Pages from Volume II,Rows 84

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the rate of wages. Having attacked the gaol and threatened the

magistrates assembled at the Town Hall, the aid of the military was

required, and the 11th Hussars speedily arrived from Norwich, under

the personal command of the Earl of Cardigan; and H.M.S. Black

Eagle, commanded by Capt. (afterwards Admiral) Mends, was sent into

the river. This sufficed; and the tumult subsided without bloodshed.

There was a family of the name of Pearson who flourished at Yarmouth

in the 18th century. John Pearson, Esq., filled the office of mayor in

1723; and William Pearson was a member of the corporation in 1734.

In 1716, in consequence of the death of a child caused by the fall of a

stack of Alderman Pearson's deals, a deodand of £12 was ordered to be

paid to the corporation, who, under the charter of King John, claimed to

be entitled to all such forfeitures arising within the borough.*

Row No. 84, from Middlegate Street to Howard Street. At the

south-west corner is a tavern called the Ship , j which greatly flourished

during

* By the ancient law any inanimate thing causing the death of a reasonable being

was forfeited to the king, to he applied to pious uses for the benefit of the soul of the

person thus snatched away by sudden death without the opportunity of priestly

absolution. Hence the name— gift to God. These forfeitures were commuted for money

payments, which after the reformation were usually made to the relatives of the deceased.

In the above case no deodand was really due, because the child, not having attained the

age of discretion, required no intercession. It was commuted to 30s., which sum was

given by the corporation to the child's father. In the above year (Mr. William Bracey

being then coroner) a horse belonging to Robert Waynford was declared to be a deodand,

because John Morphen had fallen from it and had been killed; but on account of the

poverty of Waynford the corporation remitted their claim,

j There is not a maritime town in England where the sign of the Ship is not to be

found. It was a favorite one in Yarmouth, and several houses were from time to, time so

called; but the above was the most considerable one. After the battle of Camperdown, the

sign which projected for into the street was repainted as a man-of-war, with the word

Venerable on her stern, being the name of Lord Duncan's flag-ship.

Enrolled in our bright annals, lives full many a gallant name;

But never British heart conceived a deed of prouder fame,

To shield her liberties and laws, to guard our sovereign's crown.

Than noble Duncan's mighty arm achieved at Camperdown.

* * * * * * * * * *

The Venerable was the ship that bore his flag to fame.

Our veteran hero well became his gallant vessel's name;

Behold his locks! they speak the toil of many a stormy day,

through fifty years through wind and waves he held his dauntless way.

GREAT YARMOUTH

109

the last war with France, but is now much reduced in size and

importance; part of it having been converted into a butcher's shop. At

this tavern the sale of "prize goods" usually took place; and property of

enormous value there changed hands.* Here, after the battle of

Camperdown in 1797, many officers, taken prisoners in that memorable

sea fight, were lodged, f Of these Capt. Gysbert Jan Van Rysvort died

of his wounds and was buried with naval honors, and in the chancel of

St. Nicholas' Church a mural tablet bears an inscription to his memory. j

He had commanded the Batavian line-of-battle-ship Hercule. This

tavern was for some years kept by William Ungelman. The house was

built by John Ireland, Esq., who filled the office of mayor in 1716,§ and

was Registrar of the Archdeaconry Court of Norwich. In 1746 it was

* Prize goods were frequently sold by “Dutch Auction”—that is, they were put up at

a high price which was gradually lowered until a purchaser was found. At other times

they were sold "by the candle"—the meaning of which was that a bidding must be made

before a candle placed on a table was burnt out.

f They were not vigilantly guarded. One night seven of them, all surgeons, contrived

to make their escape by sea; after which all the captains and lieutenants were sent to Eye

in Suffolk for better security,

j The pall was borne by six Dutch midshipmen, and the body was followed by all the

Dutch officers then prisoners of war; and by many English naval captains as a mark of

respect to the memory of a brave and fallen enemy. The Oxfordshire militia formed part

of the funeral procession, and fired three vollies over the grave .

§ Sarah, his daughter, who died in 1705, aged 54, married the Rev. John Jeffrey,

D.D., Archdeacon of Norwich, which preferment he held till his death in 1720. Dean

Davies, in his diary, under date 18th August, 1689, he being then at Norwich, says, "Met

Mr. Jeffery, Minister of St. Peter's Church; he dined with us, and after dinner came in Dr.

Prideaux, With these two I went again to the castle, and after that to Chapelfield House,

where is a boarding school, and there saw very fine work in wax and Japan. On our return

we went to Mr. Jeffery's, where we were entertained. He then conducted me to the Duke

of Norfolk's palace, which is very stately." The archdeacon in 1700 published Proposals to

the Reverend Clergy of the Archdeaconry of Norwich concerning the Reformation of

Manners , in which he lamented the "gross corruptions" of the time, which he says had

"become enormous," and strongly insisted upon the efficacy of religious exercises in

private families.

Various were the perquisites and emoluments of bailiffe and mayors in former times.

One of the most considerable was the "fishing thousands," being an annual contribution

of herrings towards the support and maintenance of his office. In the mayoralty of Mr.

Ireland this payment in kind was discontinued, and instead he and all succeeding mayors

until 1835 had annually £100 from the corporation chest.

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THE PERLUSTRATION OF

sold by the Rev. Samuel Salter, D.D., the executor of Ireland's will, to

John Cotman, Esq., who was the owner of considerable property in the

neighbourhood.

Row. 85, from Middlegate Street to King Street, formerly called Sir

Sidney Smith's Row, from a neighbouring public house whose sign was

the head of that dashing seaman. At the house at the north-east corner

the Public Library was commenced in 1802. On the north side of this

row there was a small grave yard at the back of Bethabara Chapel,

which was closed by order of the General Board of Health.

Row No. 86 , from King Street to Dene Side. At the north-west

corner stands a house which early in the 18th century was the property

and in the occupation, of John Fisher, the elder, merchant; and in 1772

the executors of his will sold it to Nathaniel Colby, who died in 1793,

and in the following year it was purchased by General Wemyss of the

Royal Marines, who resided here until 1798, when, he conveyed the

house to B ENJAMIN F IELDING ,* surgeon, who married

* Fielding was a name applied in farmer times to arable land. The Rev, Richard

Fielding was Rector of Beighton, Norfolk, in 1632. Robert Molding of Beighton, married

Margaret, second daughter of Henry Rayner of Beighton, by whose will a considerable

landed estate at Freethorpe in Norfolk was entailed tipon the above-named Benjamin

Fielding their son, to which he succeeded; Rayner Fielding and Robert Fielding their

other sons, first heirs of entail, having both died s.p. Henry Rayner, the testator, died in

1759, leaving one other daughter, Jane, who married a Bellman, and had issue Rayner

Bellman, and a daughter, Flower Ann Bellman. The above-named Robert and Margaret

Fielding had two daughters, Mary who married Thomas Turner, and Margaret who

married Charles Jay. Jane, daughter of the above-named Thomas Turner, married

Rainham Moyse (to be mentioned hereafter), to whom Henry Rayner devised an estate at

Moulton and Blofield; and to the above-named Margaret Jay he devised an estate at

Beighton, which he had purchased of Barry Love, Esq.. Henry Rayner married Ann., the

widow of John Gillett. He left numerous small legacies, some for the purchase of rings,

and one of a guinea to the Rev. John Rippenhall for preaching a funeral sermon.

Rippenhall was presented to the Rectory of Beighton in 1733 by the Earl of Yarmouth,

who was Patron and Lord of the Manor. The Gilletts have been landowners in East

Norfolk for several generations; and bear erm., on a bend engrailed sa ., three luces' heads

erased or., the blazon being varied by different branches. The Rippenhalls are also a

Norfolk family, bearing arg., two bars , in chief three roundlets. Robert Fielding, the

eldest son of Robert and Margaret Fielding, had a daughter, Mary, who married Samuel

Barnby of Yarmouth. The latter died in 1817, aged 60, and his widow in 1841, s.p.

GREAT YARMOUTH

112

Anne, daughter of John Fisher, grandfather of the late J.G. Fisher.* He

was elected to fill the office of mayor in 1737. Lord Chedworth, soon

after writing to Mr. Crompton, says who is this Field-in that is chosen

mayor? I suppose he is some needy man from the country! I thought

they would have taken one Warm-in-town for "their chief magistrate"

(alluding to Mr. Warmington). "you see I have caught the infection of

punning, but I solemnly assure you that I do not mean to indulge in this

detestable propensity.'' Fielding was re-elected mayor in 1810, but the

corporation refused "to give him an assembly," for although called

together six times, the requisite number of ten aldermen and nineteen

common councilmen failed to attend. This was occasioned by

differences which had arisen in the corporation respecting the filling up

of the vacant office of High Steward. The Fisher family, ever faithful to

the house of Rainham, were desirous of appointing the then Marquis

Townshend. Their opponents supported Lord Suffield; but finding they

could not carry his election, nominated Lord Wodehouse instead;

doubtful however of success they frustrated any election and delayed

public business by not obeying the summons of the mayor. At last a

writ of Mandamus was obtained which compelled their attendance. f

The result was that Lord Wodehouse was chosen by a majority of two

votes, the attendance of three members resident at a distance having

been procured; and three of the "Fishers" being absent. A great hubbub

ensued. Mr. James Fisher and Mr. Colby resigned their places as

aldermen; and a letter stating the facts was addressed to Lord

Wodehouse, who thereupon declined to accept the office, which

remained vacant until filled in 1815 by a Townshend in the person of

Viscount Sydney. Mr. Fielding was surgeon to the sick and wounded

and for prisoners of war, Mr. John Mash having previously held the

appointment. J He died in 1826,

* "Drank tea," says Sylas Neville, writing in 1771, “with Mr, and Mrs. Fielding.

Gave her joy, being the first time of seeing her since her Marriage.”

f This state of thing is remedied by the Municipal Corporation Act, 1835, which

provides for the holding quarterly meetings.

j John Mash, son of John Mash, a common councilman, was an eminent surgeon.

He and his father voted in 1754 for Walpole and Townshend. He married Susan Barnby,

and died in 1800, John Mash, the father, voted in 1714 at the Norfolk

112

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

aged 84, leaving Anne his widow, who died in 1833, aged 88.* They

had an only child, Anne, who married in 1793 the Rev. Thomas Baker.

The latter was the youngest son of John Baker, Esq., of whose family

we shall have farther occasion to speak. In 1800 the corporation

appointed him to be lecturer, and in the following year, on the death of

his elder brother, the Rev. John Baker, he presented himself to the

Rectory of Cressingham Parva, in which preferment he was succeeded

by two of his sons successively, the Rev. Francis Plumer Baker in 1841

and the Rev. Thomas Fielding Baker in 1845. He was domestic

chaplain to the Ear1 of Home and a Deputy-Lieutenant and a Magistrate

for the County of Norfolk; and in 1801 was presented by his father-in-

law to the Rectory of Rollesby, Norfolk, f which, with his other

preferments, he held till his death in 1841, aged 75. His widow died in

1855, aged 83. Besides the above-named sons there were issue: John

Baker, Esq. (see vol. i., p. 181); William Henry Baker, a midshipman of

H. M. S. Leander , who died at Madras in 1822, aged 16; and Charles

James Baker, a cadet in the Bombay Artillery, who died at Bombay in

1834, aged 20; and several daughters, all of whom died young, except

Elizabeth Helen, married to the Rev. Richard Fortescue Purvis, Vicar of

Whitsbury, Hants, t and Georgianna Mary, who married Major-

election for Hare and Earle. Another surgeon in King Street was Mr. Smyth, who, after

practising for more than fifty years, died in 1819, aged 81.

* The arms used by Mr. Fielding were quarterly—in the first

and fourth quarters arg., on a fesse az., three lozenges or., and in

the second and third quarters or., a lion rampant gu.; and for a crest,

a double-headed eagle displayed sa., beaks and claws or., bearing

on the breast an escutcheon of the first quartering.

f Succeeding the Rev. William Adams, who died in 1801,

aged 84, having held the living forty years.

t He was son of Admiral John Child Purvis already mentioned,

and was descended from James Purvis, younger son of Sir William.

Purvis of that Ilk in Berwickshire, who bore by grant, az., on a fesse betw. three mascles

arg., as many cinquefoils of the field; and for a crest, a sun issuing out of a cloud ppr.

Capt. George Purvis, R.N., son of the above-named James Purvis, settled at Darsham in

Suffolk, where he died in 1715. He was father of Admiral George Purvis, M.P. for

Aldborough and Comptroller of the Navy, who died in 1740. Admiral Charles Wager

Purvis was his elder son; and George Purvis, his second son, a Commissioner of the

Navy, was father of the above-named Admiral John Child Purvis.

GREAT YARMOUTH

113

General James Cook, and died on board the London on her passage

from Calcutta in 1840, aged 29, leaving issue two sons and two

daughters.

After Mr. Fielding's death the above-mentioned house was

purchased by Mr. William Webber 1 ,* surgeon, son of Joseph Webber

of Friston, Suffolk, who in 1834 married Eliza, daughter of Sir Thomas

Preston, Bart., f and who, after residing in it for some years, sold it to

John Caporn Smith, Esq., J.P., the present possessor.

The house, next but one to the north, No. 22, King Street, was

during the last French war occupied by Capt. Campbell, R.N., who

commanded successively H.M. Ships Nassau and Tremendous. He was

a man of gigantic stature, and frequently amused his friends by looking

over the half-opened drawing room door, and announcing himself as

"The Tremendous Capt. Campbell." The last occupier was Mr. James

Scott, J.P., who died in 1872, in his 70th year.

