Pages from Pages from Palmer, Volume 3- Chapter X UNPDF

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CHAPTER X.

" Man that is born of woman,

"Has but Utile time to live,

" he goes up like a maintopsail,

" And comes down like a flying jib"

Old Sea Song,

EFORE leaving the old town and passing without the walls, let us

return to the Parish Church, where rest the dead of many

generations;* by which means an opportunity will be afforded of

noticing some families not previously mentioned. It was usual for

testators in their wills to name a place of sepulchre; and the distinctions of life

were not altogether lost in the grave. The chancel was considered the most

honorable part of the church; and the unusually large area of that of St.

Nicholas' was

P OPE ' S Homer.

* The tomb of which, an engraving is given above stands against the wall of the

North Aisle near the east end.

"Like leaves on trees, the race of man is found,

"Now green in youth, now withering on the ground;

" Another race the following spring supplies,

" They fall successive, and successive rise;

" So generations in their course decay,

" So flourish these, when those are pass'd away"

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THE PERLUSTRATION OF

completely filled with gra ves.* The numerous side chapels also contained the

remains of those to whose family or guild such chapel belonged. Thus, in 1356,

Richard Fastolfe, the benefactor of St. Mary's Hospital (vol. I., p. 29), desired by

his will to be buried in St. Katherine's Chapel in St. Nicholas' Church; and in

1362 Stephen de Stalham desired to be buried in St. Nicholas Church, and gave

to the repair of the same five marks. In 1439 William Fenn willed to be buried in

the Chapel of St. Olave, which was in the north aisle of the Parish Church; and

there are many other instances; but no inscriptions remain to mark the sites of

these early interments.

In 1536 John Barton willed to be "buried under Seynt Clare's Chapel in the

Churche of Seynt Nicholas," to which chapel in 1529 James Londisdale had

bequeathed 3s. 8d.

It has already been mentioned (vol. i, p. 54) that the sepulchral

brasses in the Parish Church, at one time very numerous, were all shamefully

destroyed; and all memorials of the dead so effectually obliterated that at the

commencement of the 17th century none remained; and in 1646 a stone-cutter

was employed to deface all sepulchral stones having a cross upon them.

In the chancel lies the body of Thomas Manthorpe, alderman, and

an elder of the church, twice bailiff, who died in 1650, aged 65,

* The mural decorations in the

chancel have all disappeared except a

fragment on the north wall, a portion of

which is here engraved. It represents

several knights, clad in chain armour,

entering a church, probably to ask a

blessing on their enterprize or to deposit

a sword which is carried by one of them

hilt uppermost.

t This admirable mode of per-

petuating the memory of the dead, by

which their dress, accoutrements,

heraldic pretentions, and even their

features were accurately preserved, was

introduced from Flanders about the year

1200. Brasses were chiefly manufactured at Ghent; and abounded mostly in those places

which supplied the Flemings with wool; and thus we find that Lynn possessed several very

elaborate brasses.

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39

One of the earliest existing sepulchral stones is to the memory of Hall

Thome Brunolf, son of the Bishop of Skalholt, in Iceland (where there is a

finely-situated cathedral), who died in 1666, aged 24.

In the south chancel aisle is the grave of Capt. Francis Courtenay, R.N. a

member of the noble family so long seated at Powderham Castle in Devonshire,

who was mortally wounded at the battle of Solebay, fought in 1673, and was

brought to Yarmouth where he died.* Here also lies buried Mr. Brock, "Minister

of the Dutch congregation," who died in 1649; and near the west door is an

epitaph to John Yates, M.D., son of the Rev. John Yates of Stiffkey in Norfolk,

"qui annos natus 42 ex hac vita ad beatorum sedes migravit, 1659;" also to Seth

Hawley, Alderman and Mayor of King's Lynn, who died in Yarmouth in 1676,

aged 68. Passing from the chancel to the north aisle we come to the grave of the

Rev. John Brinsley, M.A., whose name has been so frequently mentioned in

these pages. In the south chancel aisle, near the south-west corner, is the grave

of Eichard Bathurst, seventh son of Richard Bathurst of Finchcocks in Kent,

who died in 1707, aged 57. t In 1679 was buried Robert Partridge, merchant,

aged 60, followed by numerous members of this family; and in 1682 was buried

Mark Urite, Near the north wall is a Latin inscription to the memory of Philip

Page,

* The arms on the slab over his remains are or., three torteaux with a cinquefoil in chief

for a difference. He was seated at Woolby in Devonshire, and was the third son of Francis

Courtenay, Esq., of Powderham Castle, ancestor of the present

Earl of Devon. He married Rebecca, daughter of John Webbe of

Exeter, a major in the army, and by her had three daughters, who

were his co-heiresses. T., p.23.

f A lady of this name interred at Bury St. Edmund's had this

epitaph :—

" She lived well, — she loved well, — she died well;

" A. vein of gold, — a china dish—that must

" Be used in Heaven whan God shall feed the just.'"

t The slab bears the arms of Bathurst— sa. t two bars erm. t in

chief three crosses formee, or., quartering the following coats—

1st, a chev. charged with an imperial crown, betw. three lions

rampant; 2nd, per pale within a bordure two foxes in chase

counterchanged, between three quatrefoils two and one. Crest, a

demi-arm embowed, holding in the hand a club spiked, all ppr;

with a crescent for difference.

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THE PERLUSTRATION OF

who died in 1684, aged 36; with his arms—a fret, overall a lion ramp. Here

rests the body of Cuthbert D’avail, who died in 1690, aged 75.* Also John

Harper of Yarmouth, who died in 1698, aged 47 years. f

In the north aisle of the chancel is a sepulchral slab to the memory of the

Rev. William Lyng, who was lecturer from 1692 to 1719, when he died, aged

71. He was Rector of St. Vigor's Church, Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire; and in the

same churchyard stood also the Church of All Saints, which, becoming ruinated,

was demolished in 1776. The lecturer married, for his second wife, Maria,

daughter of Michael Dalton, Esq., of Fulbourn, who died in 1729, aged 79, and

was buried beside her husband. Sculptured over their grave are the arms of

Lyng — arg., a chev. gu. betw. three lings erect sa. t , impaling those of Dalton

- a lion ramp. arg., crowned or. The Rev. Benjamin Lyng, son of

* The family of D AVALL had property in Yarmouth, as we have seen (vol ii, p. 71).

They bore gu., a lion ramp. betw. eight fleur-de-lys arg. The arms appear in Ramsay

Church, where many of the family are buried, impaling erm., on a chief indented sa. t two

lionels or., for Barr of Amsterdam; and quarterly 1 and 2 gu., a chev. arg., betw. three

seapies or., and 3 and 4 arg., two quills in saltier or., for Van Hattam, into which Dutch

families the Davalls had married. Sir Thomas Davali purchased in 1686 the Manor of

Harwich, and sat in Parliament for that borough, for which also he was recorder. He died

in 1712, and was buried in Ramsay Church; his surcoat, gauntlets, helmet with his crest (a

hand, ppr., holding a a fleur-de-lys arg., and sword, with three pendants, being suspended

over his tomb. Sir Thomas Davall, his only son, was also buried at Ramsay with similar

trophies. The family is now extinct See Dale's History of Harwich, p. 207.

f Joseph Harper of Norwich married in IS25 Sophia Augusta, daughter of Samuel

Palmer of Yarmouth who died in 1808, aged 27. Mrs. Harper died in 1858, aged 54. Her

husband's sister, Harriet, married Mr. Wade, and had issue two-children (viz.) Capt.

Wade, wounded in the Crimea, and a daughter who married R. 1ST. Elliott, Esq., High

Sheriff of Cambridgeshire.

t The annexed engraving is taken from a silver seal, penes

met. The name of L YNG had been of long continuance in

Yarmouth, but is now extinct . In 1349 Edmund Lyng of

Yarmouth and Maud his wife made a joint will "on the day of St.

Tiburchus and Valerianus" (14th April), whereby they desired

their bodies to be buried in St. Nicholas' Churchyard, and, after

bequeathing legacies to the great altar and to the head chaplain,

directed all their houses and lands, goods and chattels to be sold,

and the proceeds applied in celebrating masses for their souls in

the Parish Church.

