Part 11

May 31st. David A. Gourlay, Esq., J.P., died at Yarmouth, aged 88 years. He was elected Mayor of the Borough in 1849, and was for many years a respected member of the Town Council. (See April 4th, 1867.)

June 6th. Salmon Palmer, J. W. de Caux, and Garson Blake, Esqs., nominated by the Town Council as new Magistrates for the Borough.

June 10th. Nearly 50 porpoises observed disporting themselves in the Roadstead.

June 13th to 24th. The D. Battery B. Brigade of Royal Horse Artillery encamped on the North Denes, under the command of Captain Strangways. 120 rank and file, having 116 horses, and 6 9-pound rifle-loading guns, &c.

June 21st. Messrs. F. S. Smyth and R. G. Bately acquitted themselves satisfactorily in their preliminary examinations at the Royal College of Surgeons, London.

June. Major W. J. Foreman, 1st Norfolk Artillery Volunteers, passed his examination and received a certificate of efficiency at the School of Instruction formed at Woolwich, under Lieut.-Colonel Woolsey, R.A.

June. Messrs. J. T. Waters, F. Burton, and F. W. Dendy passed final examination at the London Incorporated Law Society.

July 9th. Fire on the fishing premises of Messrs. Bland Brothers, Queen’s Road. A public subscription was made on their behalf.

July 13th. Boat accident in the Roadstead, by which a man and two boys, out of a crew of five, were drowned, the youths being members of a Norwich Church Choir.

July 15th. The 1st Suffolk and (on the 18th) 1st Norfolk Rifle Volunteers encamped for a week on the North Denes. The former mustered in all about 600 men.

July 26th. H.M.S. “Repulse,” 12 guns, 3,749 tons burthen, 800 h.p., commanded by Capt. Rollins, came into the Roads to embark 50 coastguardsmen.

July 30th. A terrific thunder peal, the like not having been heard for many years. The electric fluid did a considerable amount of damage to the residence of Mr. Hinchman Hammond.

Aug. 1st. The new smack “Zephyr,” on Aug. 3rd the fishing boat “Henry and Edmund,” and on Aug. 7th the dandy smack “Coral” launched. Since August last year 30 smacks and fishing boats had been launched at the various shipyards in Yarmouth and Gorleston.

Aug. 7th. Miss E. Pearson, accompanied by Miss L. E. MacLaughlin, paid a visit to the Sailors’ Home, having just returned from the Franco-German War. In October these two ladies had conferred upon them the bronze cross and diploma of the Society de Secours aux Blessés of France, in recognition of their services on the battle fields of Metz, Sedan, and Orleans. (See Sept., 1870, Aug., 1872, and Aug. 8th, 1876.)

Aug. 11th. Fatal accident to Mr. Henry Worlledge, third son of the County Court Judge, while bathing at Folkestone.

Aug. 14th. E. P. Youell, Esq., who had for 11 years previous been Captain of the 2nd Company Rifle Volunteers, was presented by the members of his company at the Drill Hall with a handsome silver salver, value £13, as a mark of esteem.

Aug. 15th. Mrs. Levina Onslow died at Yarmouth, aged 75 years. This lady was the widow of the late Capt. John James Onslow, R.N., post-captain in H.M.’s Royal Navy, and last commanding H.M.S. “Daphne,” as senior officer in New Zealand in 1845; and mother of the late Rev. W. Lake Onslow, M.A., R.N., formerly chaplain on board the “St. George” with the Duke of Edinburgh, and subsequently domestic chaplain to the Prince and Princess of Wales at Sandringham. (See June 1st, 1862.) The Rev. Onslow was educated as a boy at the old Grammar School, under the Rev. T. C. Clowes, M.A., of Queen’s College, Cambridge, and his grandfather, as Admiral, commanded the squadron in the Roads after the Camperdown action.

Aug. 15th. A congratulatory address voted by the Town Council to Sir James Paget, on her Majesty conferring upon him a baronetcy. Sir James is the son of the late Samuel Paget, Esq., a long resident in this town. The same honour was conferred by George IV. in 1821 on Astley Cooper, Esq., son of Dr. Cooper, minister of St. Nicholas’ Church. (See June 15th, 1858.)

