Norfolk Annals Volume Ii Part 84

14.-The Very Rev. E. M. Goulburn, formerly Dean of Norwich, preached from a new pulpit erected by public subscription in the choir of the Cathedral as a memorial of his twenty-three years' devoted ministry. The pulpit was designed by Mr. John Pollard Seddon, F.R.I.B.A., and executed by Mr.

Harry Hems, of Exeter.

18.-On this day (Whit-Monday) occurred the memorable fall of snow which covered the ground to the depth of five inches, and occasioned the abandonment of all out-door sports and holiday amus.e.m.e.nts. On the previous Wednesday (the 13th) the shade temperature registered in the neighbourhood of Norwich was 72.7; at 9 a.m. on the 16th it stood at 37.2; and on the same day the thermometer in the screen fell to 29.8, and on the gra.s.s to 21.5. On Sunday, the 17th, there were frequent storms of hail and snow, and at 2 p.m. the temperature registered 37.4.

-A military tournament given by the 8th Hussars in aid of the local charities, commenced at the Agricultural Hall, Norwich, and concluded on the 23rd.

21.-The Duke of Clarence and Avondale (in the absence of the Prince of Wales, who was unable to attend in consequence of indisposition) opened a bazaar at Yarmouth in aid of a fund for the restoration of the parish church; and in the evening was present at a ball given by the officers of the Norfolk Artillery.

23.-The Norfolk County Council resolved to offer scholarships of the value of 10 each per annum, and not exceeding fifty in number, to boys and girls who, having pa.s.sed the 6th and 7th Standards in elementary schools, were prepared, after examination, to attend for three years some secondary school possessing to the satisfaction of the committee the necessary qualifications for technical instruction. On the 26th the Norwich Town Council decided to provide a school for technical education and manual instruction.

30.-The Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture adopted, by 66 votes against 32, a resolution in favour of making legal in England the practice of the dishorning of cattle.

JUNE.

8.-Mr. Wilson Barrett commenced a week's engagement at Norwich Theatre, in the character of Belphegor. His other impersonations included Claud Melnotte, Chatterton, The Stranger, and Hamlet.

12.-The Mayor of Norwich (Mr. Edward Wild) unveiled at Norwich Cathedral a window inserted in the south aisle to the memory of officers of the Norfolk Regiment. The window was the gift of the officers and men of the regiment.

-The British Training Squadron, consisting of the Active, the Calypso, the Volage, and the Ruby, entered Yarmouth Roads, and sailed on the 14th for the north. Each ship's company numbered about 500 men and boys.

15.-A Select Committee of the House of Commons inquired into the merits of the St. Faith's Allotment Bill, by which it was sought to obtain Parliamentary sanction to the compulsory purchase of 18 acres of land owned by the Countess de Rechberg, in the parish of Horsham St. Faith's, for the purpose of providing allotments for forty applicants under the Allotments Acts, 1887 and 1890. On the 17th the chairman (Sir Stafford Northcote) announced that the Committee were of opinion that the preamble of the Bill was proved, and that the order should be confirmed, but they thought the justice of the case would be met if 10a. 2r. 6p. were given up for allotments, and the Countess de Rechberg be ordered to pay her own costs and one-third of the costs of the promoters. The Local Government Board subsequently held an inquiry to decide the amount to be paid to the Countess for the compulsory purchase of the land. The Countess demanded 1,291 6s. (originally 1,451); the County Council offered 1,025 8s.

6d.; and the Local Government Board inspector awarded 1,131 15s. 6d.

16.-Lord Walsingham was elected High Steward of Cambridge University, and received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. His lordship was introduced as a distinguished member of the Eton and Cambridge elevens, as an excellent shot, and as a great authority on shooting game.

Further, he was a Fellow of the Royal Society, and had given special attention to the study of microlepidoptera.

24.-The Goulburn pulpit, erected in the nave of Norwich Cathedral, was dedicated on this date. It was the gift of the Very Rev. E. M. Goulburn, formerly Dean of Norwich, and was executed in Caen stone by Mr. James Forsyth, of Hampstead, from designs by Mr. R. Herbert Carpenter, F.S.A., and Mr. Benjamin Ingelow.

27.-The Norwich Census returns were published on this date, as follow:-Tenements of less than five rooms, 7,654; inhabited houses, 23,268; uninhabited, 1,739; building, 205. Persons: Males, 46,615; females, 54,348; total, 100,964.

JULY.

8.-The Summer Show of the Norfolk Agricultural a.s.sociation commenced at Wymondham, and was continued on the 9th. The Earl of Kimberley was president for the year.

10.-A prolonged strike in the building trade, at Norwich, was settled on this date. The bricklayers' strike commenced on May 4th, and that of the carpenters and joiners on June 1st. In both cases the men demanded an extra payment of one penny per hour, and the acceptance by the masters of a code of rules framed by them. The employers declined to accede to these demands, but submitted a code of their own, and offered a halfpenny advance. The Mayor (Mr. Wild) intervened, and although at the time his action had no effect, the men ultimately accepted the masters' code of rules.

14.-Dedication services were held at the parish church of Great Yarmouth on the completion of the extensive and protracted work of restoration.