GREAT YARMOUTH

41

the lecturer, was Rector of South Walsham St. Lawrance in Norfolk; and here

again in one churchyard stand two churches.* He married, first, Arabella,

daughter of John Chappell, Esq., of Southwell in Nottinghamshire, who bore

or., an anchor in pale sa. She died in 1733, aged 34, and was buried within the

altar rail of the Church of St. Lawrance. He married, secondly, Anne, daughter

of Richard Ferrier, Esq., and died in 1742, aged 48. His widow survived until

1769, when she died, aged 57 ; and they are both buried in the north, aisle of the

chancel of St. Nicholas' Church beside the lecturer, f In the church chest of St.

Lawrance, South Walsham, there is still preserved a copy of the "Solemn

League and Covenant," signed by sixty-three persons—"Rebels," as the Rev. R.

Lyng designated them.; j ; Here lie interred Samuel Gates, an officer of the royal

navy, who died in 1721, aged 72, and Mary his widow, who died within a week,

also aged 72. In the north aisle of the chancel there were buried in 1723, 1729,

and 1732, three children of James Smithson, having on their gravestone his

shield of arms—a chev. eng. betw. three oakleaves ; and for a crest, a squirrel

sejeant holding an oak branch. There is also a tablet to the memory of Mary,

daughter of Robert Jackson, who died in 1728, "in the flower of her age." In

1724 was buried Ann, wife of Charles Gough, citizen of London, aged 66.

There are also slabs to the memory of John Atwood, who died in 1724, and to

several of his family. They bore gu., on a field replenished with acorns or., a

lion ramp. arg.; and for a crest, a peacock close ppr. One shield bears on an

escutcheon of pretence three filberts sa., probably for Gibbs.

*That of St. Lawrance, the advowson of which

belongs to Queen's College, Cambridge, and that of St.

Mary, a vicarage vested in the Old Man's Hospital at

Norwich.

f The name is probably derived from the Pariah of

Ling in the Hundred of Eynford, Norfolk.

J The Rev. William Ling in 1703 preached a sermon

in Norwich Cathedral which was printed; and in 1716 he

preached one on the first Sunday after the consecration of

St. George’s Chapel, "On the usefulness, antiquity, and

dedication of churches" which also was printed.

VOL. III.

42

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

Robert Atwood* died in 1738, aged 75, leaving a son, John Atwood, who

resided at Saxlingbam in Norfolk. Anne, daughter and heiress of the latter, was

the first wife of Sir Thomas Gooch, third baronet. Anne, f the wife of the

above-named Robert Atwood, was daughter of John Burton by Anne his wife,

daughter of General Desborow, brother-in-law of Oliver Cromwell, by Anne his

wife, daughter of Sir Richard Everard of Much Waltham in Esses and Joan his

wife, daughter of Sir James Barrington and Joan his wife, daughter of Sir Henry

Cromwell of Hinchinbrooke in Huntingdonshire. Sir James was son of Thomas

Barrington of Harrington Hall in Essex by Winifred Pole his wife, daughter and

co-heiress of Henry Pole Montagu, lineally descended, by heirs female, from

George, Duke of Clarence, younger brother of Edward IV. Bethom's

Baronetage, vol. iii., p. 239.

Here lie Michael Pulteney, who died in 1738, aged 75, and Elizabeth

his relict, who died in 1758, aged 93.

In the chancel is a sepulchral slab over the grave of Sarah,

the widow of John Leake, who died in 1743, aged 47; j and

on it are sculptured the arms of Leake — or., on a saltire eng.

az., eight annulets arg., on a canton gu., a castle triple

t, a

towered; and for a cres

*He voted at the county election in 1714 for Astley and De Grey.

f Mrs. Atwood dying in 1736 was buried in great state, There were thirty coaches,

and the bearers had, hatbands, gloves, belts, escutcheons, and rings. Ives’ M.S.

Journal.

J He was nephew of Admiral Sir Andrew Leake, who died whilst in command of the

Grafton, 70 guns, in the fight off Malaga in 1705. Another family of Leake, three of

whom filled the offices of Garter King of Arms and Chester Herald, derived their descent

from Capt. Stephen Martin Leake, R.N., who married Elizabeth, one of the two daughters

and co-heiresses of Capt. Richard Hill, R.N., of Great Yarmouth, an eminent seaman

under the Duke of York, afterwards James II. The other daughter of Capt. Hill married Sir

John Leake, Vice-Admiral of Great Britain and M.P. for Rochester, who died in 1720.

John Martin Leake, Chester Herald, died in 1836, aged 98. Thomas Leake in 1642 had

leave to set up a pale in front of his house on Fuller's Hill. Capt. Richard Hill was much

esteemed by the Duke of York, in whose service he lost his life; for the prince took him

with him to Scotland on board the Gloucester in 1682, which ship, although there was an

experienced pilot on board, was wrecked on the Lemon and Ower Sand, whereby many

persons of distinction and about 130 seamen were drowned. Capt. Hill escaped from the

wreck on a grating, but died the day after reaching the shore. Life of Sir John Leake, p.

457.

GREAT YARMOUTH

43

triple plume supported by two birds; which crest differs from that borne by

others of the family, which was a ship gun-carriage with a piece of ordnance

mounted, all ppr. Some silver plate with the first described crest was lately

exposed for sale in Yarmouth. Mrs. Leake resided in what is now called George

Street, and had a garden in Row No. 13 planted with fruit trees and vines, and in

it "a small banquetting house"* which garden she sold in 1742 to John Burton,

who conveyed it to Anthony Lewling.

Here also lies buried Samuel Calthorpe, who died in 1743, aged 47, under

a slab bearing his arms— or. and arg., a fesse erm.; and for a crest, a wolf’s

head erased. f

Over the grave of Captain William Pierson, who died

in 1743, aged 54, is sculptured his shield of arms—party

per fesse crenellee, gu .,. and az ., betw. three suns in

splendour, two and one, or.; and for a crest a parrot ppr. j

Samuel Pake, Esq., M.D., who died in 1743, aged

34, lies buried in the south aisle of the chancel. The stone

which covers his grave bears a highly

*The word Banquet in the works of old writers means

dessert only, which was usually placed in a separate room to which guests removed after

they had dined. Hence a "summer house" in a garden., where dessert used frequently to be

served, was called the Banqueting home. (See vol. i, p. 359.)

f These are the same arms as those home by the ancient family of Calthorpe of

Norfolk and Elvethan in Hampshire, whose sole heiress, Barbara, married in 1741 Sir

Henry Clough of Edgbaston in Warwickshire, who thereupon assumed his wife's name

and quartered her arms, and was created in 1796 Baron Calthorpe of Calthorpe in Norfolk.

The Acle estates continued in the family until the death of George, third Baron Calthorpe

in. 1868, when they were sold. William Calthorpe was Registrar of the Yarmouth

Admiralty Court in 1573; and in the same year Charles Calthorpe was elected steward,

which office he resigned in 1580 "being employed by the queen in Ireland." He was one

of the commissioners appointed to settle the differences between the town and the cinque

ports. Upon another sepulchral slab in St. Nicholas' Church appear the arms of Calthorpe

impaled by those of Pury— arg ., on a fesse. betw . three martlets sa., as many mullets or.

j This is a canting coat— Pierce-on. He might have exclaimed with King Henry VI.,

"Dazzle mine eyes, or do I see three suns ?"

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THE PERLUSTBATION OF

laudatory Latin inscription, with his coat of arms sculptured thereon—* an

eagle displayed between three lozenges.*

In 1743 died Sarah, daughter of the Rev. John Wilson, Rector of Aston-in-

the walls, Northamptonshire, aged 51 years.

Near the west end of the south aisle lies James Wren, land surveyor, who

died in 1749, aged 65. He bore org., per pale indented arg. and sa., three wrens

counterchanged.