At the south-west corner of Row No. 86 stands an old house,

which still retains some marks of antiquity. In the dining room the

original oak panels remain uncontaminated by paint; and there is an old

staircase with its massive balustrade. Early in the last century it was the

property of William Spilman, mariner. The name of S PILMAN was of

long continuance in Yarmouth. George Spilman, on the breaking out of

the civil war, brought a plate to the value of £24; and in 1648 he

subscribed the "Solemn League and Covenant." He filled the office of

bailiff in 1651, and in 1658 signed the address to Richard Cromwell,

promising to support his government. He married Elling, daughter of

Alderman Nicholas Cutting, by whom he had eleven sons and three

daughters; and died in 1668, aged 67, as did his wife in the same year,

aged 66, and they were both buried in St. Nicholas' Church. He

disclaimed arms in 1664. j George Spilman, his son, filled the office of

bailiff in 1695, and died in 1717, aged 64.

* This name originally signified Weaver; one who weaved the web.

f Eliza Jane, their eldest daughter, married in 1869 the Right Rev. B. M. Cowie,

D.D., Bishop of Auckland.

j The disclaimer of arms upon a herald's visitation did not necessarily imply that the

person was not entitled to bear them, but rather that he declined to pay the fees, without

which they could not be recorded ; as some people now who are fully entitled to use

armorial, bearings, decline to do so on account of the annual tax,

1 Palmer’s Addenda: William Webber – he died at Ramsgate, 12 th . May 1875, aged 77.

VOL. II.

114

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

Another George Spilman died in 1715, aged 90.* Samuel Spilman, his

son, married at Postwick Church in 1682, by license, Jane Wales. The

male line of this one numerous family terminated towards the close of

the 18th century, the last representative leaving two daughters his co-

heirs, one of whom, Jane, married in 1778 the Rev. Richard Fayerman,

Rector of Oby from 1747 to 1800, and the other George Nicholls, Esq.,

of Cambridge. The above-mentioned house passed from William

Spilman, who died in 1722, aged 86, to Isaac Spilman, who married

Sarah, daughter of the Rev. James Hannot. In 1770 Sarah, the widow

of Wales Spilman, sold it to John Wright, merchant, who died in 1775,

aged 72. f It remained in his family until 1807, when it was conveyed

by the Rev. James Wright of East Earling 1 to Admiral Macdougal, who

had married Mary, the only daughter of Richard Wright, Esq., of East

Harling, uterine brother of Elizabeth (Beard), the wife of Osmond

Beauvoir, Esq. With Mrs. Macdougal there is a story which in a novel

would be scarcely credited. A lady, the widow of a clergyman, residing

at Norwich in moderate circumstances, one day remarked to her friend,

Mr. Francis, then an eminent solicitor, that she had seen in the public

papers the announcement of the death of a distant relative who had left

no children, but who was reputed to have died enormously wealthy,

remarking how comfortable a thing it would be if she could inherit

some of his riches. Mr, Francis obtained a copy of the will, in which he

could find no mention of the lady's name, but

* At the Norfolk election in 1714 five freeholders of this name in Yarmouth voted

for Astley and De Grey.

f His daughter, a maiden lady who resided in the above-mentioned house in the

beginning of the present century, was known by the sobriquet of "Spencer" Wright,

because she was the first in Yarmouth to adopt an article of female attire then newly

invented, and delighted in wearing "spencers" of divers colours. Thomas Wright, who

bore, a chev. betw. three fleur-de-lis arg., and on a chief or., three spears' heads az.,

purchased in 1707 the Manor and Advowson of East Harling in Norfolk of John Lovell,

Esq., the representative of a very ancient Norfolk family, who bore arg., a chev. a z,,

between three squirrels sejeant, gu. He presented the Rev. Thomas Macro (see vol. i., p.

165) to the living in 1719, and died in 1735, leaving the manor to his eldest son, John

Wright. In 1720 the Rev. Robert Wright, D.D., Prebendary of Lichfield, was presented; as

was his son, Robert Wright, in 1738; who was succeeded in 1789, Sir Richard Wright on

his own presentation. The executors of the latter in 1798 presented the Rev. James

Wright, who held the living for thirty-one years.

1 This is presumably a misprint for East Harling, as mentioned two lines below.

GREAT YARMOUTH.

115

ascertained that most part of the testator's fortune had been left to an

elderly gentleman who was already possessed of a large share of this

world's goods, proving the truth of the adage that "money begets

money." Upon a careful study of the will a doubt occurred to the lawyer

whether by the way in which the will was worded the residue therein

mentioned to be bequeathed applied to the whole or merely to a

particular portion of it, in which latter case a very considerable sum

would remain undisposed of and would pass to the next of kin. He

therefore made enquiry, and ascertained that the widow of Admiral

Macdougal, whom he had known in Yarmouth, was next of kin to the

testator, and on her behalf he laid claim to it. The legatee named in the

will, upon being acquainted with the facts, expressed his conviction that

the testator intended that he should have the whole of the residue, but

declared his disinclination to take it, unless under a legal decision in his

favor; and that the question might be fairly tried he placed £1,000 at the

disposal of Mr. Francis to cover expenses. Upon further investigation

the question in dispute appearing very doubtful, but the inclination of

opinion being in favor of the legatee, the latter proposed that an end

should be put to the litigation, and that the claim should be settled by his

allowing Mrs. Macdougal £10,000 a year for life. These terms were

accepted by that lady, who being then a widow, married in 1825, John

Edmond Browne, Esq., son and heir of Sir E. E. Browne, created, a

baronet of Ireland in 1795, and he thereupon assumed the name and

quartered the arms of De Beauvoir.* When the arrangement of terms

took place, reference was made to the lady at Norwich who had "started

the hare" which had been pursued so successfully, and although it was

not then pretended that she could substantiate any claim, the legatee

magnanimously presented her with £10,000.

In the early part of the present century the house above mentioned

was in the occupation James Fisher, Esq., who was the second son of

* He succeeded to the baronetcy in 1835, and on the death of his wife laid claim to

the vast De Beauvoir property as being his next of kin, and she being the sole next of kin

of the Rev. Peter De Beauvoir. He rejected an offer of £10,000 a year as a compromise,

but the House of Lords decided against him. Sir John married, secondly, in 1867, Letitia,

younger daughter of the Rev. Charles Mann of Denver Hall, Downham, Rector of

Southery in Norfolk, and died in 1869, aged 75,

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THE PERLUSTRATION OF

John Fisher, Esq., and only brother of William Fisher, Esq., both already mentioned vol.

i, p. 234. When young he had a commission in the army offered to him under the

following circumstances. In 1745 a messenger landed at Yarmouth, with the news of the

battle of Culloden, and being without means applied to the then mayor for assistance to

enable him to travel post to London, The mayor, doubting his story, refused; but Mr. John

Fisher, having more faith, supplied him with the necessary funds. When this was reported

to the Duke of Cumberland, he offered Mr. Fisher a commission in the army for his son,

then a youth of 10, which was declined. Instead of the army he went into business and

settled at Norwich, where he filled the office of sheriff in 1770. Returning to Yarmouth

he was made mayor in 1774. He then went to India and became a Magistrate for and

twice Mayor of Bombay. Returning again to his native town he was once more elected

mayor in 1809, and died at this house in 1820, at the great age of 94. Always dressed,

with scrupulous care, he was usually called "Beau Fisher."* In 1764 he married Anne,

only daughter of the Rev. Samuel Stedman, L.L.D., Prebendary of Canterbury, f by

whom, he had two daughters; the elder, Henrietta, married

* Like the late Duke of Queensbury, who was popularly known as "Q, in a corner,"

Beau Fisher might be seen daily during the latter years of his life sitting at his window,

carefully dressed in a style of fashion long gone by, with a bouquet in his button hole,

and his cheeks blooming (horribile dictu) with rouge. When walking abroad in summer

he usually wore Nankin breeches and white silk stockings.

f He was also Archdeacon of Norfolk and Rector of Denver. Mrs. Fisher, who

survived her husband, died in this house in aged 82, and was buried at Rollesby. She was

granddaughter of Dr. Robert Butts, successively Bishop of Norwich and Ely, in the palace

of which latter see she was born. Although residing in the same house, it is asserted that

Mr. and Mrs. Fisher never spoke for many years, but every morning messages were sent

to enquire after each other’s health with the most scrupulous politeness, and whenever

they happened to meet, saluted each other with much ceremony. A family of the name of

Steadman flourished in Yarmouth, in the 17th century. Benjamin Steadman, alderman,

died in 1690, aged 64. He was a ship-builder, and in 1665 built a frigate for government.

Benjamin Steadman, merchant, his son, died in 1681, aged 27. Capt. Thomas Steadman,

also an alderman, died in 1721, aged 39, and with him the family appears to have become

extinct. Capt. Steadman, when about to journey to London, was requested by the

corporation "to buy a hogshead of ye best French claret," and wait upon the Earl of

Yarmouth and present him with the same. The Steadmans are buried in the north transept

of the Parish Church. They bore arg., a chev. gu., betw. three boars' heads couped sa.

GREAT YARMOUTH,

117

James Rivett Carnac, Esq.;* and Jane, the younger, married, first,

B.Taylor, Esq. and, secondly, Major Thomas Cape of Taplow 1 Court in

Buckinghamshire. In 1826 the above-mentioned house was purchased

by Mrs. Mary Hovell, widow, who devised it to Mrs. Jessica Neville,

widow. It was purchased in 1842 by Lieut. Beart, R.N., who resided in

it until he left Yarmouth, when he sold it to Caleb Burrell Rose, Esq.,

who died here in 1872, aged 81 years. f

* He traced his descent from Thomas Ryvet of Triton, in Norfolk, who died in 1272 .

Families of the name of Rivet have lived in Yarmouth from an early period. Morley

Rivett was one of those who subscribed the National Covenant in 1648; and Philip Rivett

was named a member of the corporation in the charter granted by Charles II. The name

continues both in Yarmouth and Gorleston. The above-named James Rivett was in the

civil service of the East India Company, and in 1801 assumed the name of Carnac, in

pursuance of the will of his brother-in-law, General Carnac. James Rivett Carnac, his

eldest son, who was chairman of the East India Company, was created a baronet in 1836.

He represented Sandmen in Parliament in 1837, and was Governor of Bombay from 1838

to 1841, and died in 1846, aged 81.

f He was possessed of an extensive and highly interesting; collection of Norfolk

fossils, obtained principally in the neighbourhood of Swaffham, where he had previously

resided. Mr. Rose 1 was of a Suffolk family, but the name is found on the Yarmouth rolls

as early as the 13th century. In 1297 Henry Rose filled the office of bailiff, and did so on

many subsequent occasions. In 1299 he was returned to Parliament, and in the same year

was attached to answer by Hugh Bardolf, Lord of the Manor of Caister, for having carried

away certain goods belonging, as was alleged, to the manor, but which it was contended

were found within the limits of the borough, the exact boundary between the parishes

being long in dispute, In 1321 Edward Rose was returned to Parliament. In 1342 Robert

Rose was the owner of a ship called the Nicholas , which was in the king's fleet dispatched

to Brittany; and in 1371 Henry Rose was appointed Captain and Keeper of the town.—

Foedera, vol. iii., p. 924. In 1310 the first-named Henry Rose was appointed one of the

collectors of the new customs upon wines imported; and in the following year was made

deputy to Walter de "Waldeshof, "chief botillor" for the port of Yarmouth. He acquired

lands and lordships in Stalham, Burgh, Billockby and Bastwick in Norfolk, and died in

1325, leaving a son, Richard Rose, who took an active part against the men of Gorleston

for depredations committed by them, especially in seizing and carrying away one of his

ships. Henry Rose, his son, settled at High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire about the year

1340, and died in 1390, leaving a son, Richard Rose, who removed to Abingdon in

Berkshire a short time before his death, which was about the year 1428, and there founded

a family which flourished for more than three hundred years, and where they married into

the Wykham, Hyde, Bostock, Mayott, Hulcot, Baskett, and other families, Richard Rose

of Abingdon materially injured his estate by the sums which he advanced for the service

of Charles I when the royal troops were at that place.

1 In 1972, Jane Graham, later to be my first wife, moved to Taplow House to be the

“matron” of the nursing home there. She was accommodated in a caravan of two rooms,

with her son Christopher, and daughter Gina, then aged 4 and 10 years. I was then M.O. at

RAF Wyton, Huntingdonshire, and shortly after posted to be M.O. at RAF Abingdon in

Berkshire, also mentioned above. In my time there, (1972-76) this was the base for the

RAF parachute school. A very dangerous occupation, much more so than advertised. Two

instructors were killed by parachuting into jungle in Borneo, getting caught up in the

trees. A young girl on an army course, failed to open her reserve parachute, presumably

through fright, when the main one failed. A young man descended into an aircraft hangar.

Both had fatal results. The army put all of its recruits through the experience of a night

jump. One especially black night, there were six individuals all with broken legs. I did get

some experience of orthopaedics, but I can’t see how it made for better soldiers. I did

make two jumps myself, aged 29, I certainly wouldn’t take such a risk now. The wind was

over 15 MPH, and thus although initially dropped outside of the north boundary of the

airfield, I only entered the south boundary fence by some three yards! The actual jumps

were all made at RAF Weston-on-the-Green.

1 Palmer’s Addenda: Rose – Anna, daughter of the late Nicholas Cobb Collinson Esq.,

of South Lambeth, and widow of Mr. C. B. Rose, died at the King Street house 2 20 th

February 1875, aged 68.

2 This is the house on the north-west side of Row 86 in King Street, once owned by

James Fisher, as above.

118 THE PERLUSTRATION OF

Row No. 87, from Howard Street to King Street.* At the south-

east corner is a large public house and liquor shop now called St.