Aug. 15th. Brigantine “Edward,” belonging to Mr. W. J. Foreman, launched, after extensive repairs, from Mr. Rust’s yard. The same morning, a new lugger, belonging to Mr. G. Palmer, was launched from the same shipbuilder’s yard.

Aug. 17th. Tenders opened for laying a common sewer through Gorleston and Southtown, viz., 350 feet run of from 2 to 3½ feet brick sewer, and about 5,500 feet run of pipe sewer, from 9 to 15 inches in diameter. A tender of £1,725 was accepted by the Gorleston Board of Health. (See June 25th, 1872.)

Aug. 23rd. The sale of Mr. J. Tomlinson’s business premises, Howard Street, realised £11,390.

Aug. 25th. Fire at Mr. C. Garwood’s fish-house in Charlotte Street; very little damage done.

Aug. 28th. H.M.’s paddle-frigate “Terrible,” 1,850 tons burthen, 800 horse power, 19 guns, commanded by Capt. Travenen, passed through the Roadstead.

Aug. 31st. The Yarmouth Horticultural Society’s first show, held in St. George’s Park, which was entirely enclosed with boarding, was a grand horticultural and floral fête, and patronised by most of the élite of the town. The East Norfolk Militia and Artillery Militia bands played at intervals during the day.

Aug. H.R.H. the Prince of Wales accepted the hon. colonelcy of the Norfolk Artillery Militia, rendered vacant by the death of Lord Hastings.

Sept. Mons. A. A. Desfougerais, Vice-Consul to the French Government, after 11 years’ residence in Yarmouth, obtained an appointment in the Foreign Office in Paris. On Sept. 22nd this gentleman was presented with a claret jug and cup, value £40, as testimony of respect.

Sept. 11th. The dandy smack “Fern,” 54 feet long, 7 ft. 2 in. deep, and 32 4-100ths tonnage, launched from Mr. R. Rust’s yard.

Sept. 17th. Organ at St. George’s Chapel re-opened after being restored.

Sept. 17th. The Rev. C. Voysey, B.A., late Vicar of Heaulaugh, preached at the Unitarian Chapel.

Sept. 22nd. The smack “Maria and Isabella,” belonging to Mr. Seago, of this port, ran into by the barque “Rock City,” near the Dogger Bank, where she foundered, and four of her crew were drowned.

Sept. 25th. The captain of the passenger steamer “Albion,” plying between Yarmouth and London, fined £6 11s. for having on board 448 passengers, or 111 more than the vessel was chartered to carry.

Sept. 29th. The new General Post Office, Regent Street, opened.

Sept. 29th and 30th. The brig “New Fair Trader,” and the fishing lugger “Black-eye’d Susan,” of this port, received much damage.

Oct. Number of persons by excursion trains during the summer was—Vauxhall Station, 47,176; Southtown, 35,383; total, 82,559. Last season, V., 32,103: S., 26,009; total, 58,112.

Oct. 4th. The schooner “John Watson,” belonging to Messrs. Watling, of this port, collided with the barque “Thomas Knox,” in the Roadstead, and the former sunk. Crew saved.

Oct. 5th. Mr. William Mallam Vores admitted a licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries.

Oct. 16th. The screw steamer “Annie Bronghton,” 120 h.p., 782 tons register, 230 feet long, 32 ft. beam, drawing 19 ft. of water, and valued at £22,000, while on a voyage from Newcastle to Alexandria with 1,650 tons of coal, got on Hasbro’ Sands, but was assisted off after four days’ hard exertions. The salvage claims amounted to £1,300.

Oct. 16th. Fire at Mr. A. Tabraham’s jewellery shop on St. Peter’s Road. Considerable damage done.

Oct. 16th. A royal sturgeon caught off Yarmouth. It was 7 ft. 10 in. long, and weighed 28 stone.

Oct. 18th. The new Corn Hall, Howard Street, opened by a public dinner, to which nearly 200 gentlemen sat down, including Viscount Mahon, M.P., Sir E. H. K. Lacon, Bart., M.P., the Hon. F. Walpole, M.P., C. S. Read, Esq., M.P., E. Corrance, Esq., M.P., and the Mayor (E. H. L. Preston, Esq.) H. S. Grimmer, Esq., occupied the chair.

