presented with a handsome pocket communion service.

Nov. The lifeboat “Friend of all Nations” launched from Mr. Critton’s yard. Cost nearly £400.

Dec. 3rd. Furious gale (more disastrous than recorded May 28th, 1860), attended with loss of 17 smacks, 2 schooners, and 1 brig, belonging to Yarmouth, and all their crews; also seven other vessels lost off the coast. The total number of lives lost was 145 men and boys, leaving 73 widows and 110 orphan children. Her Majesty’s gunboat “Ruby,” one of the vessels despatched from the Humber to search for the missing smacks, was lost on Texel Beach. On the 21st, the Government sent from Sheerness the steamer “Medusa” (800 tons) to search the North Sea for missing smacks, but she returned unsuccessful. On the 28th a meeting was convened at the Town Hall by the Mayor, for relieving the sufferers, £222 being subscribed in the room, which, with other subscriptions, amounted to nearly £2,000, her Majesty heading the list with £100.

The Yarmouth College, South Quay, established; and Sutherland House School in 1875.

Dec. 8th. Case of arbitration at the Town Hall between the Corporation and the Gas Company as to the value of 10,000 square yards of land for building the new Gas Works. The Corporation demanded £7,646, but the arbitrator (Mr. Rodwell, Q.C.) awarded £4,106 15s.

Dec. 14th. The schooner “Spray” on fire, and was run ashore near the Wellington Pier. She was laden with deals, coal, and coke; valued at about £700.

Dec. 16th. Owing to the death of Major S. C. Marsh on Aug. 30th, the Artillery Volunteers presented his family with a solid silver working model of a field piece, with a miniature officer at the trail end, the whole standing on a chased silver plateau and an ebony stand, as a memento of Mr. Marsh’s connection with the Corps.

Dec. 17th. Conversazione at the Public Library, many objects of interest exhibited.

Great Yarmouth Building Society established.

Deaths: Mar. 25th, William Yetts, Esq., J.P., aged 67. – April 6th, John S. Coxon, Esq., who held the office of Postmaster for one year, aged 32. April 29th, Joseph G. Plummer, Esq., J.P., aged 58. – May 8th, William T. Clarke, Esq., J.P., aged 49. – May 19th, Mr. William Green, many years Overseer of the Parish, aged 74. – Sept. 18th, Rosamond Matilda, widow of the late Dawson Turner, Esq., at Kirkley, Lowestoft, aged 52. – Sept. 25th, John Youell, Esq., A.L.S., aged 89. – Oct. 7th, Ambrose Reeve Palmer, Esq., of Haddiscoe Hall, aged 51. – Nov. 4th, Edmund Reeve Palmer, Esq., for many years Registrar of Yarmouth County Court, aged 63. – Nov. 30th, Capt. B. Love, E.N.M., aged 71.

1864

Jan. 28th. Rev. John Walker, M.A., instituted to the Rectory of Bradwell; and the Rev. John James licensed to the Curacy of Southtown.

Jan. Rev. T. K. Richmond, six years Curate of St. Nicholas’ Church, elected Chaplain of St. George’s Hospital, London. On the 17th of March this gentleman was presented with a gold lever watch, value £27, and a purse of £10, by a number of parishioners; and a silver communion service by the Clergy.

Feb. 10th. The Danish corvette “Neils Juel,” 450 men and 47 guns, and a powerful ironclad gunboat captured a Prussian ship outside the sands, and after putting a prize crew on board, took her to Copenhagen.

Feb. 27th. D. Tomkins, Esq., elected a member of the College of Preceptors.

March 1st. The brig “William and Richard” foundered off the Monument. Seven men belonging to the Admiralty cutter “Dolphin,” seven beachmen, and five from the screw-collier “Ryhope,” were immersed in the water, four being drowned.

March 2nd. Petition presented to the House of Commons by Edward Howes, Esq., M.P., from the Haven Commissioners of Yarmouth, in opposition to the East Norfolk Railway Bill.

Launches: March 31st, the first barge, “The Garson;” April 26th, barge “Whitwell;” July 5th, the barque-rigged vessel “Oriental;” Aug. 20th, schooner “Shepherdess.”

March. The Rev. Arthur P. Holme, M.A., licensed by the Bishop of Norwich to the Incumbency of St. Andrew’s Church.

March. James Morris Hill, Esq., late Major Military Train, approved of by her Majesty to fill the Adjutancy of the 1st Norfolk Artillery Volunteers.