In the south aisle is an inscription to Lunn Perkins, who died in 1753, aged

53, with his arms— or., a fesse dansette between eight billets; and for a crest, a

pine apple ppr. , stalked and leaved vert. Several families of the name bore these

arms, varying the number of billets for distinction.

In 1777 died Margaret, the wife of Capt. Barrey, R.N., aged 35, and was

interred in St. Nicholas’ Church.

Buried on the spot where he fell lies the body of John Bowgin, a lad of 16,

who in 1776 when playing, it is said, during divine service came through the

ceiling. f

Here lie interred Capt, George Young of the marines, who died in 1799 on

board H.M.S. Veteran; and Capt. Thomas Peyton, R.N., who died on board

H.M.S. Monarch, when in the service and defence of his country, and was

buried here with naval honors in 1801, aged 46. t

* See Swinden, p. 889, and T. S., p.p. 63, 141. He was a son of Samuel Pake, M.D.,

of Bury St. Edmund's, who had a confirmation of arms in 1723. The father married

Penelope, third daughter of Sir Robert Davers, Bart., by Mary his wife, eldest daughter of

Thomas Lord Jermyn. She died in 1724, and is buried at Rush-brook Church in Suffolk.

The same stone, which covers the remains of the Yarmouth Dr. Pake, bears an inscription

to his daughter, Maria, who died in 1714, aged six years, and the above arms are cut in a

lozenge. Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Pake, M.D., of Bury St. Edmund's, died in 1722,

aged 14, and was buried at Coltishall. In Lowestoft Church there is a flat stone with a

Latin inscription to the memory of Joseph Pake, surgeon, who died in 1713.

Grillingwater's Lowestoft, p. 297.

f In 1834 a lad named William George having in like manner got within the roof of

the chancel, a rotten board gave way, and he was precipitated to the ground and killed on

the spot. See vol. ii., p. 317.

t Son of the Rev. Algernon Peyton, Rector of that once superlatively good living of

Loddington in Cambridgeshire, by Isabella Anne his wife, daughter of Thomas Hussey,

Esq., of Galtrim in Ireland, and granddaughter of the Earl of Orford. In Ormesby Church

there was a stone inscribed— "Pray for the soul of William Peyton, son of Sir Robert

Peyton, Knt."

GREAT YARMOUTH

45

In 1795 was buried here John Pietro Cantira, " from Ferrara in Italy," aged

29 years. In 1797 died on board H.M.S. Comet in Yarmouth Roads, Capt.

Thomas Middleton, aged 41. Capt. John Little, R.N., died here in 1801, aged

34, soon after being landed from the Ranger; and in the same year Capt. Deane

of the Diana packet died, aged 60. In 1803 died John Butcher, aged 67, a man

of most inoffensive manners," says the Norfolk Chronicle, He was a self-taught

artist, and has been termed the Yarmouth Canaletto; the minute details of his

paintings equalling those of that great master; and the fidelity of Butcher's

pictures gives them great interest. His three principal works, the Quay, the

Market Place, and the Jetty, are in the Town Hall, and all have been engraved.

(See vol. i., p. 377.) In the same year died Capt. Robert Abbon Marsh,

Commander of the General Stuart, East Indiaman, aged 46 years.*

In 1807 died at Lyme the Rev. Samuel Edwards of Great Yarmouth. He

was a Liveryman of the Stationers' Company. Sophia Margarita, wife of Rear-

Admiral Edgar, was buried here in 1807, aged 47. f There is a, mural tablet to

the memory of William Miller, who in 1807 was lost in the Skelton Castle,

Indiaman. There is also an inscription to the memory of John Dunlop, Esq., of

Port Glasgow, who died at Yarmouth in 1810, aged 68. Also a tablet to Thomas

Shingles, who in 1841 died in Africa, aged 61.

Of those who died but were not buried here, was Robert Lulman, who

deceased in 1725, aged 63. t

* Robert Abbon filled the office of mayor in 1749.

f Genealogical collections respecting the various families of this name have been

published by Mr. J. H. Lawrence Archer, The Edgars were a family settled at North

Glenham, Suffolk, from a very early period; with branches at Coombs, Brantham, and

Ipswich. Some 'of their estates passed by sale to the Aldersons. They bore party per chev.

or. And az ., in chief two fleurs-de-lys gu., five fusils of the first, each charged with an

escallop of the third. Evidences of Blickling (1639) Page's Suffolk. In 1670 Jeremiah

Edgar was married to Margaret Palmer at the Parish Church.

t His father was buried in St. Julian's Church, Norwich, under a stone with

this inscription : “ Here lies John Lulman, all may say, he died on the llth day of May, A o . nostri

Domini, the son, 1671”.

They bore az., a fox sejeant, arg. (See vol. ii., p. 229.)

46

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

Although not buried here, there is a mural monument to the memory of

Edward Warnes, that "unworthy servant of the Lord," as he styles himself, but

as his epitaph in Thrigby Church says "vir probus et doctus," Rector of Lammas

with Great and Little Hautboys in Norfolk, who devised an estate at Thrigby to

the corporation, in trust to distribute the yearly income among poor widows. He

died in 1700, aged 87, and was buried at Thrigby.*

In 1819 died on board a vessel in the Roads, Major Downs, aged 39, of the

"St. James' Volunteers;" and in the same year, Anne, wife of the Rev. John

Isaacson, Rector of Lidgate, Suffolk.f

On board H.M.S. Florida in Yarmouth Roads, Charles, eldest son of the

Rev. O. Philpot, Rector of Ripple near Deal. His death was occasioned by

bathing after severe exercise. When off Gibraltar he leaped from the deck of

H.M.S. Calypso to rescue a seaman who had fallen overboard.

Mr. B. John Boutell, for thirty-five years keeper of the Cambridge

University Library, died here in 1856, aged 78.

In 1859 died, aged 73, John Fryer, Esq., of Chatteris, a magistrate for the

Isle of Ely, bailiff of the Bedford Level Corporation. He had served the office

of High Sheriff' of Cambridgeshire.

* There is a copy of this will in Blomefield's History of Norfolk, iv., p. 98, and the

original in the testator's own handwriting remains in the Bishop's Office at Norwich. The

estate is now vested in the Charity Trustees, who yearly distribute the rent among a

selected number of widows, each of whom receives £1. There is no place in the kingdom

where there are so many widows in proportion to the population as at Yarmouth; the loss

of life at sea being annually very great. Small as the sum received is, it is felt to be a great

help to many a poor widow, and is eagerly sought for. It was formerly the custom for the

corporation annually to appoint some of their number to be a committee for the

management of this estate, who were termed Thrigby Burgesses. Their principal duty was

once a year to go over to Thrigby to inspect the property, where they were entertained by

the tenant farmer. This was termed the " Bean feast;" one of the chief dishes being always

beans and bacon, at a season of the year when broad beans were in perfection. Bean

feasts were formerly popular all over the country, but are now things of the past. In 1869

four hundred and thirty-nine widows were relieved by this charity. Of these 131 were on

the permanent list, to which none under 70 are eligible; and of the latter 63 were upwards

of 80 years of age and 5 were upwards of 90. Of the 308 constituting the general list, 54

were upwards of 70 years of age.

f Families of this name have long flourished at Mildenhall and Newmarket.

GREAT YARMOUTH

47

In 1860 the Rev. Samuel Wm. Bull, Rector of Stoke Ash, Suffolk, died

here.

William Pixley, Esq., one of the Elder Brethren of the Trinity-House, died

at his lodgings at Yarmouth in 1869, aged 82.*

Of those who very nearly died at Yarmouth may be mentioned Capt.

Gilchrist of H.M.S. Southampton, who, in an engagement with the French

frigate Duma (which was captured) "was shot through the right shoulder with a

pound ball," and was brought on shore at Yarmouth. After an illness of several

months duration he recovered, and was presented by Lord Anson to George II.,

who bestowed on him a pension of £300 a year. He died in 1777.