George's Tavern, but formerly the Sawyers* Arms, and after that the

George IV.; at which time the front was rebuilt and brought out. At the

north-east corner is a house which in the last century was the property

of John Playford. He died in 1820, and devised it to his grandson, John

Playford, who in 1833 was drowned at sea whilst bathing, leaving an

only son, John Playford, now of Thornage in Norfolk. To the west of

this house was some property belonging to John Palmer. At the north-

west corner of this row is an old house with ornamental ironwork on

the front next Howard Street. Here are some arches with a groined roof

in a cellar occupied by Mr. Jacob Preston, wine merchant.

Row No. 88, from Middlegate Street to Howard Street. Early in

the 18th century all the property between this row and the Ship tavern

was in the possession of Joseph Ames, who was of a family of long

continuance in Yarmouth. John Ames was in 1648 appointed Ensign to

a company of Train Bands, commanded by Arthur Bacon; and in 1660

he had liberty to erect a porch and pale before his house in "the Middle

Street." Joseph Ames, his son, entered the naval service at an early age,

and during the civil war attracted the attention of Cromwell, when Lord

Protector, who in 1653 made him Captain of the Samuel, in which ship

he joined the fleet under Blake, and took part in the engagement with

the Dutch, fleet, in which Van Tromp was slain.

Descended from him was Richard Rose, the last of his race at Abingdon. He served in

India, and in 1766 married, at Cuddalore, Agnes, daughter of John Cleland of Whithorn in

the County of Wigton, Scotland. After greatly distinguishing himself by his daring

exploits, he fall mortally wounded when attacking the fortress of Attoor in 1768, being

then in his 28th year only, leaving a son who took the additional name of Cleland on

obtaining from that family the estate of Rath-Gael in the county of Down, Ireland. The

arms borne by the Yarmouth family of Rose were— sa., on a pale arg., three roses gu.,

seeded and slipt ppr.; and for a crest, a rose, gu ., seeded and slipt ppr . betw. two wings

erm,

* It was called The Money Office Row; and there is a tradition that a box of treasure

was buried here, but that the moment the diggers approached it they were doomed to

disappointment by its disappearance. There is more reason to believe that this row

derived its name from the fact that in it was formerly held "a Money Club"; an institution

which preceded the Savings Bank.

GREAT YARMOUTH

119

For his services on this occasion he received a gold medal, which on.the

obverse represents the engaged fleets, and on the reverse the arms of the

commonwealth. On quitting the naval service, Capt. Ames retired to Yarmouth,

where he died in 1695. John Ames, his son, removed to London, and died there

in 1699, leaving a son, J OSEPH A MES 1 , who was born at Yarmouth in 1688

previous to his father's removal to London, and who at an early age evinced a

taste for the study of history and antiquities. He is best known by his great work

entitled Typographical Antiquities, published in 1749, after twenty years spent

in collecting and arranging the materials. In 1736 he was elected, a Fellow of

the Society of Antiquaries, and in 1741 became their secretary; which office he

held until his death in 1759. His portrait has been engraved. The arms of Ames

were— arg., a boar's head between three crosses sa.; and for a crest, a stag's

head. Joseph Ames in 1737 conveyed the above-mentioned house to John

Cotman, Esq., who sold it to William Creed, and from him the adjoining row

was long called Creed ’ s Row ; and later in the same century it was occupied for

many years by Mr. John Fowler, "a man of the strictest probity," who in 1752

married Anne, daughter of Joseph Baker, Esq. (of whom we shall have occasion

to speak), and died in 1790, aged 63. His widow died in 1810, aged 82. They

had fifteen children. Thomas Fowler, their seventh child, married, as we have

seen (ante. p.71), the widow of John. Ives, Esq.

The F OWLERS were a family long settled at Pakefield in

Suffolk. John Fowler, father of the above-named John

Fowler, settled in Yarmouth in 1704; obtaining the freedom

of the borough "for a fine of £ 25 and to live in the town.” *

They bore for arms— az ., on a fesse betw. three lions pass,

regard or., as many crosses patonce sa. At the back of

house No. 8, Howard Street, there is a lofty-moulded arch,

which evidently at one time belonged to a building of some importance, but all

knowledge of it is lost. In the spandrils formed by a square moulded dripstone,

there is on one side a shield bearing

* His walking stick having a large ivory handle, upon which is engraved "John

Fowler, Yarmouth, 1703," is in the collection of Robert Fitch, Esq., of Norwich.

1 Palmer’s Addenda: Joseph Ames – in 1748, Ames published “A catalogue of

English Heads”, being the first attempt at giving a list of portraits; followed by Grainger.

120

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

the Cross of St. George, and in the other a shield with a merchant's

mark, which has not been identified, and of which an

engraving is here given. This apartment was probably a hall

belonging to the Guild of St. George, which was one of the

most important and wealthy societies in the borough,

numbering among its members many of the most influential

inhabitants. By a certificate rendered in 1388, and still preserved among

the Chancery Miscellaneous Rolls (No. 121) in the Public Record

Office, it appears " that John Elys, Nicholas Drayton, Hugh atte Fen,

and divers other persons, burgesses of the town of Great Yarmouth,

were at that time accustomed to meet in the Church of St. Nicholas on

the Feast of St. George the Martyr annually, and there to give, out of

their pious devotion, certain sums of money at their will, to support one

holy chaplain in the Chapel of St. George there, for the souls of our lord

the king and his progenitors, and the souls of all faithful persons

deceased, to he celebrated each day; and also to find two tapers and two

lighted candles in the aforesaid chapel during the celebration of mass

there, and to provide-other necessary ornaments for the altar of " St.

George in honor and praise of the Omnipotent God. And of the "sums

of money so given, Robert atte Gappe, Robert Holyn, Thomas March,

and Thomas Toppecroft had then in their hands £20 in safe and secure

keeping to provide security for the salvation of their souls." In this

Chapel of St. George was preserved a relic of the saint set in gold;* and

this guild seems to have been the most important one in the church, for

it gave its name to an aisle; and in 1382 John Keppes, of whose will Sir

John Fastolfe, K.G., was an executor gave 10s. to it. Some notice of the

Yarmouth Guilds has already been given in vol. i., pp. 67 and 275.

Among the Chancery Miscellaneous Rolls before mentioned, there are a

number of certificates or returns, written in Norman French, made by

the guilds at Yarmouth in the reign of Richard II. in obedience to the

king's proclamation. f They are very curious; testi-

* It was customary for each guild to preserve a relic of its patron saint, upon which

the members could be sworn on admission.

f They were required, because it was feared these institutions were being diverted to

political purposes, in hostility to the government,

GREAT YARMOUTH

121

fying as they do to the then condition and purposes of such guilds; and

as these returns have never been printed, some extracts from them are

here given. In that made by Alderman John Hoghton in 1363 relating to

the "foundation, continuation, and. rule of the Brotherhood of the Holy

Trinity in the Church of St. Nicholas," it is stated that the following

"observances" were sworn to he "inviolably observed." " First —It is

provided that the brothers and sisters shall find one " lighted candle in

the Chapel of the Holy Trinity for ever in honor of "the Undivided

Trinity." " Item. —That they meet annually on a certain day provided for

the celebration of Easter, in like manner as is done on the day of the

Holy Trinity, and that they meet, honestly on the day of the Holy

Trinity, as it is proper to do according to the custom of the town; and if

any one be absent without leave he shall pay 2 lbs. "of wax." Item. —If

any one wickedly use contumacious words or detraction, or in any other

way act against any of the brotherhood, he shall pay 2 lbs. of wax."

Item. —If any of the brotherhood offend in anything aforesaid, it is

provided by the fraternity that he clears and. "justifies himself.''

"Item. —If it happen ill at any of the brethren suddenly want assistance,

it is provided that seven pence be laid out every week while he lives,

and that, on the day of sepulture, lights be provided about the body by

the common fraternity." Item. —It is "provided that on the death of any

brother fifty-two masses be celebrated for his soul and the salvation of

all the community; and that on the same day every one of the brothers

and sisters say or cause to "be said three salutations to the Blessed

Virgin, and an offering of three farthings to be distributed to so many

poor." This return is authenticated by the seal of the deanery of Flegg

and the town seal j and a memorandum is added that there was then "in

the common box "the sum of 40s. to sustain the lights of the said

brotherhood, and other works of charity.

By the return for the Guild of St. Peter it appears that it consisted

of four men and four women, who provided one wax candle to be burnt

in honor of that saint, and that they had then in money for the

maintenance of such candle £4 in the hands of John de Halle and

William Yue.

The '' Society of Shoemakers of the Blessed Mary of Arneburgh" was

VOL. II.

122

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

not than a guild as they had "no constitution, ordinances, or privileges,

but by common, consent they found a lighted taper to burn all the year

round before the image of the said Blessed Mary,"

For the same reason the Society of St, Christopher was not in 1363 a

guild, but annually at the "feast of the glorious martyrs the members

met and each one laid out 40d. in aid and sustentation of one altar, and one

chaplain to make divine celebration at such altar from day to day, and

if any one should wish to withdraw from the society he pays fully for

that year to the year following, and they had then £10 in money to

expend on the aforesaid pious uses."

The Society of Corpus Christi was not then a guild, "but by their

common consent they founded and sustained an honest light about

Corpus Christi yearly, upon the day of Corpus Christi."

The Society of St. John the Baptist found "for all the year one lighted

taper before the image of St. John aforesaid;" and Hugh Fastolf and

divers other persons "founded one light to be carried before the priest so

often as he should be with the body of Christ visiting any sick person,"

which had been done for forty years previously, and they had then in

their hands about 100s.

Mention has already been made of the Guild of St. Crispin for

Cordwainers;* but there was also the Guild of the H OLY T RINITY for the

improvement of the Fraternity of Cobblers and Leather Dressers, who had a

chapel in St. Nicholas' Church, in which a wax candle was kept

burning, and where in a "chest with a cover" were preserved one missal,

one chalice, two phials for wine, two towels, two palls, two vestments,

and other goods. Members within ten miles of the town were required

to attend all meetings of the guild, especially that which was yearly held

on the day of St. Gregory the Pope, being the anniversary of all the

deceased of that fraternity, when all were personally to offer their

assistance at the mass in St. Nicholas' Church, and contribute to the

relief of the poor and needy; and on that day every brother and sister

was to sing a psalm to the

* William Scarburgh, A Member of this Guild of Cordwainers, bore or ., two bars

and a canton az .—See Papworth's Ordinary, p. 21; and the Scarburghs of North

Walsham bore or., a chev. betw. three castles gu., confirmed in 1614—p. 405.

GREAT YARMOUTH

123

Blessed Mary for their souls." Every absent member was to forfeit his

proportion of food, drink, and alms, which instead were to be given to

the poor; and if he could shew no sufficient cause of absence he was

compelled to pay 3 lbs. of wax. In case of any member dying "a mioiety

of his chattels, being in the said fraternity, was distributed for his soul

in pure alms," and the other moiety remained "for the aid and support of

the same fraternity." The brothers and sisters, in their own persons, had

to attend at the place wherever the body of the deceased might be, to

perform all offices until the body should be buried, and offer up at mass

and give into the hands of the Alderman of the Guild one penny, with

which he was to cause masses to be celebrated for the soul of the

deceased within the seventh day after his death; and on the day of the

burial each should attend and sing three psalms to the Blessed Mary.

Decayed members were allowed 10 1 / 2 d. a year, one tunic without a

hood, and three pairs of shoes.

The Guild of the Ascension maintained a wax candle of 4 lbs. which

was burnt at the vespers of the Ascension, and matins, masses, and post

vespers on the feast day, when the brothers and sisters annually

assembled and dined together; and provision was made for thirteen poor

men, each member contributing one penny, and every absent member

was to "say his prayers as ordained in the olden time." On the following

Sunday all the brothers and sisters were to attend mass, and repeat six

"Pater Nosters," six "Aves," and one "Credo," and be present at a supper.

On the next Friday after vespers they were to assemble in honor of the

wounds of our Saviour, and every brother and sister had to say five

''Pater Nosters,'' five "Aves, " and one ''Credo." On the day of the

Ascension they were to assemble at dinner and supper, to carry

themselves "honestly," and none to depart until dismissed, any

infringement of the rules to subject the offender to a fine of 4 lbs. of

wax. Any member being without the town or "over the sea" so that h\e

could not attend, was to "come by his attorney to the dinner," and if no

one came the portion was to be given to the poor; but if sick his portion

was sent to him, he "praying the prayers aforesaid;" On the death of a

member each brother and sister attended the funeral, saying the "psalter

of our lady" for his soul, every one in turn praying

124

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

during the obsequies, and on the morrow they were to assemble and

follow the corpse to the church, and offer one farthing for masses for

his soul and to give each a farthing to a poor man, but if he that was

dead was "over the sea " every brother and sister had to give one penny

to the poor " for his soul;" and after the death of any brother or sister,

sixty masses were to be provided out of the common stock to the

amount of 5s, Any member falling into poverty was to he allowed 8d.

per week. Any member who should “speak or procure any villainy” was

to be fined 6s. 8d. Members dying in poverty were to be buried at the

expense of the community; and any one not attending a meeting when

summoned was to forfeit 1 lb. of wax. These articles were certified by

John Caneiere, Alderman of the Guild.

The brothers and sisters of the fraternity of St. George the Martyr,

"in the shambles next the Church of St. Nicholas," provided one taper

of 6 lbs. to be burnt before the image of the saint during divine service.