April 28th. John Dawson, Esq., admitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.

July 20th. The East of England Joint Stock Bank (established in Dec., 1835) suspended payment, with liabilities amounting to £576,963 7s. 5d., and assets £453,256.

Aug. 1st. Mr. S. Allies appointed Borough Gaoler.

Aug. Rev. A. B. Crosse resigned the Incumbency of St. John’s Church. On Dec. 30th this gentleman was presented with a handsome clock, value £30, and a purse of 60 guineas, previous to his leaving for Kessingland.

Aug. 15th. Three fishermen out of seven belonging to Cromer lost off the Haven’s mouth, out of the crab-boat “Garibaldi.”

Sept. 9th. Review of the members of the Norfolk Rifle Volunteer Association on the South Denes, in the presence of 9,000 people. Four battalions were reviewed, viz. – 1st Norfolk A. V., 178; 1st Norfolk Rifles, 356; 2nd Norfolk, 218; and 2nd Norfolk Administrative Battalion, 294; Norwich Light Horse, 68 – numbering in all, officers and men, 1,106.

Oct. 16th. The three-decked steamer “Ontario,” 4,000 tons burthen, 350 h.p., and laden with 2,000 tons of coal and iron, struck on Hasbro’ Sands. All efforts to get her off having failed, she was abandoned by her crew of 80, inclusive of officers, and on the 21st she foundered. 70 of the crew, rescued by the tug “Pioneer,” were afterwards forwarded to their respective homes by the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society. The “Ontario” was built this year at Jarrow, Durham. Her registered tonnage was 2,083, length 370 feet, and depth 48 feet, and her estimated value £120,000 – £90,000 covered by insurance.

Oct. 21st. Festival service to commemorate the partial restoration of St. Nicholas’ Church, which was thrown open for the first time for 200 years – the time of Cromwell, 1649.

Nov. 15th. The Rev. G. Firth, five years and four months pastor of the Independent Chapel, Gorleston, presented with an electro-plated tea service, as a mark of esteem, by his friends, previous to his leaving Gorleston.

Nov. 24th and following nights, very heavy gales. Six vessels out of several hundreds then lying in the Roadstead were driven ashore, and 10 lives lost off the coast. The barque “Sea Serpent” came ashore 20 yards off the Wellington Pier. Through the exertions of Capt. Bevon and Mr. J. M. Petts, ten men were brought ashore in the cradle of Manby’s apparatus. The s.s. “William Hull,” laden with 600 tons of coal, foundered in St. Nicholas’ Gat, and her crew of 16 hands all perished, except one. At Gorleston 23 sailors were saved by the beachmen and Manby’s apparatus.

Dec. 7th. A crew of 13 hands gallantly rescued by the Yarmouth lifeboat from the Austrian brig “Zornizza,” which foundered on Scroby Sands. The National Lifeboat Institution sent the beachmen £25, and they also received an acknowledgment of thanks from the Austrian Government.

Dec. 15th. The Haven Bill adopted by the Town Council.

St. Nicholas’ Churchyard contained 3,847 gravestones.

Deaths: Jan. 17th, Wm. Briggs, Esq., J.P., aged 63. – May 7th, Lieut. – Colonel C. S. Naylor, at Bognor, aged 75. – May 21st, John Brightwen, Esq., partner in Gurney’s banking firm, died at Thorpe, near Norwich, aged 81. – July 23rd, George W. Steward, Esq., M.B., M.A., second son of the Rev. G. W. Steward, Incumbent of Caister, aged 28. – Oct. 19th, the Rev. Mark Waters, Incumbent of St. George’s Chapel, aged 57. – Nov. 10th, Capt. Barry Haines, R.N. – Nov. 11th, Rev. E. B. Frere, M.A., aged 82.

1865

Jan. 8th. Hopton Church destroyed by fire. On Sept. 27th, 1866, the new Church was consecrated by the Bishop of Norwich.

Jan. 11th. Mr. Robert Warner Durrell, organist of the Independent Chapel, Gorleston, presented with a splendid timepiece by the choir as a memento of their esteem; and on Jan. 11th, 1870, an easy chair.

Jan. Sergt. Berry promoted to the rank of Inspector; and on Dec. 15th, 1870, the town presented him with a gold watch, value £20, and a purse of £140 in money, in recognition of his valuable services.