Oct. 24th. George S. Harcourt, Esq., of Ankerwych, formerly M.P. for Bucks, died at St. George’s Square, Belgravia, aged 64 years. This gentleman established the Yarmouth Sailors’ Home.

Oct. 26th. A silver tea-kettle, value £25, presented as a testimonial to the Rev. R. J. Dundas, prior to his leaving the town for Albury, near Guildford.

Oct. 30th. The Rev. W. Boycott, rector and patron of Burgh St. Peter, died at Ormesby, aged 73 years.

Nov. Mr. Ziba Rayson passed his third and final examination at the Law Society’s Hall, London.

Nov. 3rd. Fire at the drapery shop of Mr. E. Bostock, King Street, and damage done to the amount of £350. (See 1884.)

Nov. The smack “Evangeline,” built for Mr. Olley of this town, launched from Mr. Fellows’ shipyard.

Nov. 14th. The iron screw steamer “Benjamin Whitworth,” 639 tons register, 99 h.p. (Capt. John Smith), got upon the Cross Sands and encountered a terrifically heavy sea; but after great perseverance she was floated off on the following day. The steam tug “Reliance,” value £2,500, belonging to the Standard Company, while assisting the “Whitworth,” struck against a piece of sunken wreck, and so rendered leaky. She was run on to Caister beach, where she became a total wreck. (See Dec. 4th, 1875.)

Nov. 14th. A fleet of some 1,200 sailing vessels passed through the Roadstead.

Nov. 25th. The fishing lugger “Sailor’s Friend,” value, with nets, &c., about £850, the property of Mr. C. Rumbold, was run into by the French screw steamer “Union Bayonnaise,” which caused the lugger to founder. Crew all saved.

Nov. 30th to Dec. 2nd. Heavy gale. Lifeboat crews performed several daring acts of bravery, and although about 25 hands were unfortunately lost near Yarmouth, no less than 23 shipwrecked men were rescued and taken to the Sailors’ Home.

Dec. 4th. Smack “George and Elizabeth” ran ashore north of the North Pier, where she went to pieces, her crew being rescued by the rocket apparatus.

Dec. 4th. Rev. A. T. Shelley, Congregational minister at Aylesbury, and formerly of this town, died at Aylesbury, Bucks, aged 45.

Dec. 6th. Intense frost. Every street and road one mass of ice, and so smooth and slippery as to render walking upright impossible. Several accidents occurred to people and horses.

Dec. 9th. The smack “Friendship,” value £400, lost in the North Sea.

Dec. 10th. The new steamer “South Tyne” stranded on North Scroby Sand. She was got off the next morning after 100 tons of coal had been thrown overboard. Salvage services amounted to £1,000.

Dec. 11th. The market tolls, &c., were let by public competition by Mr. S. Aldred for £890 per annum. (See Aug. 21st, 1876.)

Dec. 15th. The smack “Dagmar” on fire in the harbour. Much damaged.

Dec. 19th. The smack “Emma,” valued at £300, totally destroyed by fire while in the North Sea. Crew rescued.

Dec. 19th. The screw collier “Magdeburg” struck on Scroby Sand, but was got off by the steam tug “Reliance” for £200.

Dec. In the 2nd Norfolk Rifle Volunteers in 1871 there were in the five companies 11 officers, 22 sergeants, and 460 men, 87 of whom were marksmen.

The 600 fishing craft belonging to this port pay annually for towage about £4,000.

A new Primitive Methodist Chapel opened at Bradwell.

Mr. J. T. Clarke, solicitor, appointed a Commissioner to administer oaths in the High Court of Admiralty in England.

Two hundred and forty millions of herring landed at the Fish Wharf during the whole of the present season.

The number of shipwrecked men received during the year at the Sailors’ Home was 228.

A whiting measuring 26 inches caught on the coast.

1872.

Jan. 1st, The barque “Sing Tai” (Rising Sun), 500 tons, launched from Messrs. Beeching’s shipyard.

Jan. 1st. The brigantine “Sybil,” belonging to Mr. H. H. Gambling, while entering the harbour got on the North Sand, and was wrecked. Value, £400.

Jan. 3rd. Rear-Admiral Charles Calmady Dent, of Yarmouth, died. (See April 4th.)