The undertaking was commenced in 1847 by the Rev. Henry Mackenzie, afterwards Suffragan Bishop of Nottingham, and continued from time to time by the three successive vicars, Bishop Hills, of British Columbia, Archdeacon Nevill, and Canon Venables. The latest portion of the work was begun in the spring of 1890, and cost about 1,500. About 40,000 was expended upon the entire restoration.

17.-Died, at Eastbourne, Mr. Willoughby Smith, the distinguished electrician, who was born at Yarmouth on April 16th, 1828. He superintended the manufacture and laying of the first submarine cable.

In 1866 he was electrician on board the Great Eastern steamship during the laying of the first successful Atlantic cable and on the recovery and completion of the cable that had been lost the year before. For these services Mr. Smith received a gold medal and an address from the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. In 1883 he was President of the Inst.i.tution of Electrical Engineers, and in 1888 published a work, ent.i.tled "Yarmouth Past and Present."

21.-At a meeting of the Norwich Town Council a letter from the Privy Council was read, in which it was stated, with reference to a scheme for altering the boundaries of the wards of the city, that such alteration could not be permitted unless an alteration was also made in the number of the wards. (_See_ March 15th, 1892.)

25.-An exhibition of the works of Edward Thomas Daniell, comprising etchings, water-colours, and oil paintings, was held at the rooms of the Norwich Art Circle.

-The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Volunteer Battalions Norfolk Regiment, encamped at Great Yarmouth under the command of Brigadier-General Bulwer.

27.-Lord Walsingham presided at a meeting of the subscribers to the Norwich Castle Museum scheme, at which it was decided to extend, at an additional cost of between 4,000 and 5,000, the original scheme for converting the Castle and the surrounding buildings to the purposes of a Museum. It was announced that the Prince of Wales had contributed to the fund a further donation of fifty guineas. (_See_ August 4th, 1894.)

30.-A thunderstorm of extraordinary severity burst over Ellingham Park, the seat of Mr. Henry Smith. "The lightning seemed literally to sweep the park with a sheet of fire, and immediately after the storm six bullocks and heifers were found lying dead under an elm tree. Other cattle were injured, and the tree itself was split in half, and some of the branches hurled a considerable distance." Further thunderstorms occurred in other parts of the county on August 2nd.

AUGUST.

3.-Norwich Cricket Week commenced. Matches were played against the Eton Ramblers, and the Lincolnshire and Hertfordshire Clubs, and in each instance the Norfolk County Cricket Club was victorious. "The achievement of three victories in the week had not previously been accomplished since the inst.i.tution of the festival in 1881." On the 6th and 7th Sir Kenneth Kemp's company of amateurs gave performances of "The Bookmaker" at the Theatre Royal.

7.-The Norwich School Board decided to abolish the fees in all their schools, the Higher Grade School excepted, from September 1st, the date on which the Free Education Act came into operation.

8.-Lord Ashbourne, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, addressed a great Primrose League gathering at Didlington Park, held in celebration of the inauguration of the Margaret Tyssen Amherst Habitation.

SEPTEMBER.

5.-The Norfolk County Council decided to found an agricultural side for technical education in connection with the County School at Elmham.

7.-The Countess of Leicester laid the foundation-stone of a public hall to be erected at Burnham Thorpe as a memorial of Lord Nelson, who was born in the parish, where his father was rector, in 1758. The hall, which formed part of a scheme initiated by the Prince of Wales, the main feature of which was the restoration of the parish church at the cost of 10,000, was opened on June 9th, 1892.

30.-Mr. Harry Furniss gave his lecture, "The Humours of Parliament," at the Agricultural Hall, Norwich.

-The first annual show of the Mitford and Launditch Agricultural a.s.sociation was held at East Dereham. General Bulwer presided at the dinner, at which the princ.i.p.al speakers were Mr. R. T. Gurdon and Mr. C.

S. Read.

OCTOBER.

13.-A severe gale did great damage inland, and resulted in many shipping casualties on the Norfolk coast.

15.-Died, at King's Lynn, Mr. John d.y.k.er Thew, in his 68th year. He was proprietor of the "Lynn Advertiser," and for many years represented the South Ward in the Town Council. In 1871, 1876, and 1885 Mr. Thew was elected to the office of Mayor of the borough, and in the last-named year was appointed alderman. He was leader of the Conservative party at Lynn.

16.-The Lord Mayor of London (Sir Joseph Savory) and the Lady Mayoress visited Norwich for the purpose of opening the new buildings of the Asylum and School for the Indigent Blind.

17.-The prospectus of the Norwich Electricity Company was published. A capital of 50,000 was raised in 5,000 ordinary shares of 10 each, and the company was formed "for the purpose of supplying electricity for lighting and motive purposes."

19.-Died, at Beeston Park, Sir Jacob Henry Preston, Bart., aged 79. He was a Deputy Lieutenant and magistrate for the county, and in 1847 served the office of High Sheriff.

25.-A severe storm commenced on this date, and continued until the 27th.

Several vessels were wrecked and lives lost on the coast.

31.-A meeting in furtherance of a scheme for providing playing fields and open s.p.a.ces for the city was held at the Guildhall, Norwich, under the presidency of the Mayor (Mr. Wild). A committee known as the Norwich Playing-fields and Open s.p.a.ces Committee was appointed.