Feb. 1st. Royal Hotel Company proposed to be formed in Yarmouth at a cost of £25,000, in 2,500 shares at £10 each. On Jan. 23rd, 1868, 1,182 shares had been taken by 48 shareholders, and the claims against the Company were £7,379 10s., including a mortgage of £3,000 on the Royal Hotel, which led to serious litigation.

Feb. 27th. The Haven and Port Bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons by a majority of 112.

March 8th. Mr. A. W. Morant appointed to the Town Surveyorship of Norwich. His office in Yarmouth was filled by Mr. H. H. Baker, on May 13th.

March 31st. Mr. J. R. Jones, who had been Head Master of the Government School of Navigation since its establishment on Oct. 1st, 1857, resigned his appointment, having accepted the post of Head Master of the Board of Trade Navigation School at Aberdeen.

June 13th. Lieut. H. R. Harmer presented with a silver salver by the Yarmouth Rifle Volunteers, as a mark of esteem on his retiring from the corps.

July 12th. Sir E. H. K. Lacon, Bart., and J. Goodson, Esq., returned to Parliament for the Borough. Votes – L., 828; G., 784; A. Brogden, Esq., 634; P. Vanderbyl, Esq., 589. J. C. Marshman, Esq., retired from the contest in favour of the latter.

Oct. 12th. Henrich Erenschiusen, a Dutch sailor, committed a shocking tragedy on a fellow-shipmate by stabbing him through the heart, at the City of London Tavern, Charlotte Street. Sentenced to twenty years’ penal servitude.

Oct. 25th. The lifeboat “James Pearce” launched from Messrs. Mills and Blake’s ship-yard.

Dec. The Gospel Hall erected by Mr. T. C. Foreman, subsequently proprietor of the Free Lance Newspaper.

Deaths: Jan. 8th, Benjamin Dowson, Esq., aged 77. – Jan. 14th, John Barker, Esq. – July 21st, Mr. Matthew Hastings Swann, aged 58. In 1835 this gentleman penned and published a “Guide to Yarmouth.” – Nov. 21st, B. Fenn, Esq., aged 73.

1866

Jan. 13th. The lifeboat “Rescuer” upset at Gorleston Pier, and twelve of her crew drowned. The names of the rescued were E. Woods, Wm. Austin, Geo. Palmer, and Robt. Warner. Eight widows and over thirty orphan children were left unprovided for.

Jan. 27th. Exhibition of curiosities, &c., at the Town Hall, closed after five weeks.

Feb. St. George’s Denes laid out as a park and promenade, at a cost of £449 to the town. June 21st, 1807, an épergne of frosted silver and a silver salver were presented to Mr. Edward Stagg, by 200 subscribers, for the promoting and laying out of these grounds. A portion of it was laid out in 1884 as a lawn tennis ground.

Apr. 23rd. Foundation stone of the Gorleston Wesleyan Chapel laid.

May 7th. First Yarmouth Annual Spring Meeting held.

July 10th. H.M.S. “Dauntless,” 36 guns, and carrying 280 men; July 14th, H.M.S. “Trafalgar;” and on the 15th, H.M.S. “Irresistible,” anchored in the Roadstead.

July 19th. General holiday. Volunteer Review day; 1,300 Volunteers practised on the South Denes.

July 20th. Fishwharf and Tramway Bill passed in the House of Lords.

July 31st. The lifeboat “Leicester,” presented by Mrs. Hodges, launched at Gorleston. Cost, £600.

Aug. 16th. Royal Commission of Inquiry into the state of bribery at Parliamentary elections opened before Wyndham Slade, Lucius Henry Fitzgerald, and George Russell, Esqs., barristers-at-law, at the Town Hall. The inquiry lasted 34 days, and over 700 witnesses were examined. (See Feb. 15th, 1867.)

Dec. 3rd. The town, through an accident at the Gas Works, put in total darkness. Loss of gas estimated at about 100,000 cubic feet, value £1,000.

Dec. 12th. Loss of the fishing-lugger “William and Mary,” belonging to Mr. Utting, and nine lives, off Pakefield.

Dec. 30th. Meeting at the Town Hall on behalf of the sufferers from a colliery explosion in Yorkshire and Staffordshire.

“Chapters on the East Anglian Coast,” in two vols., 800 pages, published. The London Quarterly Review of April, 1807, says, “We have seldom met with a more elaborate, exhaustive, beautiful, and ably-written guide-book and local history.” It was penned by Mr. John Greaves Nall, who died in June, 1876.