Jan. 5th. Sir Francis Crossley, Bart., M.P., of Somerleyton Hall, died at Belle Vue, Halifax, aged 54 years.

Jan. 10th. First prosecution for Sunday trading instituted, the magistrates fining two delinquents—Messrs. Duffell—5s. each and costs. This continued weekly for over five years.

Jan. 12th. Restoration of Gorleston Church mooted. On May 15th Mr. Hubbard’s (East Dereham) contract of £2,642 accepted. (See June 12th, 1873.)

Jan. 16th. Loyal addresses voted by the Council to the Queen on the recovery of the Prince of Wales from a severe illness; also congratulatory addresses to the Prince and Princess.

Jan. 17th. Gallant lifeboat service by the Caister beachmen during a heavy gale, in the preservation of the barque “Jessie,” and the whole of her crew.

Jan. 25th. The Gorleston Board of Health resolved to borrow £1,000, in addition to the £3,500 previously borrowed for the Southtown drainage. (See Aug. 17th, 1871.)

Jan. 28th. John Lomas Cufaude, Esq., solicitor, died, aged 61 years. The deceased was Clerk of the Peace, Clerk to the Board of Guardians, and Superintendent Registrar of this Borough.

Jan. 29th. Caleb Burrell Rose, Esq., F.G.S., died, aged 81 years.

Jan. 29th. Supt. G. Tewsley presented with a richly-chased silver cup, at the Bear Hotel, by the sergeants and constables of the Borough Police, as a memento of their esteem.

Feb. 2nd. F. Danby Palmer, Esq., elected Supt. Registrar, and on the 9th Clerk to the Board of Guardians.

Feb. 2nd. Further experiments in the Roadstead with Harvey’s sea torpedoes, under the inspection of gentlemen representing the American Government.

Feb. 9th, 10th, and 18th. Action in the Court of Chancery—I. and C. A. Preston _versus_ the Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of the Borough—to recover £20,000, lent by various mortgagees on the general district rates. Bill dismissed with costs. An appeal was made against the judgment in the same Court on June 19th, with a like result.

Feb. 13th. Isaac Preston, jun., Esq., elected Clerk of the Peace by the Town Council; and on March 5th, Visiting Justices’ Clerk.

Feb. 23rd. Brigantine “Isabella Walker” collided with the steam tug “Andrew Woodhouse,” the latter sustaining damage to the amount of £50.

Feb. 27th. General Thanksgiving Day for the recovery from sickness of the Prince of Wales observed in Yarmouth.

Feb. £4,680 required for the restoration of Gorleston Church. (See Jan. 12th, 1872, and April 28th, 1876.)

March 1st. Mr. G. M. Burton elected Vaccination Officer.

March 2nd. Smack “Queen of the Fleet” launched from Messrs. Smith and Son’s shipyard.

March 14th. J. Cherry, Esq., of the Norfolk Circuit, took the oaths and handed in his formal appointment as Clerk of the Peace for Suffolk, conferred by the Lord Lieutenant of the County (Lord Stradbroke), vacated by the late Mr. Borton, who held the office 30 years prior to his death.

March 22nd. Henry Negus Burroughes, Esq., died at Burlingham Hall, aged 82 years. This gentleman was elected M.P. for East Norfolk in Aug., 1837; July, 1841; Aug., 1847; and July, 1852, with the late Edmund Wodehouse, Esq., as a colleague, on the last two occasions without opposition. In 1855, however, Mr. Wodehouse, accepting the Chiltern Hundreds, Sir Henry J. Stracey was returned in the place of that hon. gentleman, but at the dissolution in March, 1857, they neither of them went to the poll. Mr. Burroughes was a Port and Haven Commissioner for over 45 years. The Rev. Randall Burroughes, who married a sister of Lord Suffield, succeeded to the possession of his fine landed property.

March 30th. Nathaniel Palmer, Esq., died at Coltishall. He was born at Yarmouth in Oct., 1792. In 1827 was called to the bar by the Inner Temple, and in 1886 appointed Judge of the Guildhall Court of Norwich and Recorder of Great Yarmouth.

March. The loop-line between Somerleyton and St. Olave’s on the Great Eastern Railway opened.