There are many H ATCHMENTS of Yarmouth families dispersed about this

church, some of which were in a dilapidated state when in 1848 they were

renovated and placed in the chancel where they now remain. j

It is customary and proper that the royal arms should be conspicuous in

every church. No doubt the royal arms were taken down in the Parish Church

after the execution of Charles I., yet in that very-year the chamberlain's

accounts record that fifteen shillings were paid "for refreshing the king's arms

in the Guildhall;" and although there was no connection between the

government of the Commonwealth and

* He made an annual visit to Yarmouth, and daring the latter years of his life he was

quite blind. He was accustomed to relate anecdotes of the Masters of the Trinity House,

and especially of William IV. and the Duke of Wellington, some of which were published

by Mark Boyd in his Reminiscences of Fifty Tears.

f Some incumbents consider these memorials of the dead as "exhibitions of family

pride," and take means to get rid of them; but when once put up they cannot legally be

taken down or destroyed either by the churchwardens, minister, or ordinary, because they

belong to the family whom they represent. Lord Coke says "Grave-stones, coats of arms,

penons or other ensigns of honour hanged up, laid, or "placed in memory of the dead,

remain the property of the executors; and they may have their actions against such as

break, deface, or carry them away." 3 Inst. p. 110. It would be well if church restorers

wore oftener reminded of this doctrine of the learned judge. The custom of hanging up

hatchments in churches succeeded the more ancient custom of hanging up the armour of

great men as offerings made to God, by whose assistance they had obtained any honor to

themselves or benefit to "their country."— Echard. Helmets and swords might be seen in

many of the Norfolk and Suffolk churches within the last few years, but many have been

removed and sold for old iron.

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

any State Church, yet, we find that in 1651 the sum of £2. 14s. 1d. was paid for

"mending and repairing the state coat left here." At the Restoration the king's

arms were again set up in St. Nicholas' Church, and until 1846 a coat of the

time of William and Mary remained over the south door and another of George

III. (1785) over the mayor's seat. The former is now in the vestry,

Formerly it was the practice to hold Parish Vestry Meetings in the church

itself, and when the parishioners attending were numerous they assembled in

the north aisle, then separated from the rest of the church. This practice was, in

the language of the 13 and 14 Vic, c. 57, “productive of scandal to religion and

other great inconveniences,” and by that statute such meetings were prohibited

and power given to the churchwardens and overseers to provide by purchase or

otherwise suitable buildings for such purposes.

Since the account of the Church Library at vol. i., p. 165 , was printed, a

discovery has been made at the bottom of a chest, of a black-letter Prayer Book

dated in 1688, which compares very exactly with the " sealed books." It is in

perfect condition; and was examined by the Prince of Wales when he visited

the church on the 7th of June, 1872.

Before quitting the church by the great west door, let us pause a moment

to look at a seat standing there formed by the skull of a northern sperm whale,

of a species so uncommon on the Norfolk coast, that no mention can be found

of them except what is stated by Sir Thomas Browne, who says that about the

year 1626 eight or nine came on shore.*

* Wilkin's Edit., vol. iv., p. 326. This skull appears to have been preserved for two

centuries, for in 1606 the churchwardens expended 8s. in painting it. When the old

Guildhall occupied the site of the present church gates this bone was placed

beside it, and acquired

the name of the "Devil's

Seat;" but after the

demolition of that building

it was removed into the

church. The annexed engravings of the front and

back of this skull are from

a drawing by Winter.

GREAT YARMOUTH

49

Churchyard

" I like the ancient Saxon phrase, which calls .

" The burial ground G OD ' S A CRE ! It is just ;

" It consecrates each grave within its walls s

"And breathes a benison o'er sleeping dust"

----------- L ONGFELLOW

" My thoughts are with the dead ; with them,

" I live in long passed years." S OUTHEY .

HEN I look upon tombs", says a writer of the last century, "all

emotions of envy die within me; and every inordinate desire goes out. When I

read of the grief of parents my heart melts with compassion; but when I see the

tombs of the parents themselves I consider the vanity of grieving for those

whom we must quickly follow. When I see the great lying by those who served

them, and the men who divided, a town by their disputes placed side by side, I

reflect with sorrow and astonishment on their petty competitions, factions, and

quarrels; and when I read the dates of those who died yesterday and of those

who departed centuries ago, I reflect upon the time which is approaching

whein we shall all be cotemporaries."* 1

* Palmer's aphorisms (1748), p, 322.

1 Well said, indeed!

50

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

In 1798 the Rev Dr. Vaugh, an eminent divine of the Scotch Presbyterian

Church, having been caught in a storm, landed at Yarmouth. As soon as he got

on shore he walked to the churchyard, and, kneeling behind a head-stone,

poured out his heart in gratitude to God for his deliverance. After which,

finding himself quite worn out with fatigue and anxiety, and wanting much the

comfort of a Christian friend, he wandered through the burial ground to find an

introduction to one who served his Maker. On a newly-made tomb it was said

that the departed had "died in Jesus." This was what he wanted. He went to the

house where the family resided, introduced himself, and told his interesting tale;

and with the aid of their kindness and hospitality was soon enabled to pursue his

journey.*"

Robert Woloyne, who died in 1349, desired his "body to be buried in St.

Nicholas' Churchyard." Robert Mariot by his will desired to be buried in St.

Nicholas' Churchyard. J William Fleming by his will in 1349 desired to be

buried in the churchyard, and gave twopence "to every chaplain coming to his

funeral." In 1349 John de Bromeswelle desired to be buried in St. Nicholas'

Churchyard. §

Alice Cristion by her will in 1349 desired to be buried in St. Nicholas'

Churchyard. After making bequests to the high altar, St. Mary's light, the new

work, the parish chaplains, the clerk, the four orders of friars, St. Mary's

Hospital, the House of Lepers, and "the high altar of St. George's Church de

Hemsby," she gave to the altar

* See Memoir of the R ev. Alexander Vaugh, D.D., in which he says that he embarked

at Berwick on the 26th September, 1798, on board a sloop, which soon afterwards

encountered a storm which drove her to the Dudgeon, and "on the morning of the 28th,

the master not knowing where he then was, and seeing a brig making her course

southwards, he concluded that she was steering for Yarmouth Roads, and resolved to

follow her; the more so as he himself had never taken a " vessel into Yarmouth Roads.

The sight of land near Cromer gave to my mind "unspeakable satisfaction; and by God's

gracious providence we anchored beside Lord Duncan's fleet in the Roads by two

o'clock."—p. 123.

f He gave the whole of his property to be "distributed in pious uses, for the souls of

Richard and Maud Woloyne (his father and mother), his own soul, and the souls to whom

he was obliged."

t He gave all his property to "pious uses," including 6d. to every church in Flegg,

and 2s. to the church a.t Lingwood.

§ Except a few legacies he bequeathed all his great wealth "to pious uses."

GREAT YARMOUTH

51

of St. Mary the Virgin a table cloth (mappam) and a towel, and the like to the

altar of St. Thomas, both in St. Nicholas' Church, with twenty marks in silver to

celebrate four annuals for her soul. She directed the sale of her ships and all her

other property, and the distribution of the proceeds in masses and alms deeds ;

and she directed her executors "to make a dole " on the day of her burial and on

the seventh and thirtieth days afterwards, every one coming thereto to have a

halfpenny or the value thereof, and she gave to each of her executors " a wey of

salt" Eccentricities in will making have always prevailed.

In 1379 Simon atte Gappe* desired to be buried in St. Nicholas'

Churchyard, "before the door of the new chapel." William de Rookhaghe, son

of Benedict Rookhaghe, by his will made in 1382, f desired to be buried in the

churchyard near his father's grave. Bartholomew Elys, by his will made in

1424, directed his body to be interred in the Churchyard of St. Nicholas', juxta

crucem escparte aquilon ejusdem ecclesie* Walter Schave, by his will made in

1508, directed his "wretched body to be buryed w h ought the north door of the

"Chapel of our Lady" of Arneborough in the churchyard of St. Nicholas

in the forseed Yarmouth."

Of the memorials of the dead, which were in Yarmouth Churchyard

previous to the Reformation, none remain. Indeed for some years after that

event, notwithstanding the king's proclamation in 1550, both the church and

churchyard were much desecrated; so that at last the corporation were obliged

to interfere, and in 1581 they made an order that " if any person presumed to

shoot with any hand-gun, long bow, cross bow, or stone bow within the church

or churchyard" he was to be fined 5s. for every shot or "committed to ward."