Messrs. Lacons, Youell, and Co.’s Bank re-erected.

Top of Recent Road, near Town Wall House, widened by the Corporation.

A wooden circus building, on Mr. De Canx’s garden, converted into the Regent Hall, and used as a Theatre, &c. It has since been demolished.

Deaths: Feb. 2nd, Mr. W. P. Windham, at Norwich. – Feb. 9th, John Bessey Hilton, Esq., aged 44. – Feb. 18th, Isaac Preston, sen., Esq., aged 92. – Sept. 4th, David Falcke, Esq., J.P., at Paris. – Dec. 18th, Mr. Joseph Tomlinson, sen., brewer, aged 78.

1867

Jan. 1st. Oddfellows’ Hall opened in Gorleston.

Jan. 5th. Eighteen hands lost from the brigs “Sarah” and “The Ark,” in collision in the South Ham, 500 yards off Gorleston Pier.

Jan. 8th. Mr. F. W. Maryson presented with a silver star, at the Steam Packet Tavern, by the Nottingham Order of Oddfellows.

Jan. 12th. Heavy gale. Six vessels lost, and 48 shipwrecked mariners afterwards taken to the Sailors’ Home.

Jan. Fish Wharf scheme proposed, and on April 20th the wharf was commenced by “turning the sod.” The Fish Wharf and Tramway Bill cost £2,481. (See Feb. 16th, 1869.)

Jan. 16th. Loss of the “Eclipse,” at Dieppe, and three lives.

Feb. 15th. The report of the Royal Commissioners laid before the House of Commons; March 15th, Petition presented by Sir Edmund H. K. Lacon, Bart., against the Disfranchisement of the Borough; May 30th, the Borough disfranchised; June 7th, another Petition presented to the House of Commons against the Disfranchisement; and one to the House of Lords, July 29th, but all proved unavailing.

Feb. 22nd. Mr. C. Rumbold appointed as a Relieving Officer.

Feb. 26th. The Elizabethan house of C. J. Palmer, Esq., sold by auction for £1,150, and the fixtures for £64 14s. 6d.

March 21st. Mr. S. Durrell resigned the Overseership of Gorleston Parish.

April 2nd. First meeting of the Port and Haven Commissioners under the new Act of Parliament. H. N. Burroughes, Esq., resigned the chairmanship.

April 4th. Foundation stone of the Gourlay Wesleyan Day Schools laid. The founder, D. A. Gourlay, Esq., J.P., gave £1,000 towards the building.

April 20th. A party of gentlemen, comprising Messrs. Spence, Fenner, Everard, R. Veale, Moore, Silvers, Douglas, Neave, and Harrison, had their boat upset on Ormesby Broad, 100 yards from the shore, and narrowly escaped drowning.

April 21st. Heavy gale, and loss of the smacks “Swan” and “Talisman” and twelve hands.

May 8th. Service of plate presented at the Duke’s Head Hotel to W. Heath, Esq., of Ludham Hall.

May 16th. Foundation-stone of the new Primitive Methodist Chapel, Queen’s Road, laid. Chapel opened Sept. 26th. Building cost £1,000.

May 20th. Reform meeting. Mr. Edmond Beales, the great Reformer, addressed from 2,000 to 3,000 people from the balcony of the Steam Packet Tavern.

June 1st. A halibut, weighing 161 lbs., 6 ft. in length, and 30 inches across, captured by a smack; and in March, 1868, two were caught off the coast – one weighing 198 lbs., and the other 140 lbs.

June 24th. Resolved by the Town Council to have new fire engines and a fire escape for the Borough; their capabilities were tested on Sept. 9th. On Aug. 20th an engine was provided for Gorleston.

June. Sergeant John Quince presented with a gold-mounted meerschaum pipe by the officers of the Artillery Militia.

July 6th. First London daily passenger boat to Yarmouth.

July. E. H. L. Preston, Esq., received from the Belgian Government the Decoration of Knight of the Order of Leopold, in recognition of 28 years’ service as Consul.

Aug. 29th. Roman Catholic Mortuary Chapel opened by the Bishop of Demerara. Foundation stone laid on Aug. 15th, 1866, by Lady Stafford.

Sept. 10th. “Routledge’s Magazine for Boys’” lifeboat for Caister launched. Built by Messrs. Beeching at a cost of £300.