April 4th. Marriage of Lieut. Charles Francis Hastings Dent, commanding H.M.S. “Orwell,” eldest son of the late Admiral Dent and Lady Selina (daughter of the 11th Earl of Huntingdon), with Miss Jane Collins, of Bury, was celebrated at St. Mary’s Church. (See Jan. 3rd.)

April 19th. Corner-stone of the new schools in connection with St. James’ Mission laid.

April 24th. Simms Reeve, Esq., took the declaration at the Tolhouse Hall on acceptance of the office of Recorder of Yarmouth.

May 2nd. The fine new lugger “Sir Roger Tichborne” launched from Messrs. Smith’s shipyard at Runham.

May 13th. The smack “Renown,” belonging to Messrs. Smith and Son, fouled the South Pier, and afterwards sunk with her cargo of fish in the harbour.

May 13th. The Dutch man-of-war brig “Tornate,” used as a training ship, and having on board 110 boys and 10 men and officers, was towed into our harbour.

May 20th. A young shark, about six feet long, caught off Yarmouth, and landed on the beach.

May 20th. Serious accident to J. W. de Caux, Esq., J.P., by falling from a cart on the Marine Parade.

May. A salmon weighing 12½ lbs., and two salmon trout, one 15 lbs. in weight, and the other 2 ft. 4 in. long, taken near Caister.

May 29th. James Scott, Esq., J.P., a shipowner of this port, died, aged 69 years. (See June, 1863.)

June 6th. First visit to Yarmouth of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, attended by the Earl of Leicester, Major-General Probyn, C.B., and Col. Teesdale. This never-to-be-forgotten visit of the Heir Apparent to the Throne was the grandest event in respect to the general superb decorations and illuminations, together with the rapturous enthusiasm and open generosity of the populace, ever recorded in the annals of local history. Some 3,500 excursionists from Norwich, as well as numbers from neighbouring districts, flocked into the town on the two first days. The Prince and suite, who were entertained here by James Cuddon, Esq., J.P., at Shadingfield Lodge, left the Borough on the 8th by the East Suffolk line, _en route_ for London.

June 6th. The new Grammar School opened by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, K.G.

June 6th. Primitive Methodist Conference opened at Yarmouth, and lasted for a week. Number of members in 1872, 161,464.

June 13th. Two Companies of 33rd Regiment of Foot (Duke of Wellington’s) and the staff of the Essex Rifle Militia, 152 rank and file, arrived at the Southtown barracks, where they stayed for a month.

June 15th. At Cambridge, the degree of Doctor of Divinity conferred on the Rev. J. J. Raven, head master of the Yarmouth Grammar School.

June 15th. Mr. Edward Fyson, a member of the Town Council, and a Captain in the 2nd Norfolk Rifle Volunteers, died, aged 37 years.

July 9th. William Sheppard, Esq., died, aged 76.

July 11th. Heavy tempest. Mr. Burton Steward’s house struck by lightning, and the interior of more than one room was damaged by the electric fluid.

July 16th. The Royal Humane Society presented Mr. Thomas Joyce with the usual honorary testimonial on parchment for saving the life of a lad named F. J. Martin, while in a very precarious state in the sea. This was the second testimonial Mr. Joyce had received for his bravery.

July. Cuddon-Fletcher, Esq., of Somerton (son of James Cuddon, Esq., late of Shadingfield Lodge), created a Justice of the Peace for Norfolk.

Aug. The decoration of the Order of Sanitat Kreuz Militar of Hesse Darmstadt, conferred on Miss E. Pearson (of Yarmouth) and Miss L. E. MacLaughlin, for their attention as nurses to the wounded soldiers in the Franco-German war. (See Sept., 1870, and Aug. 7th, 1871.)

Aug. 8th. The new organ in St. Mary’s Church, Southtown, opened with a full choral service. This fine-toned instrument was built by Mr. W. C. Mack, of Yarmouth, at a cost of £250. (See Sept. 9th, 1875.)

Aug. 9th. Mr. R. Collins resigned the appointment of Town Hall keeper, which he had held for 20 years, and was succeeded on Aug. 13th by Mr. George Harvey. (See Oct. 20th, 1874.)

Aug. 10th. By an Act of Parliament this day in force different independent sanitary bodies were placed under one authority, including the Yarmouth and Gorleston Local Boards. Yarmouth Town Council then became the sanitary authority for the whole district, at the same time taking possession of the property in Gorleston and Southtown, assessed at £15,700.