Hand-guns were then a new invention; and Froude states that gallants, besides

other improprieties, practised pigeon shooting in St. Paul's Churchyard. They

might have done the same at Yarmouth, for it appears by the "Com-

* John atte Gappe, one of the bailiffs in 1394, had sufficient influence to obtain from

Richard II. a private charter exempting him from all liability to serve any municipal office

whatsoever. It is given in extenso by Swindon, p. 24.

f He bequeathed to Christiana his wife his "four host fishers," to fish for the said

Christiana for the term of her life; implying that he had a disposable property in their

labour. (See vol. ii., p. 416.)

52

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

potus" of Brother Dionisius Flyndolveston, keeper of the Benedictine Cell,

adjoining the churchyard, in 1484 (Sir John Bonewell being then prior), that

they had a dove-cote above the vaulting of the Chapel of our Lady of

Arneburgh in Yarmouth Churchyard, from which in that year they obtained

three dozen pigeons for the use of the household; and they utilized the

churchyard by occasionally placing in it for a time their sheep and lambs. After

the dissolution of the Priory, the Dean and Chapter of Norwich were

accustomed to let the "feeding," as we have seen.* (See vol, ii., p. 170.)

* This Chapel of St. Mary of Arneburgh stood at the east end of the church, and was

built a.bout 1370 by Roger de Haddiscoe, Prior of St. Olave's. There was a famous Church

of Our Lady aft Ardenbourg, to which in 1840 Edward III. went on pilgrimage

Immediately after the battle of Sluys; and Mr. Morant suggests that this chapel in St.

Nicholas' Churchyard may have been founded to commemorate the one in Flanders,

which was probably attended on that occasion by many Yarmouth followers of the king.

Alice de Rokelond of Heigham, and Geoffrey Codde, cheese-man, were benefactors to

this chapel. In 1460 Constantino Dally, Rector of Mautby, desired to be buried in the

Chapel of St. Mary de Arneburgh. The Compotus above-mentioned (transcribed by W. T.

Bensly, Esq., L.L.D.) is one of a series in the possession of the Dean and Chapter of

Norwich. They are very curious; for they disclose the whole domestic economy of the

Yarmouth Priory. Among other items of revenue the priory received in 1484 for saffron

and saffron roots, 14. 4d; and 22s. for wool; 6s. 8d. for " branches of willows growing in

the churchyard;" 50s. for wax sold; and 20d. for five stone of plaster of Paris. Besides

rents there were (what constituted the revenue of the church) for "personal tithes," £20

11s.; Easter offerings, £11 10s. 5d.; masses for the dead, £4 12s. Id. ; special masses, 72s.

2½d.; return of offerings by bellmen on the anniversaries of dead persons, 8s, 2d. ;

offerings at marriages, 54s. 6d . ; offerings at churchings, 29s. 5d. with sixty-seven chrisms,

being the white cloths with which infants were invested immediately after their baptisms

and before they were anointed with the chrism or baptismal oil; which cloths, when the

mother was churched, she offered to the officiating priest, and they could afterwards only

be applied in making or mending surplices, wrapping up chalices, and such like purposes,

although the Yarmouth monks appear to have sold some of them for 5s. A further revenue

was derived from "perquisites" such as legacies, mortuaries, and collections made in

boxes placed in some of the chapels, and in the church chests which produced

considerable sums, the amount of the box in the Chapel of the Blessed Mary of Arneburgh

in the above year being £10. 5s. 7d.; and from that of the Chapel of St. Wandragesilius

(who was Abbot of Fontonelle in 666) and from the chest of King Henry, £ 15. 12s. 9d.

They also received for herrings offered to the Blessed. Mary, 16s. 4d.; and for faggots and

other dry fuel sold from their Manor of Thurverton, 9s. 8d. Besides the animals

slaughtered for the use of the establishment, they received for eight fat vernets (supposed

to be hoggets), 14s. 8d.

GREAT YARMOUTH

53

Sepulchral stones of the 17th century are rare, for the utilitarian

churchwardens of a former generation sent a large number to Newcastle to be

turned into grindstones; and in 1796 they disposed of a further quantity for £33;

and obtained 2s. 6d. "for a stone figure."

In 1615 was buried Benedict Browne of Filby.* In 1645 was buried the

Lady Barbery Brining, daughter of Errius Ottoins Brining,

for eighteen ewes and rams, 26s. 8d.; and for thirty lambs, 16s. 3d. For keeping and

feeding these sheep, rams, and vernets on Fowleholm marshes, belonging to the consent at

Norwich, the Yarmouth Priory paid 9s. 6d. The household also consumed seven tithe pigs,

fourteen goslings, seven ducks, eighty pullets, and eight young tithe doves. The

expenditure is put down with similar exactness. After providing for the stipend of the

parish priest, comes the charge for wine for the church and for guests amounting to 48s.

6d. The consumption of beer was enormous, 170 barrels in one year, besides twelve stone

jars of beer bought of John Ferror for Ss. Forty-one coombs of wheat were purchased,

besides bread for the priory and "singing bread" for the altar. Stipends are provided for the

lord prior, the cellarer, and two scholars, together with the wages of servants and presents

to preachers, singers, clerks, players, and workmen. Alms also were given to mendicant

friars, hospitallers, or persons authorised to beg money for the church, indulgentiaries,

lepers, and poor persons. The washer, the barber, and the Wax maker had also to be paid.

Incense had to be purchased; as well as tallow candles for the church and priory, and

rushes for the same. Provender had to be provided for the horses, utensils purchased, and

repairs of all kinds done. Mortuaries we have seen were among the perquisites. In 1484

the bodies of three drowned seamen were washed on shore, and having been taken to the

churchyard on a sledge were there buried in their clothes in one pit, and there being about

the neck of one of them a silver whistle, the prior had the same for a mortuary. A

complete suit of armour (viz.), salade, body armour, legs, feet, and gauntlets, cost 21s. 3d.,

for what purpose required is not mentioned. The reparation of a silver salt-seller cost 2s.

1d. The expenses of the suffragan of the Lord Bishop, who came to attend the dedication

of the Chapel of St. John Baptist in the east corner of the churchyard amounted to ISs, 4d.,

and for painting and gilding the images of St. Wandragesilius and of King Henry VI. the

monks paid 5s. 2d.; with 2s. 3d. for two and a half jars of oil for the lamp there, and for

the candelabrum hanging above the altar there, 12d. Appended to the account is a

schedule of "things remaining," comprising eleven barrels of beer, three good fat wethers,

salt fish, honey, vinegar (of which a large quantity was consumed in those days), hens,

chickens, ducks, coals, faggots, and three hundred red herrings. A similar "Compotus"

was rendered at Michaelmas in every year, the parchment and writing costing 8d., the

journey to Norwich 12s., and 3s. 4d. were expended " on the day of the account." See

Original Papers printed by the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society, vol. 7, p.

231,

* When a parishioner was buried beyond his parish it was necessary to obtain the

consent of the minister and church wardens, and in the above case such consent is

recorded in the Filby register, which commences in 1562.

54

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

"a noble man in Denmarke, slaine at sea," as the burial register records, but the

surname is nearly illegible. One of the oldest existing stones in the churchyard,

is to the memory of a Dutchman, Quander Ulver by name, who died in 1661.