Sept. Mr. G. B. Kennett, managing clerk to Mr. W. Holt, appointed clerk to the Norwich Magistrates.

Sept. Permanent Fund established. The surplus of £500 remaining from the relief fund of Dec., 1863, was added to this institution, and in Jan., 1868, the Princess of Wales sent a cheque for £25 to this Fund.

Oct. 3rd. The dead body of an infant found wrapped up in a bundle in Mr. Knight’s yard; Jane Jarron was examined on 11th, and committed for trial at the Assizes on the charge of murder on the 18th. Acquitted Dec. 5th.

Nov. 6th. Mr. James Sharman, keeper of the Nelson Monument, died, aged 82 years. He was a Trafalgar veteran, and one who assisted Lord Nelson in his dying moments.

Nov. 10th. The Rifle Volunteer Drill Hall opened by the Mayor, Captain E. P. Youell. Cost £1,200.

Dec. 2nd. High tide; the Southtown Road and various parts of the town near the river were inundated, through the banks of Breydon being broken. On the following day there was a heavy gale, when the Gorleston lifeboat “Rescuer” was again capsized (see Jan. 13th, 1866) through collision with the fishing lugger “James and Ellen,” and 23 were drowned, including 11 of the crew of the “George Kendall,” for whose widows and orphans a special donation of £234 was received. The number of men lost off the coast was 85, leaving 33 widows and 71 children destitute.

Launches: April 16th, fishing boat “Express,” from Messrs. Hastings Brothers’ yard; May 20th, smack “Spring Flower,” from Messrs. King and Baker’s yard; July 4th, smack “Pathfinder,” from Messrs. J. and H. Beeching’s yard; July 8th, smack “Hermit,” from Mr. A. J. Palmer’s yard; Aug. 13th, smack “Mermaid,” from Mr. Rust’s yard; Aug. 20th, model pleasure boat “Nonpareil,” from Messrs. Aldred and Morl’s yard; Sept. 10th, smack “Olga,” from Messrs. Fellows’ yard; Oct. 24th, smack “Silver Cloud,” from Messrs. Critten and Clarke’s yard; Oct. 31st, Mr. Lawrie’s small steamtug “Enterprise,” she being the first iron vessel built at this Port.

Dec. 6th. The Haven Commissioners resolved to borrow £27,188 15s. for Haven improvements.

Dec. 26th. An original local Christmas pantomime, entitled Neptune’s Decree, &c., was produced at the Theatre Royal, written by “Felix,” a local author.

Deaths: March 2nd, W. H. Bessey, Esq., J.P. – Dec. 25th, W. Mayes Bond, Esq., aged 66. – Dec. 31st, Mr. J. Norman, aged 80.

1868

Jan. 3rd. The schooner “Roberts” driven on the North Sand near the mouth of the Harbour, 300 yards from the shore, and her crew bravely rescued out of her shrouds by Mr. J. M. Petts and four beachmen. – The brig “Carl Frederick” was lost the same morning on Hasbro’ Sand, with seven of her crew, two boys only being saved.

Jan. 9th. F. Diver, Esq., of Yarmouth, commander of the R.M.S. “Roman,” presented with a handsome watch, subscribed for by the passengers of the ship for having completed a voyage from this country to Table Bay in thirty days.

Jan. 23rd. At midnight a destructive fire took place in a shop in the Market Row, and three precious lives (a lady named Mrs. Pigg, and two children) were sacrificed, and property destroyed and damaged to the amount of £3,000.

Feb. 8th. The fishing lugger “Flying Fish” fouled the sunken wreck of the barque “Lord Clyde,” and foundered in the Roadstead.

March 6th. The cigar steamship “Walter S. Winans,” of Havre, arrived in the Harbour. Dimensions – length, 112 ft.; deck, 66 ft. in length; width amidships, 5 ft.; 24 tons register.

April 29th. The brig “Ewerette” foundered opposite the Monument.

April 29th. The Rev. W. T. Harrison, minister of St. John’s Church, presented with a chaste silver tea and coffee pot, cream jug, and sugar basin, value £50, by 300 of the members of his congregation, previous to leaving for Thorpe Morieux, Suffolk. He was succeeded by Rev. R. J. Dundas.

May 11th. The Regent Hall, a wooden structure on Regent Road, opened, after being converted from a circus to a music-hall. It was pulled down in 1874. (See 1866.)