On the feast day of the martyr they were to meet at St. Nicholas'

Church, "to hear a solemn mass" and make their offerings and requests

for the predecessors of their fraternity; after which they were to meet at

an Inn, and there "honestly without noise, strife, or discord, commune

together;" every absent member to forfeit his portion of meat and drink

which was to be given to the poor; and if being in the town he did not

attend or show lawful impediment, he was compelled to pay 8 lbs. of

wax for the maintenance of the aforesaid light. When any member died

all the brothers and sisters were "honestly to meet at the first

obsequies," and each in their own person to repeat "Salutations" for the

soul of the deceased, fifteen "Pater Nosters," fifteen "Hail Marys," and

one "Credo;" and on the morrow they were to meet the corpse "and aid

and assist as is venerable and honest to do," and carry the same to

church where the funeral was to take place, and there each to offer at

three several masses one farthing, and not depart till the body was

"honestly buried;" and each member was to have thirty-three masses

celebrated for his soul on the day of burial "to be provided from their

common chattels." Every member being in need was to have a weekly

allowance of 7 1 / 2 d. and one tunic, one cape, one pair of hose, two pairs

of shoes, and two pairs of linen cloths; and if he died in want

GREAT YARMOUTH

125

the fraternity were to provide "six tapers -weighing 6lbs. of wax to be

decently and honestly burnt at the burying, to the honor of God." Any

member causing "any discord, trouble, or inquietude," was to forfeit 6s.

8d. Any member haying any money in his hands for '' the bettering of

the profits of the fraternity" and not refunding the same when required

was subject to expulsion, and was to be "punished according to

ecclesiastical law." Any person withdrawing by reason of sorrow or

trouble was to be assisted. All articles then in force were "viewed,

surveyed, and examined" by John Blythe, Perpetual Dean of Flegg and

the Town of Great Yarmouth, who "having made diligent inspection"

found the same to be of good intention, and wisely composed according to

law, and in all things praiseworthy and meritorious, whereupon at the

request of the fraternity he confirmed and corroborated the same and

set his seal of office thereto.*

At the south-east corner of Row No. 88 lived, in the present

century, a baker named Bassingthwaite 1 , whose ship-biscuits were long

celebrated for their excellence, f

Row No. 89 , from Howard Street to King Street, is one of the

narrowest rows in the town, and contains some very ancient houses. At

the north-east corner is a house which escheated to the town; and at the

south-east corner is another old house bearing on its front the initials

H.N., but the new shop-front hides the date which extended across in

iron figures,

Row No. 90 , from Middlegate Street to the south end of Howard

Street, called Mew's half Row, from Mitchell Mew, twice Bailiff and

* Dean Blythe was fined in the sum of 10s. by the bailiffs in 1394, for taking an

"extortion" unjustly of Robert Porter "for simple fornication;" he having been previously

corrected before the bishop's visitor for that offence; and two years later they fined him

6s. 8d. for taking from the executors of the wife of Thomas Eir an excessive fee for

proving her will. Blyth is a name of long continuance in Norfolk and in Great Yarmouth.

William Blythe was a member of the corporation in 1472.

t A gravestone in Yarmouth churchyard (one of the oldest remaining) is to the

memory of Samuel Bassingthwaite, who died in 1690, aged 56. In 1671, on his marriage

with Elizabeth, daughter of William Ruter of Norwich, he made a settlement of a

messuage, then newly built, on the east side of Middlegate Street, which he had

purchased of John Woodroffe in 1667,

1 Palmer’s Addenda: Bassingthwaite – in 1639 Thomas Bassingthwaite had a licence

“to go into Holland to see friends and to return in a month”.

126

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

once Mayor of this Town," as his epitaph recorded, who died in 1696,

aged 71, and who had property adjacent. In old writing's it is sometimes

named Mister Mew’s half Row. Mitchell Mew filled the office of bailiff

in 1670 and 1681; and that of mayor in 1687, in which capacity he

attended upon Prince George of Denmark when his royal highness

landed at Yarmouth. In the same year he entertained the Earl of

Dartmouth, Sir Henry Shiers, and. Sir Martin Beckman with their

retinue for three days, when they came down to advise about the haven;

and he was allowed £40 for his disbursements on that occasion,

exclusive of " horses' meat, servants' expenses, and horse shoeing." It

was in his mayoralty that James II. made his last effort to obtain a

majority in the municipal council. He had already dismissed seventeen

corporators; and in August, 1688, a privy council order was read in open

assembly dismissing seventeen more; as also a letter from the king

naming the persons proposed by him to supply the vacancies; many of

whom refused to serve.* A few weeks later a further order was received

to displace other seven members of the corporation, and his majesty's

wishes were enforced by the presence of Prince George of Denmark's

Regiment of Dragoons. The officers and men had billets at the public

houses, the coffee houses, and the houses of brandy sellers, brewers,

bakers, butchers, cooks, and cheesemongers; and an attempt was made

to quarter them at private houses which was resisted. Provision had to

be made "for the horses of the troops ordered to be quartered in the

borough;" and it appears that the chamberlains had to bear all charges,

and receive the pay of the said soldiers towards the same. The burthen

became intolerable, and the mayor petitioned the king for relief and ease

from the pressure of the dragoons. Before he left office, Mew had the

honor of entertaining the Duke of Norfolk and Mr. Negus, his grace's

secretary, at his house, for which he was allowed £30 but this included

the expenses of "rejoicing at the birth of the Prince of Wales," known

afterwards as the Old Pretender. The object of the duke was no doubt to

ascertain what part the town would take in the then threatened "Dutch

invasion."

* Macaulay asserts, vol. ii., p. 337, quoting Citters, that in the course of a few days

James II. appointed three different sets of magistrates at Yarmouth, all of whom proved

equally hostile to the court.

GREAT YARMOUTH

127

At the south-west corner of this row is a house and shop formerly the

property and residence of Godfrey Goddard, whitesmith. At the opposite

corner, facing Middlegate Street, is an old house (now divided) which had on

the first floor three large oblong windows now modernized. In 1674 it was in

the possession of William Tracey, and then formed part of an estate called

Ashfields. In 1770 it was conveyed by the Rev. Robert Adkin to Mr. Briggs,

whose widow in 1786 sold it to Thomas Ridge, surgeon, who resided here until

he removed to the Quay. See vol. i., p. 378.

Row No. 91 is a continuation of Mew's half Row, and leads from Howard

Street to King Street. In a house on the north side, towards the east end, there

resided a wretched old man, upwards of 70 years of age, named John Hannah 1 ,

who here murdered his wife in 1813; for which crime he was hanged on the

North Denes.* This was the last public execution which took place, or which

probably ever will take place within the borough; the power of trying capital,

offences being abolished by the Municipal Corporation Act, 1835, all such

criminals are now committed to Norwich Castle to be tried by the Judges of

Assize, f As no tenant could subsequently be induced to inhabit this house, it

was pulled down and a stable erected on the site. This row in Armstrong's map

is called Harrison's Row. The house at the south-east corner of Row No. 91 was

purchased in 1804 of John William Tapp, then a First Lieutenant in the Royal

Artillery and Ordnance Store Keeper, only son of Captain William Tapp,

Adjutant of the East Norfolk Regiment of Militia, who died in 1797. J In this,

and

* The house which had belonged to the murderer escheated to the corporation, who

for £10 enfeoffed it to Robert O. Smith, a cousin of the late owner whose silver buckles,

watches, and earrings were also taken possession of by the corporation, as being the

forfeited goods of a felon.

t Jodrell, then recorder, who was of "a quiet and obliging disposition," rather than

condemn a man to death, resigned his office, leaving the disagreeable duty to his

successor. Jodrell had been recommended to the corporation by the Townshend pa,rty,

who, on his resignation, nominated Serjeant Blossett; but new influences were brought to

bear, and Alderson was elected recorder. For an account of the Jodrell family, see P. C.,

p. 348.

j Eliza, his widow, died in 1834, aged 85.

1 Palmer’s Addenda: John Hannah – in the new ground just to the east of King Henry’s

Tower, were buried in 1813, without without ceremony and without any stone to mark the

spot, the dissected remains of the malefactor. (This was at the height of the interest in

bodies for dissection, but who had the body for dissection, and was it thought that there

might be some difference to be found in the brain of a murderer?)

128

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

other rows, might be seen a notice that a sedan chair was kept for hire.*

Row No. 91 ½ , is no thoroughfare, and

leads from Middlegate Street to a cottage built

over the east cloister of the Church of the

Grey Friars, a portion of which in a very

perfect state forms the entrance to the house,

as seen in the annexed engraving.

Row 92 , from South Quay to Middlegate Street.

This row was formed through the precincts of

the Convent of the Grey Friars, in pursuance

of the condition already mentioned, made by

the corporation on the sale by them of the

property in 1659. The house at the south-west

corner, fronting the Quay, now divided into

two occupations (No. 18 and 14), was built

* This favorite mode of conveyance for ladies to

dinner and evening parties was retained in Yarmouth till

the end of the first quarter of the present century. Sedan chairs were introduced into this

country in 1634 by Sir Sanders Buncombe, Knt., who had seen them at Sedan, a town

lately become celebrated as the scene of the defeat and surrender of Napoleon III and in

the following century Sedan chairs became fashionable, their great advantage being that

they could be taken into the house itself, and thus the fair occupants were not only

effectually protected from the weather, but their elaborate and lofty head dresses and

hooped silks suffered no disarrangement. Excited youths would, however, sometimes play

tricks by acting the part of amateur Sedan bearers, leaving the chair with its precious

freight in the middle of a street or row; and it is said, that the chairmen themselves were

sometimes frightened off by the mischievous cry of "The press gang!" The chair in the

above-named row was kept by a very singular character, William Green, a ropemaker by

trade. Endowed by nature with a most retentive memory, he rendered himself extremely

useful to the political party to which he was attached, by his personal knowledge of

almost every freeman, and the influences most likely to have weight with him. An

apparent simplicity of manner concealed in a great measure his more subtle purposes.

When asked what he was, by a committee of the House of Commons (before whom he

was examined respecting some alleged "corrupt practices"), he replied, with amusing

naivete " a true British Englishman." Towards the close of his life his services were

recognised by the presentation of a piece of plate in the form of a tea pot, paid for by

subscription; after which he was familiarly called "Tea-pot Green." Selling his ropewalks

on York Road to the town council, he retired upon an annuity, and died in 1863, aged 74.

GREAT YARMOUTH

129

about the year 1776 by Thomas Carrington, who had leave to “bring out”

his front to the present line, all the houses on this part of the Quay

having originally stood some feet farther back. It was for many years

the property and residence of J AMES H URRY , Esq.

The family of H URRY were, during the last and at the commence-

ment of the present century, numerous, wealthy, and, as we have seen

(ante. p. 103), of some political importance in Yarmouth.* Thomas

Hurry, second of the name, who died in 1780, aged 86, married Elizabeth,

daughter of Gabriel Clifton, by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of John Ives,

the grandfather of the antiquary (ante. p. 71). He had a family of seven

surviving sons, namely, (1) Thomas, of whom hereafter; (2) Gabriel,

who settled at North Shields as a shipowner and merchant; (3) John, of

whom presently; (4) Samuel, of whom we shall have occasion to speak;

(5) Francis who became an extensive shipbuilder at Howden Docks on

the Tyne, and died in 1808, leaving issue; (6) William, of whom

hereafter; and (7) George, already mentioned vol. i., p. 387. f John, the

third son above-named, married Sarah Winn, and died in 1782, leaving

three sons, the first of whom, John, settled as a merchant and shipowner

at Liverpool, and died there in 1806, leaving a son, Nicholas Hurry of

Liverpool, whose daughter, Eliza, married John Laird, Esq,, M.P. for

Birkenhead. x Samuel, another son of John. Hurry of Liverpool, left,

England for the United States of North.

* There was a belief in the family that the name had originally been Urrie, and that

they came from Scotland. The arms of Urrie are arg., a lion ramp, gu., crowned and

chained or. The arms used by the Yarmouth family, and adopted by the American

"branch, are arg., in chief a lion ramp, gu., and in base, two mulletts voided az., with a

harpy for the crest, and the motto— neo arrogo neo dubito, See Papworth's Ordinary of

Arms. Certain it is that Thomas Hurry, from whom this family trace their descent,

purchased the freedom of the borough in 1701. There was in Yarmouth a family named

Scurry. 1 Had one of them married into the above family, the progeny might have been

called Hurry-Scurry! Flight Scurry, almost as singular a name, was admitted a freeman,

in 1747. Benjamin Scurry died in 1732, aged 67.

f A man who has left few equals in cheerfulness of disposition, in steadiness and

warmth of friendship, and in kindness and "benevolence to the poor;" saith the Norfolk

Chronicle,

X Laird bears arg., a chev. gu., betw. two boars' heads couped ppr., and a crescent

gu., and for a crest, a stag - 's head , ppr.

1 Palmer’s Addenda: Scurry – Flight Scurry, son of Flight Scurry was admitted to his

freedom by birthright in 1759.

VOL. II.

130

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

America, and settled at Philadelphia, where he became the founder of

the American branch of the Hurry family. He married in 1798 Eliza

Anne, eldest daughter of William Whiteside, and by her had a numerous

family, of whom the eldest surviving son is William Whiteside Hurry,

Esq., of New York,* who married Adeline, second daughter of Samuel

Hinman, of an old puritan family, and has issue one son, William Hurry

of New York, and eight daughters, viz. (2) Anne Elizabeth, m. to Gavin

Brackenridge; (2) Sarah, m. to William Henry Boss; (3) Caroline; (4)

Adeline, m. to F. H. N. Whiting: (5) Margaret; (6) Jane, m. to William

Floyd Livermore; (7) Alice, m. to S. C. Selden; and (8) Frances.