The following persons have also been buried in the churchyard. John

Husband, who married Catherine, a daughter of John Calthorpe, Esq. She died

in 1673, and on her gravestone there is a coat of arms. Arthur Southwell died in

1688, aged 46. Southwell bore arg., three cinquefoils gu. Richard Oliver died in

1672, aged 47. His widow died in 1698, aged 82. Joseph, their son, died in

1727, aged 74. John Ringer died in 1697, aged 83. John Urwin died in 1692,

aged 74. He was named in the charter of Charles II. Judith, the only child of

Roger Cotman (who died in 1719, aged 65) , was buried at Rotterdam in 1724,

aged 26. Thomas Thoroughketle died in 1704, aged 60 years. John Welham

died in 1726. f A black marble stone is inscribed to the memory of the Rev. John

Delaval, M.A., "who being unfortunately drowned at sea" was buried here in

1730, aged 27. J

Baby-farming appears to have been an old institution, for there was a

stone in memory of the only son of Arke Wright and Susanna his wife, who

died in 1730, aged three weeks, with this inscription—

* Christopher Husband was named in the charter of Charles II. There was a

family of the name at Winterton; and the Norfolk family bore arg. t a chev. gu. f

betw. three martlets sa., three mullets or. The Rev. Arthur Brown, in his tale of

Stanch for the King, asserts that the Rev. Valentine Husband, who was Rector of

Croat wick m Norfolk in 1672, had previously been a captain of horse under Oliver

Cromwell.

f In the chancel of the Church of Old Buckenham in Norfolk is a stone to the memory of

John Welham, who died in 1733, aged 66, with this inscription— " Earth hath possess ’ d

him, ashes, clay, and dust ; But Heaven contains his soul among thejust. "

j The Delavals were an old family in Northumberland. Sir Edward Astley of Melton

Constable in 1751 married Rhoda, eldest surviving daughter of Francis Blake Delaval,

Esq., of Seaton Delaval, and sister of John Lord Delaval who died in 1808, s.p.m,, when

his honors became extinct, and the property devolved on the Astley family. A vast

mansion designed by Vanbrugh for Admiral Delaval was destroyed by fire in 1822, and

the ruins laid desolate until 1861, when Jacob Lord Hastings commenced their restoration.

Delaval bore erm., two bars vert, Glover's Ordinary , Papworth’s Ordinary, p. 17.

GREAT YARMOUTH

55

" We put him out to nurse;

"Alas ! his life he pay’ d,

" But judge not — he was overlaid"

In remembrance of the daughter of Edward and Esther Willcock, who departed in

1715, aged ten days, was this inscription —

" A harmless Babe "

That only came and cried-;

"In Baptism to he washed

" From sin — and died."

Here also was buried Elanora, daughter of Henry Hall, Esq., of Harpsden Court,

Oxfordshire, by Elenour his wife, daughter of Andrews Warner, Esq., of

Bardmondisfield Hall in Suffolk,* who died here in 1735, aged 14.

One of the most interesting tombstones in the churchyard is that to the

memory of David Bartleman, master of the brig Alexander and Margaret, who

in 1781, on the Norfolk coast, defended himself against a piratical cutter, fully

armed and carrying one hundred men, commanded by Fall the noted pirate,

when the cutter was beaten off. Two hours later site again attacked the brig; but

it was not till the mate was killed and Bartleman mortally wounded that he was

compelled to surrender and pay ransom, Bartleman brought his shattered vessel

into Yarmouth, and soon afterwards died of his wounds at the early age of 24.f

On the tomb of William Bell, mariner, who died in 1798, aged 80, there is

this inscription—

"Fell tempests rage and ocean's waves

" Have tost me to and fro,

"Now God's decree—-you plainly see

" Has harboured me below.

" Where safely I at anchor lie,

" With many of our fleet,

* Commonly called Bansfield Hall, in the Parish of Wickhambrook. This property

was purchased in the 17th century of the Worths of Mildenhall by the Warners, who were

of a good family in Suffolk and Essex. They bore or., a bend engrailed gu., betw. six

roses of the same.

f The house where this gallant man resided was long an object of interest.

56

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

" Until that day we anchor weigh, Our Admiral, Christ, to meet." Lieut.

Augustus Fitzgerald (son of Augustus Fitzgerald, Esq., of Limerick), died here

in 3.801 from excessive fatigue whilst serving with the 49th Regiment before

Copenhagen, and was buried in the churchyard. In 1802 was interred Miss Last

of Cambridge, aged 18, "who was drowned on Breydon." In the same year died

here the Rev. Nevill Walter, aged 65 , Rector of Bergh Apton, to which rectory

he had been presented in 1785 by the Earl of Abergavenny. Also Robert

Lawton, Esq., the father of Mrs. Girdlestone (see vol. i, p. 181). In 1803 died

here Edward Heath, Esq., of Hemblington, aged 60.

The following is on a tombstone erected by his captain in memory of Humphrey

Lucas, aged 32, boatswain's mate, who was drowned in 1804, whilst engaged in

cutting away the mainmast of the African frigate— " When manly courage

in its native truth, In duty active and unknown to fear, "Be matched by death in

all the bloom of youth, "It claims the sacred tribute of a tear. "Then let the

tenant of this tomb inspire " Each breast with grief, to dwell upon his fame ;

"Let kindred pity, with its generous fire, "Each memory light to venerate his

name" Lieut. John Davis, R.N., of H.M.S. Solebay, was buried here in 1807,

aged 28,

In 1807, when the Shropshire Militia were quartered in Yarmouth, two of

the privates quarrelled, and in the fight which ensued George Griffiths was

killed, f The following epitaph was placed over his grave in the churchyard—

" Time flies away, as nature on its wing,

"I in a battle died —( not fighting for my king);

* There is a similar epitaph, slightly varied, on the tomb of Jonathan Porter, who

lived in Row No. 102, and died in 1817 aged 48. Jonathan, his son, was a Lieutenant in

the Royal Navy, and died at St. Thomas, West Indies, in 1820, aged 25, There is a third,

nearly similar, in memory of Thomas Hollands, a mariner belonging to the excise cutter,

who died in 1790, aged 36.

f They fought on Yarmouth Denes to determine who was the "best man" in the

regiment.

GREAT YARMOUTH.

57

"Words with a brother soldier did take place,

Which shameful is, and always brings disgrace;

Think not the worse of him that do remain,

For he as well as I might have been slain"

Another military epitaph in memory of Isaac Smith and Samuel

Bodger, two soldiers of the Cambridgeshire Militia, runs thus—

" The tyrant death did early us arrest,

" And all the magazine of life possest;

No more the blood in circling course did run,

But in the veins like icicles it hung.

"No more the hearts, now void of quickning heat,

The tuneful march of vital motion beat;

Stiffness did into every sinew climb,

And a short death crept cold through every limb"

A little drummer-boy belonging to the Berkshire Militia, aged 10,

was drowned whilst bathing from the beach, and buried in the church

yard. Miss Cooper, the minister's daughter, wrote an elegy with this

refrain— " From gentle sleep thou'll wake no more,

" When morning's drum beats reveille." There is an altar tomb in

memory of Thomas Hurst, who died in 1811, and to Samuel Hurst, who died in

1823, bearing their shield of arms—an etoile of sixteen points ; and for a crest, a

hurst, or grove of trees ppr.

Capt. Wm, Buckley Hunt, R.N., Commander of H.M.S. Britomart, who

died at Heligoland in 1812, aged 46, was buried in St. Nicholas* Churchyard,

To the Rev. Sterling Kelty, M.A., Fellow of King's College,

Cambridge, who died in 1827, aged 45, the following lines, from the

pen of David Service, were inscribed on his tomb, but are now removed—

" When on this spot, affection's downcast eye,

The lucid tribute shall no more bestow,

" When friendship's breast no -more shall heave a sigh

In kind remembrance of the dust below ;

Should the rude Sexton, digging near, the tomb,

A place of rest for others to prepare,

The vault beneath to violate presume,

May some opposing- Christian ery forbear —

VOL . iii

58 THE PERLUSTRATION OF

Forbear, rash mortal, as thou hop’st to rest,

When death shall lodge thee in thy destined bed,

With ruthless spade, unkindly to molest

The peaceful slumbers of the hundred dead."