May 23rd. Mr. William Jones died. In the early part of his life he served as a seaman in the navy, and was present at several engagements under Sir Charles Napier.

June. Robert Cory, Esq., passed his examination and admitted an Attorney of the Court of Queen’s Bench and other Courts, and as a Solicitor in Chancery.

June 10th. Mr. Robert Clifton, master mariner, died at Southtown, aged 85. In early life and during the French war he was seized by the press-gang while ashore at Newcastle, and carried on board a man-of-war, where he served several years till being landed an invalid.

July 13th to 22nd. Chang, the Chinese Giant, aged 22, and nearly 9 ft. in height, said to be the largest man in the world, with his wife King-Foo, exhibited at the old Corn Hall.

July 18th. C. Woolverton, E. R. Aldred, R. D. Barber, and C. E. Bartram, Esqs., sworn in as Magistrates for the Borough.

July 22nd. Horticultural and Floral Fête held at the Assembly Rooms.

July 27th. Balloon ascent by Professor Simmons from the Victoria Gardens. This was the first aërial ascent in Yarmouth since Sept. 17th, 1852.

Aug. 11th. Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Young, the well-known actor and actress, presented with a testimonial – an address beautifully written on vellum, a port-monnaie, and a sum of money – at the Corn Hall, in recognition of their talented aid in an amateur entertainment given at the Regent Hall, on June 23rd, on behalf of the Yarmouth Hospital.

Aug. 18th. The corner-stone of the Methodist New Connexion Sunday School at Burgh laid by J. A. Horner, Esq., of Burgh Grange.

Aug. James Cherry, Esq., appointed Revising Barrister for Leicester and Rutland.

Sept. 23rd. The B battery C brigade of Royal Horse Artillery, under the command of Lieut. – Colonel Bishop, arrived at the Armoury.

Oct. 24th. Heavy gale and loss of three vessels. Upwards of sixty French fishing boats (1,200 to 1,400 men) sought refuge in the Harbour. The s.s. “Ganges,” 1,600 tons, struck on Hasbro’ Sands the previous day.

Oct. The Board of Health Act adopted in Gorleston, and on March 8th, 1869, 12 members, out of 27 nominated, were chosen for constituting the Board.

Nov. 14th. First number of the Yarmouth Gazette and North Norfolk Constitutionalist published by Mr. C. W. Godfrey. This journal subsequently became the sole property of Mr. E. W. Shortman.

Nov. 19th. The Scotch fishing-boat “Excellent” on fire in the Harbour, and was scuttled to extinguish it. Estimated loss, £200.

Nov. 22nd. During a gale the schooner “Seagull” broke the massive piles of the Britannia Pier, and smashed 100 ft. away. (See July 13th, 1858.) In Oct. 1859, a sloop was driven through, and did damage to the Pier amounting to £800 or £900. The Pier has since been shortened 50 ft.

Nov. 26th. The Hon. F. Walpole and Sir E. H. K. Lacon, Bart., elected M.P.’s for North Norfolk. Votes – W., 2,630; L., 2,563; Edmund R. Wodehouse, Esq., 2,235; Robert T. Gurdon, Esq., 2,078; including Yarmouth votes, viz., W., 913; L., 971; Wodehouse, 514; G., 476. On Sept. 15th, 1869, a Banquet was given at the Drill Hall, at which 800 or 900 persons were present, and a testimonial, value £600, was presented to Sir Edmund in honour of the successful issue of the petition. The testimonial was a magnificent piece of plate, weighing nearly 900 ozs., and consisted of a massive centre piece and plateau of silver; the base was flanked by three elaborate buttresses supporting brackets, with fluted columns, around which were grouped the figures of Agriculture, Commerce, and Art, the capital being encrusted with a frieze of lions’ heads and festoons of laurels, a figure of Fame crowning the summit. The Hon. F. Walpole died on April 1st, 1876; and on April 21st Colonel James Duff was elected M.P. for North Norfolk by a majority of 110.

Dec. 7th. The south aisle of St. Nicholas’ Church closed for restoration. In 1864 Mr. Seddon, architect, estimated that the restoration of the entire church would cost about £23,000.