Edmund Cobb Hurry, another son of the above-named Samuel Hurry,

born at Philadelphia in 1807, married Elizabeth Maria, second daughter

of James Flanagan of New York (eldest son of Christopher Flanagan of

Dublin), and has issue an elder son, Edmund Abdy Hurry, of New

York, counseller-at-law, who has compiled a genealogical account of

the American branch of the Hurry family. f Margaret, eighth child of the

above-named Samuel Hurry, married Francis Emannel Siffken, who

resided for some years at Eltham in Kent. James Hurry, the possessor of

the above-mentioned house, was the second son of John and Sarah

Hurry before mentioned. He married Mary, second daughter of W. D.

Palmer, Esq., and died in 1842, aged 79, s.p. t In the above-mentioned

house James Hurry, during the contested election in 1818, entertained

the Hon. George

* He has a considerable landed estate known as Bamber in Ocean County, New

Jersey; named in remembrance of Dr. John Bamber of Barbing in Esses, from whom Mrs.

Hurry, his mother, was descended. The Whitesides were long seated at Poulton-le-fylde,

Lancashire ; and in the Hurry family is preserved a silver tankard out of which George III.

drank when he paid a visit to Poulton. It bears the crest of Whitesides, a lion rampant.

Bamber bore arg., a pheon sa. t on a chief of the last a lion pass, of the first. Mr. Wm. W.

Hurry made frequent visits to England, and on one occasion rented for a year Gwersyllt

Park, Denbigh, North Wales.

t Memorials of the Hurry Family, embracing both the English Scottish and the

American branch, are about to be printed for private distribution.

J He was a gentleman of the old school, and one of the last in Yarmouth who wore a

pigtail 1 . He left a considerable fortune; and by his will, among other legacies, bequeathed

£1,000 to be invested in consols for the benefit of the “New Meeting” and £200 to the

Trustees of the Muster Roll.

1 A fashion somewhat revived on occasion, recently. John Rose, ex Thrigby Hall,

part owner of the East Anglian Kentucky fried chicken franchise, sold about 1983,

treasure hunter extraordinaire, often sports such an appendage. (See also RRH.)

2 On Thursday 10 th January 2008, I attended the west chapel of Eltham

Crematorium, for the funeral service of my Uncle, George Rawlins. It is notable that in

such a suburb there are four chapels all capable of simultaneous use and a strict half an

hour for each service, as well as a separate church to conduct the burials, now less

common. We repaired to the Royal Blackheath afterwards, the splendid former residence

of the Duke of Buckingham, who had had to sell in bankruptcy, and also parted with

Buckingham House, now the palace. The Royal Blackheath Golf Club is actually within

the Parish of Eltham, rather than Blackheath. The House is known as “Eltham Lodge”,

built 1664. The club claims a date of foundation of 1608, though there is no documentary

evidence to substantiate it. The club is making splendid use of the old mansion, by

hosting large private gatherings weddings and parties. Dr Thomas Browne R.N., of the

Royal Blackheath Golf Club, came to Caister to found the new golf course and links as it

now exists, in 1882, and there were many exchange visits between the two clubs. Horace

Hutchinson, the Amateur Golf Champion in 1886, was a member at the Caister and Great

Yarmouth Club, and wrote a book on how to play the game, published 1890.

GREAT YARMOUTH

131

Anson when, canvassing for his brother, the Hon. T. W. Anson, who

within six weeks after his election to a seat in the House of Commons

succeeded his father in the House of Lords as Viscount Anson; where-

upon the Hon. George Anson was himself elected, and subsequently

represented the borough in five successive Parliaments ; and upon these

occasions was the frequent guest of Mr. Hurry.*

The space between Row No. 92 and Row No. 96, facing Middlegate

Street, is occupied by a chapel belonging to the Unitarians, erected in

1845 from a design, in modern Gothic, by Hilling. It stands upon the

site of the Old Meeting already mentioned, which was erected upon what,

had been the Artillery Yard, and had previously formed part of the

precincts of the Grey Friars. We have (ante. p. 46) given some account

of the several pastors down to the time of Ralph Milner, who having, as

there described, obtained undivided sway over the Old Meeting by the

* For an account of these elections, see P.C, p. 234. Capt. Gronow, in his

Recollections, p. 12, says, "At daylight on the ever memorable 18th. of June, 1815 we

wars agreeably surprised to see a detachment of the 3rd Guards, commanded by Capt.

Wigston and Ensign George Anson. I took the opportunity of giving Anson, "then a fine

lad of seventeen, a silver watch made by Barwise, which his mother, Lady Anson, had

requested me to take over to him." Colonel Anson, the Member for Yarmouth, was long

known as a leader in. the world of fashion; and was equally renowned in sporting circles.

"He excelled," says a well-known writer, in every thing he tried—a first-rate shot, a

capital rider, a good oarsman, a great walker, and one of the best whist players in

England." On the accession of the whigs to power, 1834, his elder brother was advanced

to the Earldom of Lichfield, and chosen High Steward of Yarmouth; and Colonel Anson

filled the office of Principal Store Keeper of the Ordnance under Lord Melbourne's

administration, and was also Clerk of the Ordnance from 1846 to 1862. In 1855, having

attained the rank of Lieut.-General, he was sent to India as Commander-in-Chief. Hotson,

who afterwards distinguished himself by capturing the King of Delhi; thus speaks of

him:— "I had an interview with General Anson, and I hope a satisfactory one. He is a

very pleasant mannered and gentlemanly man, open and frank in speech, and quick to a

proverb in apprehension, taking in the pith of a matter at a glance." Shortly afterwards (in

1857) the Indian Mutiny broke out, and on his way to the scene of action, General Anson

was seized with cholera and died at Kurnaul, aged fifty-nine. He married the second

daughter of Lord Forester. She was distinguished by great personal beauty and grace of

manner, and sometimes accompanied her husband when he visited his constituents. : She

died at Ecton Hall, Northamptonshire, in 1858, from having swallowed a wrong

medicine. There are portraits of General and Mrs. Anson by Count D'Orsay, which have

been engraved.

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THE PERLUSTRATION OF

secession, of Frost, turned his attention to matrimony, and in 1733 married

Miss Dolly Finch of Norwich. (See ante. p. 69.) In 1743 he received, as

an assistant, Mr. John Whitesides who was born at Lancaster and

educated at Kendal; and preached at Great Salkeld in Cumberland.

Milner died in 1761, and was succeeded by Whitesides,* who was after a

time assisted by the Rev. George Walker, The latter was born at

Newcastle in 1734, and was sent to the Free School there, then

conducted by the Rev. Dr. Moyses; being the same seminary at which

Lord Chancellor Eldon and Lord Stowell received their education. At

this school Walter gave tokens of uncommon capacity for literary

acquirements. At an early age he went to his uncle, the Rev. Thomas

Walker, a dissenting minister at Durham, and was placed in the

Grammar School there, whence, after acquiring a thorough knowledge

of Greek and Latin, be proceeded to the University of Edinburgh where

he studied mathematics, but removed to Glasgow for the sake of the

divinity lectures, and there Walker completed his studies. He first settled

at Durham, where he succeeded his uncle who removed to Leeds; and

after continuing there seven years he, in 1772, accepted an invitation

from Yarmouth, and in the same year married the daughter of Mrs.

Mayes, who was herself the daughter of Mr. Thomas Hurry, the second

of that name. Walker and Whitesides could not however agree, f which

was not surprising, for the two men in taste, habits, and form of thought

were totally different. Walker removed to Warrington and became

mathematical tutor in the academy there; and in 1775 printed his

* Sylas Neville brought a letter of introduction to him from Mr. Fleming, an eminent

dissenting minister in London. Writing in 1768, he says, "I waited on Mr. Whitesides,

who supped with me at the Wrestlers. He is a plain good sort of man, but not so warm in

the cause of liberty as Mr. Fleming."

f "Heard Walker preach at Filby," says Neville, 1772, "he earned me to drink tea at

an exceedingly neat farm-house, a Mr. Saul's, at Thrigby;" and farther on is this entry,—

"I find Mr. Walter is leaving this place in consequence of the "ungenerous behaviour of

Mr. Whitesides, who after giving it under his hand that Mr, Walker should be equal with

him in every respect, if agreeable to the congregation, retracted his promise by the

counsel (it is imagined) of his wife, whom, I always thought, a covetous woman."

Neville, who was then a bitter opponent of the established church, adds — "These things

among dissenters give an advantage to the common enemy."

GREAT YARMOUTH

133

Doctrine of the Sphere. In the same year he removed to Nottingham,

where he became one of the Minister of the High Pavement Meeting, and took

a very decided and active part in politics. He, on behalf of the

corporation of that place, drew up a petition for recognising American

independence, which as a composition is said to have obtained the warm

admiration of Burke. After a residence of twenty-four years at

Nottingham, Walker undertook the office of Theological Tutor and

Superintendent of the Dissenting Academy at Manchester ; but that

institution languishing, whilst the duties it imposed increased, he after a

few years resigned, and went to reside for the remainder of his days at

Wavertree near Liverpool. He died in London when on a visit in 1807,

and was buried in Bunhill Fields, that "Westminster Abbey" for

dissenters. "When at Manchester he became President of the literary and

Philosophical Society of that place in succession to Dr. Percival; and he

had also the honor of being admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society.

While a young man he collected a valuable library, and indulged his

taste for engravings, of which he possessed a considerable number by

the early masters.* By his above-mentioned marriage he left a daughter,

Sarah, who married Sir George Cayley, Bart., of Brompton House, near

Scarborough. There is an engraved portrait of Walker.

In 1785 Mr. George Cadogan Morgan, nephew of the celebrated

Dr. Price, was chosen co-pastor with Whitesides, but left the following

year to assist the doctor as mathematical tutor in a newly-established

dissenting college at Hackney; and preached at the Gravel-pit Meeting

House there. After a short time he resigned his professorship, and

laying, aside entirely the ministerial functions, devoted himself to private

tuition. He published " Lectures on Electricity;" and lost his life in 1798

by conducting, without due caution, some chemical experiments, He

married Anne, eldest daughter of William Hurry, Esq., and during the

latter years of his life resided at Southgate, Middlesex, Mrs. Opie

mentions having visited the Morgans there at a time when the trial of

John Horne Tooke was creating great excitement; and when there were

serious thoughts of a migration to America if the verdict should

* “ Mr. Walker showed me some fine prints of Albert Durer, Rembrant, and other old masters, which he had

lately collected at London." Sylas Nevills' M.S. Diary.

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THE PERLUSTRATION OF

be adverse to what was looked upon as the cause of freedom.

(Brightwell Memorials , p. 50.)

In 1786 the Rev. Michael Maurice of Southampton, came to

Yarmouth, from Kirby Cane in Norfolk, having been chosen co-pastor

with Whitesides and remained until 1792. He was a man of singular

eloquence, learning, and piety. Upon retiring from the ministry he took

up his abode at Normanston near Lowestoft, where he received a

limited number of pupils, by whom he was much beloved.* He opened

the Bible freely to his children, allowing them to take their own course,

and they all became energetic members of the Church, of England, f

The next assistant to Whitesides was the Rev. John Matthew

Beynon, who was a native of Swansea, and was educated at Carnarvon

and Warrington. After preaching for some time at Knowsley in

Lancashire, Beynon accepted an invitation to Yarmouth in 1772; and in

1775 he was “ordained” at Palgrave in Suffolk with Barbauld, Alderson,

and Pilkington; when a sermon On the duty of hearers was preached by

Whitesides, and a “Charge” delivered by Edward Pickard. Both

discourses were published "at the request of those who heard them."

* Normanston was subsequently the residence of T. P. Plowman, Esq., and lastly of

Edward Leathes, Esq..

f The only son who attained manhood was John Frederick Denison Maurice, who,

having taken orders in the Church of England, became one of her brightest ornaments. He

was a powerful preacher and writer, wielding more influence over the thought of England

than any of his contemporaries; a power "which will be continued through his writings for

generations to come. He was Professor of Moral Philosophy hi the University of

Cambridge; and died in 1872, in his 70th year. There is a portrait of him by Lawrence,

Rejecting the offer of a burial in Westminster Abbey, his relatives preferred to place his

remains in Highgate Cemetery. The chief mourners at his funeral were his sons, Lieut, E.

Maurice, P. A., and Mr. C. E. Maurice, barrister-at-law. The former won the Duke of

Wellington's prize of £100 by his essay on "Field Manoeuvres," and has "been appointed

Instructor of Tactics and Organization at Sandhurst". Mary, one of the daughters of the

Rev. Michael Maurice, actively employed herself in the collection of funds for the

erection of St. John's Church at Yarmouth, designed principally for the use of beachmen

and their families; and died while on a visit here in 1858. An aisle has since been added to

St, John' s Church by her friends, in memory of her. Esther Jane, another daughter,

married in 1844 the Rev. Julius Charles Hare, Archdeacon of Lewes, who has published

“Charges and Sermons,” but is best known as the joint author, with his brother, Augustus,

of "Guesses at Truth." Mrs. Hare died in 1864.

GREAT YARMOUTH

135

In 1792 the Rev. Thomas Martins was chosen pastor, and remained

until 1797 when, after stating his objections to public worship, he

resigned; and renouncing the ministry altogether became a merchant at

Liverpool. At one time he was esteemed a man of piety and learning,

but he so bewildered himself by his theological studies that at last he

renounced the Christian faith altogether, and in proof of his state of

mind publicly burned his Bible and the books he had been studying, on

the South Denes. Before leaving Yarmouth he published an explanatory

letter.*

Whitesides died by his own hand, and in his pocket book were

found the following lines.