Henry Hobart, High Constable of Norwich, who died in 1833, aged 37, lies in

the churchyard. He was of the old family of Hobart already mentioned, (See

vol. ii.. p. 5). In 1834 died John Chimley, a Commander in the Royal Navy,

aged 58, In 1841 died, aged 71, Charles Compton Parish, Esq., for many years

principal manager of the West India Docks.* In 1840 was buried Harriott,

daughter of Robert Brettingham, Esq., of Norwich, and aunt to the wife of Sir

Robert Smirke. f William Woodbine of Great Yarmouth died in London in

1793. J In 1842 died Mary Anne Church, aged 86, widow of Nicholas Church ;

who was lost on the Goodwin Sands in 1796, Also Commander Rogers, R.N.,

aged 68 . In 1845 Capt. John Tupman, late of the 2nd Ceylon Regiment, aged

75. The Rev. Thomas Lewis Jones died in 1848, aged 88, and was buried

here. He was presented to the Rectory of Brettingham in Norfolk by the

Bishop of Ely in 1790, and was for some years before his death a resident in

Yarmouth. In 1852 died

* He was the youngest son of the Rev. Henry Parish, Rector of Rainham and

Domestic Chaplain to the Marquis Townshend, whom he accompanied to Ireland when

his lordship was appointed Lord Lieutenant. The Rectories of Valentia, Cahir, and

Dunmore were conferred upon him, and he died at Dublin Castle in 1771. He married

Miss Woodbine of Swaffham, who, having survived her husband, resided for some time

on the Church Plain, Great Yarmouth, where she died in 1821, aged 85. Sarah, their eldest

daughter, married (as his third wife) the Rev. Richard Turner. Fanny, the other daughter,

married George Cubitt, Esq., of Catfield. Henry Parish, the eldest, son, an officer in the

army, was Aide-de-Camp to the Marquis Cornwallis, and died. s.p. Woodbine Parish, the

second son, a native of Swaffham, married in 1795 Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. Henry

Headley, Vicar of North Walsham from 1768 to 1785. He was Chief Commissioner of

Excise at Edinburgh, and was the father of Sir Woodbine Parish. There is an engraved

portrait of him. C. C. Parish, above named, married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Cory,

Esq., of Great Yarmouth (see vol. ii., p. 32). Parish bore arg., a chev. betw. ten cross

crosslets sa.

f This brings to mind the well-known epitaph on the maiden who was " niece to

Lady Jones, and-of such is the kingdom of heaven."

J He appears to have been a leader in social amusements, for in 1765 we find him

steward of a ball at the Town Hall with John Ramey, Esq.

GREAT YARMOUTH

59

Capt. John Pike of the Royal Anglesea Fusiliers, long resident in Yarmouth,

aged 73.* In the same year died Richard Smith of Worcester, whilst on a visit,

aged 67. In 1854 died Capt James S. Enock, of the 56th Regiment, aged 34; and

Lieut. Wm. Hornsby, R.N., aged 67. In 1860 was buried Capt. Benjamin

Ashley, R.N., aged 86. In 1861 died Alice Annesley Voysey, infant daughter of

the Rev. Charles Voysey, at that time a curate at Great Yarmouth, but who

eventually quitted the Church of England. In 1873 was buried James Dickie,

aged 83. He served with the 69th Foot at the Battle of Waterloo, where he was

wounded. A spent bullet entered his mouth and lodged near the ear. It was

extracted but part of the ear was lost.

Southey copied the following epitaphs into his common-place book from

Yarmouth Churchyard :—

" The best of wives was called from me,

" She was both meek and mild;

T’was God's decree, let His will be,

He took both wife and child"

Here lies a woman

By all the good esteemed,

Because they proved her

Really what she seem’d

Sleep, lovely babes, and be at rest,

God calls them first, whom He loves best''

" Farewell, dear babes; to dust we you resign,

" And at your lot, we will no more repine;

" Being well assured that at the resurrection,

You then, through Christ, will rise into perfection.

Among those who died, but were not all buried in Yarmouth, may be

noticed Mr. Alexander Shaw in 1793, an eminent "dealer in Natural History,"

who left nearly £3,000 to erect a Foundling Hospital at Aberdeen. In 1779 died

on board H.M.S. Comet in Yarmouth Roads

* John Eldridge Pike, his son, died at Calcutta in 1846, aged 26; and his second

son, died at Manzanilla in South America in 1853, aged 30.

60

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

Capt. Thomas Middleton, commander of that vessel, aged 41. He had just

arrived from Earl St. Vincent's fleet, and had highly distinguished himself in

assisting at the destruction of the French fleet at Toulon. In the) same year Capt,

Q-arnier, of H.M.S. Aurora, was drowned in Yarmouth Eoads by the upsetting

of a boat. In 1800 died on board H.M.S. Veforcm^Oajit* George Young of the

marines. In 1801 Capt. Mitchell, commanding the Inspector, sloop of war, and

Capt. Carruthers of the Invincible, were accidentally drowned. In 1804 was

buried Lieut. Willis, E.N. In 1806 Mr. James Jennings, "one of the most expert

accountants and navigators in the service," a purser on board H.M.S. Sparrow,

was drowned in Yarmouth Eoads. In the same year was buried Lieut. Edward

White, K.N,, of the Alert In 1856 Mr. John Bowtell of Cambridge, aged 78,

Keeper of the University Library for 35 years, died here; as did in 1859, aged

73, John Fryer, Esq., of Chatteris, Bailiff of the Bedford Level Corporation,

who had served the office of Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire.

The bones of Yarmouth men are scattered throughout the world ; and to them

the ocean has long been a "a vast and wandering grave."

" They sleep, alas! not in the tombs hard by,

Nor in the neighbouring church — that hallow’d fane,

Where oft in youth they knelt, and pray'd to lie.

Far from the tumults of the restless main.

The sullen waves close o'er them;

and there's not a stone to note the burial of the brave;

A bubble only bursting marks the spot,

Where sinks the sailor to his watery grave .*"

A few instances taken from existing tombstones in Yarmouth churchyard must

suffice. 1796, Nicholas Church lost on the Goodwin Sands, aged 45. William

Forster Church, his son, lost off Flamborough-head in 1807, aged 23, 1798,

John Read died at Newfoundland.

* Verses found in the pocket book of a young mariner drowned at sea. Many

are the modes by which the bodies of the dead have in various countries been

disposed of, but never, except in cases of necessity, have they been committed to the

deep. In 1736, however, Samuel Baldwin, a sojourner at Lymington, who lived

unhappily with his wife, desired to have his coffin sunk without the Needles, because

she had threatened to dance over his grave.

GREAT YARMOUTH

61

1799, Lieut. John Butt, R.N., aged 26, drowned in the river Yare.

1800, Thomas Armstrong died in Virginia, aged 40; Thomas, his son, drowned

at Dantzic 1 in 1804; John, another son, drowned in the Yare in 1817, aged 18;

William another son, died at Kingston, Jamaica, in 1820, aged 36; and Henry, a

remaining son, drowned off Sydney, New South Wales, in 1835, aged 39.*

1800, died at the Cape of Good Hope, Benjamin Fox, R.N., aged 27. 1804,

James Artis died at Kingston, Jamaica, aged 19. 1807, John Abbott died a

prisoner-of-war at Arras, aged 58; and in the same year James Warren was

drowned off the Cape of Good Hope. 1808, John Hall Martyr, drowned at

Gottenburg, aged 25. 1810, John Brewer, lost on board H.M.S. Monitaur, aged

34. 1811, Bernard Berwick Barker, drowned off the Island of Madagascar, aged

19; Samuel, his brother, lost on the heel of Danzic 1 in 1816, aged 28; and

Henry, another brother, wrecked and drowned between the Haak Sand and the

Texel in 1817, aged 15. 1813, William Tullock, midshipman, and two sailors of

H.M.S. Leveret drowned in the river Yare. 1814, Thomas Hagon Tilyard, aged

19, lost in the Minerva at St. Petersburg. 1816, James Cornelius Holland,

drowned on the coast of Holland, aged 36. 1817, Capt. Sayers, commanding the

revenue cutter Ranger, erected a stone to the memory of Joseph Boston, aged

33, Charles Wigg, aged £3, and James Palmer, aged 24 ; three of his crew who

were killed in action with a smuggling lugger off Robin Hood's Bay, "to

commemorate his regard for their gallant conduct.'' 1819, Robert Whall died at

Jamaica, aged 32. 1824, William Barcham died at Messina, aged 38; also John

Downing died at Gibraltar, aged 28; and James Warner, aged 20, died at

Alexandria. 1825, John Martin, lost on the coast of Norway, aged 35. 1827,

John Bulley, master of the Amelia, on his passage from

* In 1845, Capt. W. H. Armstrong published in Yarmouth An Address to my

Schooner, in which these lines appear—

" How throbs the pulse of him with joy

u Who loves the foaming sea ;

To stand upon his schooner's

deck

" In sailor company

To stand upon his schooner's

deck

" And mew the glorious sight;

In calm, or storm and — if need

be " To man her guns and fight

1 Twice on the same page, spelt differently.

62

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

Seville to London, was captured by a Columbian ship of war and carried to

Puerto Cabello, where he died, aged 52. Benjamin Bitten, master of the

Crocodile, drowned in the Gulf of Finland, aged 35 . 1830, L.O. Norfor,

drowned at Oporto, aged 15. 1831, Elmer Porter, drowned at Port Royal,

Jamaica, aged 23. 1834, Edmund Crow died at Cape Coast Castle, aged 28.