Dec. 9th. A Grand Concert, under the patronage of the Mayor (S. Nightingale, Esq.) and the Mayoress; Right Hon. Lord Sondes, Right Hon. Lord and Lady Suffield, Sir E. Lacon, Bart., M.P., and the Deputy-Mayor and Mrs. Worship, was given at the Regent Hall. Distinguished artistes – Mdlles. Titiens and Sinico, Signors Bulterini and Campi, and Mr. Santley. Mr. Wehli, solo pianoforte; and Signor Bevignani acted as conductor.

Dec. 10th. The s.s. “City of Hamburg,” plying between this port and London, stranded close to the North Pier, and thereby sustained considerable damage.

Engine-house and reservoir erected on the north side of the Jetty for supplying the Bath House with water. (See 1759.)

An octagonal tower and observatory, 75 ft. high, erected on South Quay by the Trinity Corporation.

Launches: Aug. 17th, the carrier cutter “Chieftain,” from Messrs. Smith and Son’s yard; Sept. 23rd, the brig “Sultana,” 310 tons, from Messrs. Fellows and Son’s yard.

Deaths: Feb. 24th, Mr. Chas. C. Newcombe, postmaster, aged 49. – May 25th, Edward Norris Clowes, Esq., Solicitor, New Buckenham, aged 61. – June 2nd, Mr. W. Shuckford, 15 years Governor of the Workhouse, aged 62. – June 7th, Thomas Bunn, Esq., Corn Merchant, and an Alderman, at Southtown, aged 87. – Sept. 18th, Captain Robert Bensley Davie, Commander of the Cape mail steamer “Saxon,” at Southampton, aged 37. – Sept. 18th, John Palgrave, Esq., son of the late William Palgrave, Esq., Collector of Custom Dues at Yarmouth, and afterwards at Dublin, aged 55. – Nov. 2nd, John D’Ade, Esq., at Southtown, aged 86. – Dec. 5th, Mr. W. C. Nutman, many years Relieving-officer, aged 45. – Dec. 27th, Richd. Ferrier, Esq., Brewer, aged 73.

1869

Jan. 25th. The Chancellor (E. Howes, Esq., M.P.) decided the long-pending question of removing St. Nicholas’ Church organ from the west end of the south aisle to the North transept, in the affirmative. This grand old organ, built by Jordan, Bridge, and Bayfield, in 1733; repaired by England (Jordan’s grandson) in 1812, and by Gray in 1840; was removed to the north transept in Feb., 1869.

Jan. Gaol Street Congregational Chapel (built in 1773) closed, and pulled down for the purpose of building the Middlegate Church.

Feb. 9th. The North-end Church Mission Room opened. Cost about £100. Mr. W. Wright was the architect.

Feb. 16th. The Fish Wharf, 2,251 ft. in length, shed 750 ft., completed. Total cost, £20,627. The sum borrowed and advanced by the Corporation for the works was £20,502 6s.; total amount of annual outgoings estimated at £1,587 17s. Offices and premises let at £565 16s.

Feb. 23rd. While the s.s. “Buccleuch,” was on the point of leaving the wharf in Yarmouth Harbour for Hull, with 20 passengers on board, her boiler burst, and several persons were scalded and otherwise slightly injured, the Captain (W. Wright) being seriously hurt. The steamer was much damaged, and her fittings amidships blown to a considerable distance.

March 1st. The full-rigged ship “Hannah Pattersen,” laden with 1,500 tons of coal, came ashore abreast of the Workhouse, where she became a total wreck. Insured for £2,000.

March 2nd. Ten tenders opened for re-building the south aisle of St. Nicholas’ Church, and Mr. Williams, of Cardiff, was selected, his estimate for the work being £4,755, out of which sum £480 was deducted for old materials.

March 9th. Mr. C. L. Chipperfield presented by Major Foreman with a handsome timepiece, in acknowledgment of his valuable services as Secretary of the Yarmouth Building Society.

March 10th. The smack “Silver Cloud” run into by the steamer “Earl of Durham,” off Winterton, and foundered with loss of all hands.

April 3rd. Schooner “Hickman,” 98 tons, struck by lightning.

April 15th. The Great Yarmouth Water Works Bill, for further extending its powers in a drainage scheme, passed in the House of Lords.

April 20th. The King of Prussia, through the Ambassador at the Court of St. James’, awarded Capt. Balls, of the schooner “George,” of Yarmouth, a gratuity of £10 for rescuing the crew of the Prussian schooner “Christine.”

April 22nd. New organ opened at Belton Church by Mr. F. W. Rolfe, organist of St. Peter’s, Yarmouth.