" With toilsome steps I pass thro' life's dull road, "

no pack-horse half so weary of his load.;

''And when this dirty journey shall conclude,

"To what new realms is then my way pursued?

"Say — doth the pure-embodied spirit fly

To happier climes, and to a better sky ?

' ' Or, sinking, does it mix with kindred clay,

"And sleep a whole eternity away ?

Or, shall this form be once again renewed,

"With all its frailties and its hopes endued-,

"Acting once more on this detested staffe,

"Passions of youth — infirmities of age?

"I've read in Tully what the ancients thought,

"And judg'd unprejudic'd, what moderns taught,

"But no conviction from my reading springs;

" Yet one short moment will in full explain

What all philosophy has taught in vain;

" Will tell me what no human wisdom knows,

“ Clear up each doubt, and terminate my woes.

"Why then not hasten this decisive hour,

Still in my view, and men in my power ?

" Why should I drag along this life I hate,

" Without one hope to mitigate the weight ?

" Why longer should this mystery exist,

" When every joy is lost, and every hope dismist;

"In chains of darkness wherefore should I be,

"Mourning in prison, while I keep the "key ?"

In 1797 George Burnett was appointed to the pastorship of this

congregation. He had been at Baliol College, Oxford, with the intention

* See Gent. Mag. (1797) and Analytical Review, vol. xxv., p. 71.

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THE PERLUSTRATION OF

of being ordained a priest of the Church of England, but while there he

formed a friendship with Coleridge and Southey, and embracing their

then political and religious opinions, formed one of that band of

enthusiastic and somewhat visionary young men who proposed to plant

a "model republic," on the banks of the Susquehannah.* In the

following year Southey, who was then becoming famous, came to

Yarmouth for the purpose of placing his younger brother, Henry, under

the care of his friend Burnett for his education. It was on this occasion

that Burnett introduced Southey to William Taylor of Norwich, and

between them a literary friendship was established which, notwith-

standing the increasing differences in their religious and political

persuasions, continued to the end of their lives, f Soon after Southey's

visit, Burnett became dissatisfied with his position in Yarmouth, and

began to entertain scruples of conscience as to the doctrines he was

teaching. His father was a farmer; and at one time Burnett conceived

the idea of retiring to a farm in the neighbourhood of Yarmouth; but

instead of doing so he became, what his friends termed, "medicine

mad," and desired to go to Edinburgh for the purposes of study. He

* I went to Oxford in 1793," says Southey, "a stoic and a republican. I had no

acquaintance at the college, which was in a flagitious state of morals. I refused to wear

powder, when every other man in the university wore it, because I thought the custom

foolish and filthy and I refused even to drink more wine than suited my inclination and

my principles. Before I had been a week in college a little party got round me, glad to

form a sober society, of which I was the centre.'' One of these was Lloyd, who often

visited Burnett at Yarmouth, and is frequently mentioned by Southey. His sister married

the Rev. Christopher Wordsworth, Rector of Ashby and Oby (from 1804 to 1806),

brother of the poet of Rydall. "When Coleridge took up his residence at Nether Stowey in

Somersetshire, Lloyd was domiciled with him, and Burnett paid him occasional visits.

There Wordsworth was introduced to Coleridge, and so enjoyed his society that he took a

neighbouring house at Alfoxden in order to be near him, and Southey and Lamb

frequently joined this gathering of the poets. See Meteyard's Group of Englishmen, p. 70.

f Before Burnett left Yarmouth, young Southey was removed and placed with the Rev.

Michael Maurice at Normanston. After completing his education there, he was

apprenticed to Mr. Martineau, an eminent surgeon at Norwich; and ultimately settled at

Durham, where he practised as a physician. Robert Southey paid a visit to William Taylor

at Norwich in 1802; and in the following year Taylor endeavoured to prevail upon the

poet to take up his residence in that city and become the editor of the Isis, a paper which

Taylor had started, but which was doomed to be short lived,

GREAT YARMOUTH.

137

was, however, soon after leaving Yarmouth engaged by the eccentric

Earl of Stanhope as a tutor for his children, his recommendation being

the avowed extravagance of his opinions; but Burnett had only been a

week in that situation when his two pupils decamped; enticed away by

an elder sister, who avowed what she had done. It was said at the time

that Lord Stanhope's groom; who had been a go-between, was rewarded

with a place under government.* Burnett next accepted a Surgeoncy in

a Regiment of Militia; but soon quitted it in order to go to Poland to fill

the position of librarian and secretary to Count Zamoyski (a nobleman

of large possessions and enlightened opinions) and preceptor to his

children. After an absence of fifteen months he returned to England in

1805, and two years afterwards published an amusing View of the

present state of Poland. Ultimately he took to opium eating, and became a

confirmed hypochondriac 1 .

In 1800 Mr. Beynon became sole pastor, and continued to officiate

until his death in 1830; having served in the ministry for the long

period of sixty years. j In 1819 the Rev. Thomas Bowles, who was

* Earl Stanhope was so enamoured with French revolutionary principles that he

styled himself "a sans-culotte citizen in the House of Lords," which gave rise to the

following verses :—~ " Rank, character, distinction, fame,

" And noble birth forgot.

" Here, Stanhope, modest Earl, proclaims "

Himself a sans-coulotte.

"Of pomp and splendid circumstance,

"The vanity he teaches;

"And spurns, like citizen of France,

"Both coronet and breeches.''

Earl Stanhope died in 1816, aged 63. As his children preferred the politics of their uncle,

Pitt, to the extravagant notions of their father, the latter omitted to name any of them, in

his will, and bequeathed all his disposable property to strangers.

j He was much esteemed by his congregation as a fervent and honest preacher.

"With a good address and agreeable manners, and possessed of a melodious voice which

he did not refuse to exert for the amusement of his friends when assembled at the genial

suppers which prevailed in his time. Mr, Beynon was always a welcome guest to all

within the circle of his acquaintance. Dressed in a well-made, tight-fitting coat, knee

breeches with white stockings, polished shoes, and a well-brushed hat surmounting his

powdered head and pigtail, this old gentleman, the quintessence of neatness, might be

seen to the last years of his life taking his daily constitutional promenade on the jetty. He

was a good scholar, and was proud of having had Baron Alderson as one of his pupils.

1 More likely extremely debilitated from his drug addiction, opium being freely

available, and not illegal. In 1842, at the treaty of Nanjing, not only had Britain defeated

China to enforce the free use of certain ports, but the treaty included substantial payments

to be made to the British Government and British merchants for opium that had been

impounded by the Chinese, who were trying to stop the trade.

VOL. II.

138

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

minister at Filby, began to assist him.; and did so until his own death which

happened a few months previously to that of Mr. Beynon.* After Mr. Beynon's

death the pulpit was supplied by the Rev. Henry Bowles (son of the Rev,.

Thomas Bowles) and the Rev. Thomas Drummond in succession till 1831,

when the Rev. Henry Squire was appointed minister. f He resigned in 1862, and

was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Robinson, who resigned in 1864. The Rev.

T. M. Scott, now of Dunmurry near Belfast, supplied his place until 1866, when

the Rev. Richard Shelley was appointed sole minister. There was a grave yard

at the back of this chapel, now disused except by special permission. Within the

chapel are many mural monuments. The organ was presented by Mrs. G. D.

Palmer, eldest daughter of the Rev. J. M. Beynon.

Row No. 93 , from Middlegate Street to King Street. At the southwest

corner is a house which early in the 18th century was called the King's Head. In

1734 it was conveyed by John Money mount to Benjamin Jolly, baker, and

from that time it has been a baker's shop . J The house was rebuilt about the

year 1760, and has since been refronted; but at the back an old door, with

chamfered door posts still remains. The winter of 1766 was a period of great

distress in consequence of the dearness of provisions and the want of

employment." In order to relieve the poor, a subscription was entered into to

supply bread at a moderate price, and the above premises were hired for the

purpose. A system was organized under which upwards of 60,000 loaves were

distributed at 3d. the quartern loaf of 4lbs. 14oz. ; the price at the shops being

then 5d. Mr. John Bell, solicitor, was an active manager of this charity.

* Bowles resided in Queen Street, where he had a boarding and day school.

f He died at Hampstead in 1569, aged 62.

j Jolly, "by his will made in 1762, left £20 to the Charity School, £5 to every poor

man and woman in the Workhouse sixty years of age; £100 to the Fisherman's Hospital; a

further legacy of £100 to the Charity Schools; £400 to the Ministers of St. George's

Chapel, the annual income thereon to be by them divided among forty poor widows of

sixty years of ago; £100, the yearly income of which was by such ministers, to be

distributed in coals yearly in December; £100, the yearly income of which such ministers

were to apply as they thought proper; and £200 for binding poor boys "apprentices to

some handicraft."

GREAT YARMOUTH

139

Samuel King occupied these premises for many years; and hence this

row was called King the baker’s Row.

There have been in Yarmouth several families named King in

nowise related. In 1872 a glass bottle of antique shape was dredged

from the river, which "bore on one side, in raised letters, "Joseph King"

and the date "1733." 1 T HOMAS W ILLIAM K ING , York Herald, mentioned

in vol. i., p.182, was born in Yarmouth in 1802, and having displayed a

decided taste for heraldry, was placed at an early age in the College of

Arms, and for many years held the office of Rouge Dragon Pursuivant,

and subsequently that of York Herald. The amiability of his disposition,

the simplicity of his manners, and his unaffected piety, gained for him

many personal friends; while his professional abilities and strict

integrity were fully acknowledged. He was engaged in the Shrewsbury

and other important peerage cases ; and latterly assisted Garter as private

secretary. He was a frequent contributor to the Gentleman’s Magazine,

to Notes and Queries, to the transactions of the Society of Antiquaries,

and to those of the Archaeological Societies; and was for some time

Hon. Sec. to the Cocked-hat club. His large collections, relating

principally to Yarmouth, are now in the possession of the College of

Arms. The coat assigned to him was, a fesse arg. charged with a dragon

passant regardant, between three eagles displayed, two and one ; and for

a crest, a dragon passant regardant, chained, and collared.

Row No. 94 , from King Street to DeneSide. At the north-west

corner stands a stately house, erected early in the last century by Joseph

Cotman, Esq.,* who filled the office of mayor in 1745, 1757, and 1759.

On the last occasion he had the honor of entertaining Dr. Hayter,

Bishop of Norwich. He was esteemed as "a man of strict probity, steady

resolution and sound judgment, frugal and temperate, and inviolably

attached to the due observance of the laws and customs of his town and

country." He died in 1762, aged 56, f He was the

a f

f He had leave to put down, posts close to the clinkers in front of his dwelling house,

and also to put down a falling post at the end of the adjoining row to prevent carts driving

up and down the same, " there being no dwellers therein." The house

1 Perhaps no less remarkable, I have in my possession a collection of unbroken and

unused clay pipes that were dredged from Breydon by Roy Carr in his eel nets. Of these,

one measures 12 ½ inches, and another 11 ½ inches. See also RRH.- Lime Kiln Walk.

* The name is probably derived from Cote-man, a dweller in a cote—the local word

for isherman's cottage.

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THE PERLUSTRATION OF

grandson of Joseph Cotman, who died in 1724, aged 73;* and who by

Margaret his wife, who died in 1729, aged 78, left an only son, John

Cotman, who died in 1717, aged 89. The latter by Elizabeth his wife

(who afterwards married John Smith, and died in 1751, aged 72,) had a

son, John Cotman who married Miss Garter at Caister Castle in 1729,

and was elected mayor in 1742, after a contest which was one of the

most memorable on record. The inquest were shut up for three days and

three nights, by which time one of the supporters of his opponent, Mr.

William Browne, became ill from exhaustion, and the struggle for

supremacy terminated in favor of Cotman, a stout Hanoverian, while

Browne favored the Jacobites. The contest was renewed with still

greater severity in 1755, when the inquest, composed of ten common

councilmen and two commoners (freemen), were shut up in the

Guildhall from Friday noon ‘till the following Wednesday, when at last

nine out of the twelve named Cotman; "to the universal joy of all who

wished well for the genuine and native interest of the town," as the

Norwich Mercury expressed it. On the following Michaelmas day, when

sworn into office, Cotman gave "an elegant entertainment at the New

Hall, and the evening concluded with the firing of guns, sky rockets, and

a set of fireworks made by Mr. Walford, which gave great "satisfaction

to the spectators". The mayor shortly afterwards called a public meeting

at which he made a patriotic speech, which he took care should go down

to posterity, for it is entered in the assembly book (No. 12); and he

headed a subscription for "the support of his majesty King George and

his government, and the peace and security of this town." He had the

satisfaction of voting an address to the king on the defeat of "the

rebels;" and before his mayoralty expired news came that the Lord

Ogilvie, with Fotheringham of Fotheringham, Governor of Dundee,

David and Alexander Graham of Dundee, and David Graham of

Duntrune, called Lord Dundee, staunch adherents of the pretender, had

landed at Bergen and had been lodged by the governor in one of the

forts; and on the 9th of October there was a

still retains one of the those ponderous brass knockers which were fashionable in the last

century. (See vol. i. p. 329.)

• He left £60 to the Sherrifmuir School.

GREAT YARMOUTH.

141

general thanksgiving in Yarmouth for the suppression of the rebellion,

in Scotland. The Duke of Cumberland became a popular character; his

birthday was ordered to "be observed as a “ scarlet day;” and his "head"

was adopted as a public-house sign. Cotman died in 1772, aged 66, and

the family became extinct in Yarmouth.