1835, Jonathan Budds, pilot, R.N., "lost at sea," aged 62; also Benjamin Warren

Douglas, lost in the Ottawa on the Island of Anticosti, aged 21. 1838, James

Welch, master of the Fairy Queen, died off Cape St. Vincent, aged 37. 1841,

died at Simpheropol in Chinese Tartary, Charles Thomas Betham, aged 41.

1842, Henry Houghton, aged 18, drowned with 105 others in the Reliance East

Indiaman on the coast of Boulogne; also James George Warren, died at

Calcutta, aged 28. 1843, Alfred Barker drowned off Capt. St Vincent, aged 38.

1849, William Carter and Melenda his wife and two of their children perished

on board the schooner Young David, which, on a passage from France to

Ireland, was run down by the Spanish brig Vargas, 1850, William Sterry died at

San Francisco, aged 52. 1848, Arthur Cox, killed by a railway train at Reedham,

aged 73; and Benjamin Gaymer died at Calcutta, aged 22. 1851 died Thomas

Darnell, master of the Baltic, which vessel with all her crew was lost on her

passage from Southampton to Newcastle. 1852, Robert Riches, son of Lieut.

Riches, R.N., drowned off St. Helena, aged 16; and Thomas Watts died at St.

Lucia, aged 23. 1852, James Harding died at Rio Janeiro, aged 21. 1853,

Samuel Paget Bracey died on his passage to Valparaiso, aged 16; and William

Bracey drowned in 1862, aged 18. 1853, William Calf, killed at Melbourne,

Australia, aged 30. 1854 died George William Beckett at Balaclava, aged 30;

and James Barker at Messina, aged 55. 1855, John Thomas Welch, aged 23,

died in Africa. 1856, William Barber, lost on his passage to Cuba, aged 48.

1857, Walter Marsh drowned at Sydney, aged 21. 1858, Henry Cafley drowned

off Christiansund, aged 23. 1860, Alexander Robinson died at Venice., aged 25,

And lastly, the second mate on board the North-fleet, emigrant ship (ran into

and sunk when at anchor at Dungeness in January, 1873, whereby nearly three

hundred lives were lost, was a Yarmouth man, the son of Mr. Blyth, formerly a

custom-house officer at this port.

GREAT YARMOUTH

63

In addition to the nonagenarians and centenarians mentioned at vol. i., p.

147, and in other parts of this work, the following have, for the most part,

tombstones in Yarmouth Churchyard, in the following chronological order :—

1765, Henry Williams, 91; and Elizabeth his wife in 1780, aged 89. 1775, Diana

Miller, 95. 1779, Ephrate Wright, 96. 1789, Mary Bayers, 94. 1801, Thomas

Kett, 90. 1803, Martha Briggs, 103. 1809, Ann Moore, 96. 1814, William

Harrison, 90; Elizabeth Williams, 92. 1815, Mary Oossey, 97; Mary Leggat, 95.

1817, Ellis Cook, 95. 1818, Sarah Draper, 92. 1824, Mary Riches, 95. 1825,

Ann, widow of Eichard Thompson, Drum-Major of the Chatham division of the

Eoyal Marines, aged 93. 1828, Charles Johnson, 90. 1831, Benjamin Harrison,

90.1 Daniel Smith, R.N., 91. 1840, Elizabeth Lame, 90; Mary Simmons, 91, for

thirty years a servant in the Kerrison family. 1843, Susannah Hammond, 93.

1854, Thomas Webb, 90; John Darnell, 97. 1855, James Fox, 90. 1856,

Susannah Sampson, 90. 1859, Ruth Hubbard, 94. I860, George Garson, 90.

1865, Sarah Harmer, 91 ; Robert Holmes, 97. 1867, Thomas Gunton (one of the

Elder Brethren of the Trinity House), 92. 1868, Benjamin Symonds, 93; Philip

Symonde, 92; Thomas Bulley, 92 ; Ann Riches, 97; Sarah Russell, 90; Samuel

Scrutton, 91. 1871, Mary Durrant, 93 ; William Cozens, 91; Elizabeth Emerson,

92; Margaret Lamb, 94; Mary Page, 98; Margaret Thurlow, 91; Mary Bowen,

90. 1872, Harriet Blake, 90; Sarah Cuddon, 91. 1873, Elizabeth Thompson, 94;

William Burwood, 91; Mrs. Barnes in her 90th year ; James Mitchell in his

100th year; Mary, the widow of Joseph Ablett, formerly bellman, aged 95;

Susan Baldwin, widow, 90 ; and in 1874, Rebecca Willemite, 90 ; and Ann

Kippon, 98.

Although a large portion of the churchyard and the whole of the cemetery

is without the town wall, yet this seems to be the most appropriate place for

noticing the latter. In 1854 an Act was passed which prohibited burials in

churches, and closed such churchyards as were in cities and towns and already

filled with the dead. In 1855 the town council appropriated ten acres of ground

adjoining the churchyard for the purposes of a cemetery, and surrounded the

same with a high wall of flint. The northern half of the ground was appropriated

to the use of Nonconformists, the north-west corner being divided from it by a

high

64

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

wall and given to the Jews.* The southern half was dedicated to Christian burial in 1856

by Dr. Spencer, Bishop of Madras, acting for Dr. Hinds, Bishop of Norwich. Already has

this large area become well covered with tombs, and it is pleasing to observe that heathen

emblems, such as the scythe of time, the hour glass, the urn, the extinguished torch, and

the like, which were formerly alone permitted, have given place to Christian symbols,

whilst shrubs and flowers are plentifully distributed and carefully nurtured.

Among all nations and in all ages there have been observances and superstitions

regarding the burial of the dead. In Yarmouth, among the lower classes, it is considered

necessary for the relatives and friends of a deceased person to drink deep on the night of

the funeral in order to float the soul. This was a Norfolk custom. One Cooke of Spole, in

the 16th century, directed his executors as soon as they knew he was dead to layout 6s.

8d. in a "drinking for his soul" in the Parish Church.

In regard to drinking customs it may be mentioned that at the Yarmouth pottery

works (see vol. i., p. 344) there used to be made a curious jug in the shape of a hog's

head; and at weddings every one present was expected to drink a hogshead of beer in

honor of the bride.

* Previous to 1177 no Jew could be buried except in London; but in that year Henry

II. ordered a place for this purpose to he provided in every town where any Israelites

dwelt. Where persons of this persuasion were buried at Yarmouth prior to the

commencement of the present century is not known; but in 1801 Simon Hart, a

silversmith and "a very respectable Jew" who had resided in the town for forty years,

obtained from the corporation a grant of a piece of ground outside the town wall "near

Colby's Gate " as a burial place for the Jews; and here in the following year Hart was

buried, aged 56. With the Jews no more than one corpse is ever laid in the same grave. A

little earth, from Jerusalem if it can be procured, is placed in the coffin, affording another

likeness between the practices of Jews and Christians. On their "black feast" which is to

commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem, the Jews are accustomed to visit their burial

place; which, although always neatly kept, is never opened, except for funerals, at any

other time.