Aug. 13th. H. Fellows, F. Dendy, and S. W. Spelman, Esqs., appointed as Magistrates for the Borough.

Aug. 13th. Mr. C. H. Chamberlin’s resignation as Borough Coroner accepted by the Town Council. Mr. William Holt was at the same meeting appointed his successor. (See Dec. 5th, 1883.)

Aug. 18th. John Hillam Mills, Esq., banister, died at Lowestoft. The deceased gentleman acted as Deputy-Recorder of Yarmouth during the many years’ protracted illness of the late Mr. N. Palmer. (See March 30th, 1872.)

Aug. 20th. Edward Harbord Lushington Preston, Esq., died. He was Mayor of the Borough at the time, and held several offices of responsibility. Born on Nov. 4th, 1806. The remains of deceased were intended in the family vault in St. Nicholas’ Churchyard, near the Cemetery.

Aug. 20th. The new smack “Star,” built for Mr. Fleming Hewitt, launched from the shipyard of Mr. J. H. Fellows.

Aug. 27th. Charles Woolverton, Esq., elected Mayor to the 1st of November, in the place of the late E. H. L. Preston, Esq.

Aug. 29th. Part of the fleet of H.M.’s ironclads, under the command of Rear-Admiral G. G. Randolph, C.B., anchored in the Roadstead. The fleet comprised the “Achilles,” 26 guns; “Hector,” 18; “Penelope,” 11; “Audacious,” 11; “Vanguard,” 14; “Black Prince,” 28; “Resistance,” 16; “Favourite,” 10; “Valiant,” 18; and the dispatch boat “Imogen.” In the whole squadron there were some 4,500 men, including about 1,500 coastguardsmen. The Admiral’s ship (“Achilles”) carried 750 men, had 40 furnaces, and when steaming at full speed consumed at the rate of 250 tons of coal a day.

Sept. 29th. The lugger “Bee” (formerly “Prima Donna”), belonging to Mr. T. Tyrrell, of this port, foundered about 60 miles abreast of Winterton.

Oct. 3rd. Destructive fire at the shop of Messrs. Leach Brothers, oilmen, &c., Market Place, which resulted in the almost entire destruction of the shop and stock-in-trade. Estimated loss, £1,000; property saved, value about £400.

Oct. 11th. Heavy gale. Loss of the schooner “Lucy,” belonging to Mr. R. Barber, of this port, on Whitby beach.

Oct. 14th. Sir E. H. K. Lacon, Bart., M.P., laid the first plate of the Gorleston tramway, which ceremony was celebrated by a banquet at the Town Hall in the evening.

Oct. 16th. Mr. J. Suffling’s smack “Humility” driven ashore in a gale north of Britannia Pier.

Oct. 17th. Terrible accident on the Great Eastern Railway near Kelvedon—18 people wounded and one killed, among the former being William Worship, Esq., of Yarmouth.

Oct. 26th. The schooner “Blyliam” foundered in the North Sea. Mr. Walter Haylett, master of the smack “Eclipse,” was subsequently awarded a silver medal and certificate of honour by the King of the Netherlands for rescuing the crew.

Oct. 29th and five following days. The sale of Mr. J. Owles’ collection of pottery and porcelain, at the Corn Hall, realised £4,738.

Oct. Mr. A. J. Rivett passed the minor examination of the Pharmaceutical Society.

Oct. The widow of Sir William J. Hooker died. This lady was the daughter of the late Mr. Dawson Turner, F.R.S., of Yarmouth, and mother of Dr. Hooker. She was married to Sir William in 1815.

Oct. The Rev. John Beazor, late of Yarmouth, appointed to the Rectory of Portland by the Bishop of Oxford. This rev. gentleman had for six years previously held the sole charge of Minster Lovell. (See March, 1863.)

Nov. to March, 1873. Pinder’s Royal Circus at Regent Hall.

Nov. 2nd. The lugger “Good Advice,” belonging to Mr. John Hart, of Gorleston, run down by a brig.

Nov. 11th to 17th. Heavy gains, the smacks “Coronella” and “Thomas and Edward” lost, and all hands (on the 12th), and Gorleston Pier was also damaged to the extent of £3,339.