The above-mentioned house was devised by the first-named Joseph

Cotman to his son, the Rev. John Cotman, Rector of Langham in

Suffolk and Chaplain to the Earl of Clarendon,* by whom it was let to

Henry Palmer Watts, Esq., and afterwards in 1786 sold to John Aikin,

Esq., M.D. He was the youngest child and only son of the Rev. John

Aikin, D.D., a dissenting minister at Kibworth in Leicestershire, where

he was born in 1747. He made choice of medicine as a profession, and

having studied in London and Edinburgh, and practised in several

places, ultimately took a physician's degree at the university of Leyden.

On his return from the continent he settled at Yarmouth, f but being of a

restless disposition, he, in the following year, removed to London.

Scarcely had he commenced practice there before he received an

invitation, signed by the leading inhabitants of all parties, to return to

Yarmouth, which he did; and it was then that he purchased the above-

mentioned house, described in a letter to a friend as a very good and

pleasant one." This invitation was a proof that his professional skill,

combined with his scientific and literary acquirements, and his amiable

and cultivated manners, had secured him a large circle of friends. The

comparatively superior education of the clergy at that time rendered

them the most agreeable of Dr. Aikin’s acquaintances,

* He died in 1822, aged 79. John Caiman, his son, was admitted a freeman in 1795.

and attended the Michaelmas dinner in 1800. On the following day he applied for the

freedom of the borough for his son, Lewis Marcell Cotman.

f His daughter, the well-known Lucy A IKIN , thus relates her recollection of the

journey of her father to that place. "I had just completed my third year when my father

decided on a removal from Warrington to Yarmouth. My grandmother, her maid, my

little brother and myself were packed in a post chaise; my father accompanied us on

horseback. It was Christmas week, the snow deep on the ground; the whole distance was

240 miles across the country, and we were six days in accomplishing it. The last night we

arrived at my aunt's, Mrs. Barbauld’s house at Palgrave, where my grandmother remained

behind; she died in a few days of the cold and fatigue.” Miss Aikin died at Hampstead in

1864, aged 82.

1 Palmer’s addenda: Aikin – the doctor’s grandfather was John Aikin, who transferred

himself at an early age from Kircudbright in Scotland, to London, where he became

master of a linen draper’s shop in Blowbladder street near Newgate Market, but the

family arms having been registered in the Herald’s College in Edinburgh, he claimed to

be of “Gentile blood”. He married Anne Bentall and died at Kibworth at the age of 92,

leaving three sons, the eldest being Dr John Aikin the dissenting minister, the father of

the physician. The former married Jane, the daughter of the Rev. John Jennings, by his

second wife, Anna Letitia.one of the many daughters of Sir Francis Wingate of

Harlington Grange Bedfordshire, by the Lady Anne, daughter of Sir Arthur Annesley,

first Earl Annesley. Howard the philanthropist resided for some time at Yarmouth where

he secured the services of Dr Aikin in preparing for the press his concluding volume on

Lanzarettoes, prisons, and hospitals, and a great part of the time of this distinguished man

was passed in the above-mentioned house (north-west corner, row 94, King Street, now

numbered row 91).

142

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

and he lived on terms of social friendship with many of them; but the

repeal of the Test Act being shortly afterwards agitated, Dr. Aikin

"although not agreeing in the religious opinions of any class of

dissenters," took up his pen and wrote pamphlets* in favor of that

measure, which in some degree estranged him from his clerical friends.

Immediately succeeding this controversy came the French revolution,

which was hailed by the doctor, in common with many of the most

enlightened of the community, as destined to elevate the whole human

race by establishing liberty, equality, and fraternity; but the atrocities

which soon after followed filled men's minds with distrust, lest similar

scenes should be enacted in England; and Dr. Girdlestone having been

invited to settle in Yarmouth, Dr. Aikin took his departure for London

in 1792 ; and there gave himself up almost entirely to literature. During

his residence in Yarmouth, Aikin composed his popular little work

entitled England Delineated in which he endeavoured, by a bold and

strong outline, to impress on the mind the discriminating character of

each county. He also prepared a new edition of Lewis's Materia

Medica, with all the alterations of the last London Pharmacopoeia, and

two or three new articles. Besides the political pamphlets already

alluded to, Aikin published a volume of Poems; and a View of the

Character and Public Services of Howard, a work for which he was

well qualified, having had a long personal intimacy with that great

philanthropist, whose notes, collected during his many journeys, were

placed in the doctor's hands. He also, when in Yarmouth, wrote a

poetical description of the situation of the town, which must be

acknowledged to possess great truth and power.

" a steril shore,

"Long level plains, the restless ocean's roar"

The rattling car, the shipwrights' sturdy toil,

The far-spread net, and heaps of finny spoil.

* The Spirit of the Church and of the Constitution compared, and An Address to the

Dissenters of England on their late defeat.

f Crompton describes this in a letter to Lord Chedworth. "in 1790," he says" I was a

great admirer of the French System. The perusal of Mr. Burke's book " first broke the

charm. Subsequent reflection and the complete accomplishment of "his predictions

confirmed in me the dislike I had conceived of the French "philosophy" Lord

Chedworth's letters to Crompton, p. 291

GREAT YARMOUTH.

143

" Keen Eurus sweeps o'er th' unsheltered land,

" Shakes the strong tow'r, and whirls the loosen'd sand ;

" Fair Flora shrinks, the trees averted bend,

"While their thin boughs a scanty shade extend ;

" And, for the flowering thickets' cheerful notes,

"Here hungry sea-fowl stretch their clamorous throats.

" And yet, e'en here, the soul-directed sight,

" "Which nature's views in ev'ry form delight,

"May catch, as o'er the brighten'd scene they gleam,

"Grandeur's strong ray, or beauty's softer beam.

" Frequent along the pebbly beach I pace,

" And gaze intent on ocean's varying face,

" Now from the main rolls in the swelling tide,

" And waves on waves in long procession ride;

" Gath'ring they come, till, gain'd the ridgy height,

"No more the liquid mound sustains its weight;

" It curls, it falls, it breaks with hideous roar,

" And pours a foaming deluge on the shore.

" From the bleak pole now driving tempests sweep,

"Tear the light clouds, and vex the ruffled deep,

" White o'er the sands the spouting breakers rise

" And mix the waste of waters with the skies.

" The anchoring vessels, stretch'd in long array,*

" Shake from their bounding sides the dashing spray;

" Lab'ring they ride, the tighten'd cables strain,

" And danger adds new terror to the main.

"Then shifts the scene, as to the western gales,

" Delighted commerce spreads her crowded sails ;

" A cluster'd group the distant fleets appear,

" And scatt’ring breaks in varied figures near ;

"Now, all illumin'd by the kindling ray,

" Swan-like, the stately vessel cuts her way:

" The full-wing'd ships now meet now swiftly pass,

" And leave long traces on the liquid glass :

" Light boats, all sail, athwart the current bound,

" And dot with shining specks the surface round;

* In one of his letters he says that “the grand sight of five hundred ships at anchor

waiting a southern breeze" had lost its effect upon him from its familiarity.

144 THE PERLUSTRATION OF

" Nor with the day the sea-born splendors cease,

" When evening lulls each ruder gale to peace;

"The rising moon with silvery lustre gleams,

"And shoots across the flood her quivering beams.

" Or if deep gloom succeeds the sultry day,

" On ocean's bosom native meteors play,

" Flash from the wave, pursue the dripping oar,

" And roll in flaming billows on the shore."

In 1797 Aikin retired from London to a country residence, and

eventually to Stoke Newington, whore, having out-lived his mental

faculties, he died in 1822, aged 74. There is an engraved portrait of

him. "He was," says Crabb Robinson, "a man of talent and of the

highest personal worth—one of the salt of the earth."*

Subsequently the fine old house above mentioned was converted

into two residences. That to the north (No. 26) was occupied for some

years by Capt. William Larke, R.N., usually called among his friends

"Governor Larke," because he was the first governor appointed to the

Naval Hospital after its erection. He was, says Mr. Dawson Turner in

his Sepulchral Reminiscences, a man "si quis alius of sound mind, with

a kind heart, and universally esteemed." He was buried at Stokesby,

Norfolk. His first wife dying in 1807, Capt. Larke married, secondly,

Elizabeth, eldest daughter of William Taylor, Esq. (ante. p. 81), and

widow of John Lucas Worship, Esq. f She died in 1848, aged 78.

The south part of the above-mentioned house (No. 27) was for

some years occupied by Mr. Alexander Woods, solicitor. His books

and a collection of pictures were sold by auction in 1850. t

* Diary ii, p. 239. Sir Henry Holland in his Recollections, p, 12, mentions visiting

him at Stoke Newington. "His sister, Mrs. Barbauld, who lived close to him, and his

daughter, Amy Aikin, gave a certain literary repute to this tranquil village."

f He was a Captain in the Army of the East India Company, on retiring from which

he resided at Runham, where he died and was buried. He had a brother, James Lucas

Worship, who was in the Civil Service of the same company, and died in India. John

Lucas Worship, "for many years a resident in Bengal," died in 1789, aged 37.

j This family of Woods flourished greatly at Westleton in Suffolk from a very early

period, but are now extinct there. They bore party per pale or. and sa., three eagles

displayed counterchanged. See East Anglian.

GREAT YARMOUTH

145

Row No. 95 , from Middlegate Street to King Street called Kittywitches'

Row. At the east end it is of the width of four feet and a half, and

contracts as it approaches its western extremity, where it is barely

thirty inches wide, so that a stout man can scarcely pass through without

touching the walls. This row bends considerably towards the south,

and is at one part built over; while the lofty walls on either side give

it a gloomy appearance even on the brightest day, and render it a fitting

scene for deeds of mystery and darkness. Kitty Witches, according to

Forby, were women who, at certain seasons of the year, went about

from house to house, in grotesque dresses, levying contributions.* That

Yarmouth was not exempt from the

old superstition about witches, is

evident by the numerous

prosecutions which are recorded on

the borough rolls. In 1583 two

women were indicted at the

Yarmouth sessions for witchcraft

were adjudged to stand openly in

the Market Place every market day

until they confessed their guilt.

One of them obstinately refused to

obtain her liberty on these terms,

and she was remanded there to

abide for a whole year, being from

time to time put in the pillory at the

discretion of the bailiffs; but these measures proved ineffectual to obtain

a confession, and the unhappy creature was ultimately hanged. To the

disgrace of the age, Parliament, in 1644, issued a commission

authorising Matthew Hopkins to make a circuit of the associated

* It has been, suggested, however, that this row may not have derived its name

from having harboured witches, but because Mr. Christophcr Wych lived in a house

at one end of it. This surname has not been met with in local history, but it is one

which prevailed elsewhere in. the 15th century. Richard Wych, accused of heresy for

upholding the doctrines of Wycliffe was roasted till nearly dead in 1417. He escaped

with his life that time ; but in 1440, when upwards of 80 years of age he was burnt to

ashes on Tower Hill. “Kitty Witch” is a name given to a small species of crab found

on Breydon; and it has been ingeniously suggested that this row may have been so

called, because at the west end it; is more convenient to enter it sideways like a crab.

VOL. II.

146

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

counties for the purpose of discovering witches; and in the following

year the corporation, equally ignorant in this respect, although ardent for

civil and religious liberty, invited him to Yarmouth, where he speedily

pointed out sixteen old women, "in league with the devil," who were all

at the ensuing sessions tried, condemned, and executed. Men were not

altogether exempt from this persecution, for Matthew Pryme had three

indictments against him, one for bewitching John Howlett, whereby he

sickened and wasted away; another for enchanting Ann Cann's cushion ;

and the third for telling John Ringer what had become of his money; but

he was acquitted. At the sessions in the ensuing years more indictments

were preferred, and more women were hanged; but some were acquitted

and others adjudged to stand in the pillory, or to be imprisoned until

they confessed and at last the furor against witchcraft ceased.* Wilson,

the historian, who was a Yarmouth man, and a wise and just one, says in

his Diary: —"About this time in Essex, there being a great many witches

arraigned, I was at Chelmsford at the trial and execution of eighteen

women; but could see "nothing in the evidence which did persuade me

to think them other than poor, melancholy, envious, mischievous

persons, ill-disposed, ill-dieted, and of atrabilarious constitutions." He

considered that they fancied many things came to pass which they had wished

for, and so believed that they had really caused them, being in some cases

victims to their own credulity; and he adds, " If there be an opinion in the people

that such a body is a witch, their own fears do make "every shadow an

apparition, and every rat or cat an imp or spirit;" which occasion so many tales

and stories in the world having no "shadow of truth.'' Strange to say the belief

in witchcraft was

* See an account in P.C , p. 272. Notwithstanding the advances made in political and

religious knowledge during the 18th century, the belief in witches was very prevalent.

Nicholls, in his Diary, tells us of a woman in Suffolk who "was taken possession of by a

devil at a Quakers meeting," and carried home where she soon after died. " Something," it

was said, "ran up and down in her body under the skin, and bellowed like a calf."

Beaumont, in his Gleanings of Antiquity, and Chalmers, in his Domestic Annals, affirm

that at this time it was fully credited that persons were possessed of devils, who entered

the human shape, "gave answers, discovered thefts, accused many of crimes, and set a

mark of infamy upon them, stirring up discords and ill-will."

GREAT YARMOUTH

147

carried by the Pilgrim Fathers from the old world to the new. Uphan, in

his Salem Witchcraft, gives among others the following lamentable

story, narrated by him at considerable length. About the time of the

execution of Charles I., there lived at Yarmouth a puritan named

William Towne, who migrated to New England with his wife and two

daughters, and settled at Salem in Massachusetts, where another

daughter and a son were born to them.* Rebecca, the eldest daughter

(who had been born in Yarmouth), married a prosperous settler, Francis

Nurse; and they established upon their estate quite a colony of sons and

daughters, with their wives and husbands. In 1692, when upwards of

seventy years of age, this excellent woman, remarkable for the exercise

of every Christian virtue, was accused by Mr. Parris, the minister of her

congregation, with witchcraft, on the evidence of some excitable young

girls who declared they had been bewitched by her. She was tried,

convicted, and condemned to death. On the following Sunday, after

sacrament, it was agreed that sister Nurse, being a convicted witch,

should be excommunicated; and the reverend elders having ascended

the pulpit, the deacons sitting below, the sheriff and his officers brought

her in and she was led up the aisle, her chains clanking as she moved,

As she stood calmly there, Mr. Noyes pronounced her sentence of

expulsion from the church on earth and from all hope of salvation

hereafter. A fortnight afterwards she was taken through the streets of

Salem, between houses in which she had often been an honored guest,

to the top of a steep hill, where she was hanged with several other

unhappy women accused of the same crime. Her body was cast aside as

unworthy of christian burial, but pious hands sought for and brought it

home to the domestic cemetery, where her grave was pointed out to the

next generation; and Hutchinson, the historian, tells us that "her life and

conversation had been such, that the remembrance thereof in a short

time wiped off all the reproach occasioned by the civil and ecclesiastical

sentence against her.'' Mary, the next sister, once the playmate of

Rebecca on the beach at Yarmouth, says the narrator, had married

Goodman Easty, the owner of a large farm

*W. B. Towne 1 , Esq., a descendant of the family, is now an active member of the New

England Genealogical Society.

1 Palmer’s Addenda: Towne – in 1637 Edmund Towne had licence to pass to New

England to inhabit and the wife of John Towne had liberty to pass into Holland to her

husband and there with him to remain .

148

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

near Salem. Upon similar evidence she also was cast into prison, and

put in irons as the only way of controlling the evil spirit within her; and

shortly afterwards, the third sister, Sarah, the wife of Peter Cloyse, was

in like manner sent to bear her company. When condemned to death

Mary addressed the judges, the magistrates, and the reverend ministers,

imploring them to consider what they were doing, and how far their

course in regard to accused persons was consistent with the principles

and rules of justice. But she spoke to those who were deaf to all reason.

She was dragged to Witches' Hill and there hanged, her "sayings"

being, as was afterwards related, "as serious, religious, distinct, and

affectionate as could be expressed, drawing tears from the eyes of all

present." Such was the cruel fate of these two Yarmouth girls. The third

sister, Sarah, was transferred to the gaol at Ipswich, Massachusetts; and

appears ultimately to have escaped from her persecutors.*

Row No. 96 , from South Quay to Middlegate Street anciently

called Wildgres' North Row, and afterwards Fuller's North Row; also

Old Meeting House South Row. The space between this Row and Row

No. 100, was occupied by a large house, fronting the Quay, which in

1650 was purchased of Robert Lambert of Erpingham, Norfolk, by

Robert Harmer, merchant, bailiff in 1652. The latter was succeeded by

his son, James Harmer, who in 1666 sold the house to John Fuller, Esq.,

* Plans for discovering and punishing witches are still traditional among the vulgar.

One obtained from the inmate of a cottage, not far from Beccles, was lately printed in the

East Anglian. "If you have good reason to believe that you have been bewitched, get a

frying pan; pull a hair from your head and lay it in the pan, cut one of your fingers and let

the blood fall on the hair; hold the pan over a fire until the blood begins to bubble. The

witch will then come and knock at the door three times, wanting to something or hoping

to make you talk; but you must hold your peace. If you utter a word you will be

bewitched; if you refuse to speak you will so work upon the witch's blood as to cause her

death; then you will be free." The best criterion by which the guilt or innocence of a

woman accused of witchcraft could be most satisfactorily proved was by "cold water

ordeal;" and there were several places on the neighbouring rivers where this experiment

used to be tried, especially at a bend, of the Waveney near Harleston, which is still known

as " The Witches' Pool." The unhappy women were thrown in, and if they floated they

were hanged as undoubted witches. S., p. 62; and see vol. i., p. 143.

GREAT YARMOUTH

140

who was one of those who signed the address to Richard Cromwell in

1658, but probably changed his politics at the restoration, as he was

named a common, councilman in the charter granted by Charles II. He

died in 1673; and this house descended to his son, Samuel Fuller, Esq.,

who was bailiff in 1679, and in 1691 was fined £100 for refusing then

to serve. He was returned by the town to the Convention Parliament in

1688;* and who represented the borough in the Parliaments called in

1690, 1695, and 1700. He again filled the office of bailiff in 1798. He

married Rose, daughter of Richard Huntington, Esq. , f and died in 1721,

aged 74. There is a handsome marble monument to his memory in the

chancel of the Parish Church, with a long Latin inscription. The above-

mentioned house was inherited by his son, John Fuller, Esq., commonly

called Consul Fuller, in consequence of his having held that office at

Leghorn. In 1726 “Consul Fuller” was proposed to fill the place of an

alderman then vacant, whilst Sir Charles Turner was in the town, but

had only eight voices, while a junior of the common council had nine

voices, which was considered a great triumph by the Tory or Jacobite

party ; Mr. Fuller being a whig and backed by the presence of the Prime

Minister's brother-in-law. Fuller's friends protested that Sir Charles did

not come to intermeddle in the choice of an alderman; and they boasted

that in the election of a. common councilman, Mr. Thomas Manclarke, a

whig, had twelve votes, whilst

* It was whilst attending; this Parliament that Mr. Fuller became acquainted with the

Rev, Rowland Davies, as already mentioned in vol. i., p. 136.

f See a curious epitaph to her mother, printed by Swinden, p. 862. Simon

Huntington of Norwich Married Margaret Baret (see vol. i., p. 242); and to escape the

persecutions to which the puritans were then subjected, they, in 1632, went over to New

England, where their children assisted in founding the towns of Branford and Windham,

and also Norwich city in Connecticut; and we are told that "the venerable Mr. Pitch came

over to take pastoral charge of them." A very copious genealogical memoir of the

Huntington family in the United States, has been published by the Rev. E. B, Huntington

of Stamford, Connecticut. He prints a letter written by Peter Baret at Norwich in 1660,

addressed to his cousin, Christopher Huntington, in New England; and the editor of the

memoir suggests that Margaret, the wife of Simon Huntington, was probably a daughter

of Christopher Baret, who was Mayor of Norwich in 1634.

150

THE PERLUSTRATION OF

Mr. Barry Love had but four. He died in 1743, and devised the above-

mentioned house to Iris only sister, Rose, at whose death it descended

to her nephew.* Richard Fuller, Esq., the only son of Richard Fuller,

Esq., L.L.D., who died in 1721, and the sole heir of the Fuller family. In

1741 he was put forward to contest the representation of the borough

with the Townshend and Walpole families, but had only 97 votes. He

made a better fight in 1754, when he polled 397 votes, but was again

defeated. He made a final effort in 1756 when he opposed Mr.

Townshend (afterwards Lord Bayning), who won the seat by thirty-two

votes, and held it for many years."* Mr. Richard Fuller was High

Sheriff of Norfolk in 1759, and is described in the return as of

"Whitacre All Saints,* where he had an estate. He died s.p. in 1770,

aged 60, and with him. this family became extinct . f

It was opposite this house, in 1734, that a poor fisherman named

John Darby threw a stone at. Lord Hobart's carriage, which led to a

memorable action at law. His lordship was accompanying the

candidates for the county in a procession down the Quay previous to a

general election. Darby was apprehended and taken before the mayor

and another magistrate (Samuel Artis, Esq.), who ordered his head and

hands to be placed in the stocks, and he was then whipped. After this he

was kept six days in Bridewell lying upon straw in severe weather, with

iron bars only to the window of his cell. The severity of the punishment

excited the indignation of the tory party in whose favor the stone was

thrown. An action was brought against the committing magistrates and

the keeper of the bridewell (Peter Marster), for an assault and false

imprisonment. At the trial at Norwich before Lord Hardwicke, it was

proved by Darby that Mr. Artis "took hold of him

* Some notice of these contests has already been given in vol. i., p. 365.

f The portrait given in this work is taken from a miniature by Fergusson, " the

philosopher," now in the possession of Francis Worship, Esq. Fergusson was an eminent

astronomer, as well as a portrait painter, and lectured at Norwich in 1757. He died in

1776; and there is an engraved portrait of him, At the Herald's Visitation for Norfolk in

1664 John Fuller of Yarmouth disclaimed; but there is a hatchment of Fuller still

remaining in St. Nicholas' Church, which bears or., a saltier voided, and interlaced with a

mascle sa., on a chief of the last three mullets pierced or. The same arms appeared for

Dr. Fuller in a window in the old hall of Doctors' Commons.

GREAT YARMOUTH

151

and got him to the stocks." The poor man's mother knelt down before

the mayor and prayed that her son might not be whipped, but his

worship exclaimed "Begone! we know you, you live in an alms house.

He shall be whipp'd as an example to others;" Mr. Artis adding “Whip

him, a dog! whip him!" and after the punishment was inflicted the

mayor made him kneel down and ask pardon. In their defence the

magistrates proved that the man was placed in the stocks "in the usual

manner of fastening persons to receive correction." Lord Hardwicke

declared their conduct; was illegal and arbitrary; and directed the jury

to find for the plaintiff, which they did, giving him £15 damages. This

was considered highly honorable in the judge who was a strong whig,

and was the more remarkable as the foreman of the jury had married a

daughter of Sir Charles Turner, Walpole's brother-in-law. Sarah,

Duchess of Marlborough, writing to Lord Mordaunt, says, "I do not

think this verdict made the poor man amends, for I would have had

those that occasioned the whipping, doubly whipped themselves." Darby

was drowned in the following year whilst gathering muscles.* Fuller's

house is depicted in Corbridge's map as a large f quaint

* The tide of popularity was beginning to act in strongly against Walpole, who is

said to have expended £60,000 in supporting his friends in their various contests. The

minister's son, Sir Edward Walpole, was returned for Yarmouth; and his brother, Horatio

Walpole 1 (created in 1756 Lord Walpole of Wolterton) 2 , was elected for Norwich with

"Waller Bacon, Esq., of Earlham; but in the county, Sir Robert's friends, the Hon. Robert

Coke and Mr. Morden (ancestor of Lord Suffield), were, notwithstanding, as it is said, an

expenditure of £10,000 out of the minister's private purse, beaten, with a slender majority

by their opponents, Sir Edmund Bacon and William. Wodehouse, Esq., the latter gaining

his election by six votes only. Coxe's Life of Sir "Robert Walpole, vol. i., p. 456. As an

instance of the intensity of political feeling at this election, it may be mentioned that a

voter who died in Norwich the following year, desired to be buried with the names of

Bacon and Wodehouse and the numbers at the close of the poll engraved on his coffin.

Mr. Wodehouse died in 1736 of the small pox; and was succeeded in the representation of

the county by his next brother, afterwards Sir Armine Wodehouse, Bart., who retained his

seat for twenty-two years, and was then displaced by Sir Edward Astley, Bart., of Melton

Constable. Something more than half a century afterwards the seat was regained by

Edmond Wodehouse of Sennowe from the Astley family, whose candidate, Edward

Roger Pratt, Esq., of Ryston, Norfolk (son of Edward Pratt, Esq., by Blanche his wife,

daughter of Sir Jacob Astley, Bart.), was defeated.

f It had a spacious hall paved with marble, five large parlours, and a drawing room

48 feet long by 16 feet wide.

1 A portrait in oil hangs in St Andrew’s hall, Norwich, 2007.

2 In 1995, I attended an event at Wolterton Hall which commemorated Nelson’s

visits there. An actor and actress dressed as Horatio and Emma, read some of the original

letters sent between them. “Emma” sang some of the songs that she (Emma Hamilton)

had herself composed. We had a light supper after, and I displayed my print of the

painting of Emma looking wistfully over the Bay of Naples, sat for presumably just

before falling pregnant to Nelson. The print remains in its original frame, printed and

framed about 1810. It now hangs in the “Lady Hamilton Rooms” at 43 King Street. The

print in its frame was one of several left at Hopton Hall when I acquired it from Susan

Noel, 1989. (see also RRH).

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looking structure, with dormer windows. In front was a porch, as was

customary at that period, with a bench on each side.* After Fuller's

death the house was sold to John Baker, merchant, who died there in

1792, aged 65 ; f and it was then conveyed by the Rev. John Baker to

John Sayers, merchant, who died in 1795. J Some years afterwards,

when in the occupation of Mrs. Holden, the old house was burnt to the

ground; and in 1800 the site was purchased by Timothy Steward, Esq.,

who erected on part thereof the house (No. 17) which he afterwards

sold to the Rev. B. W. Salmon, and on the remaining part he built in

1811, a house (No. 16) for his own abode, and in which he resided until

his death in 1836, aged 74.

There are numerous and distinct families of the name of S TEWARD ,

which is derived from the office so called. During the middle ages

religious houses, nobles, lords of manors, and corporations, all had

stewards to manage their affairs. The Stewards of Scotland were named

from the office which they held under the crown until they attained to

regal power themselves;§ when the name became changed to Stewart,

* Here, on a summer's evening, might be seen the indomitable Mr. Fuller, arrayed in

his velvet coat and ruffles, quietly smoking his pipe and surveying the company passing

up and down the Quay, then the fashionable promenade.

f Henry Baker died in 1680, aged 88, and was buried in St. Nicholas ’

Church. Joseph Baker, a shipowner and fishing merchant, possessed of a

considerable fortune, died in 1732, aged 74 , leaving by Elizabeth his wife,

who died in 1746, aged 80, a son Joseph Baker, who died in 1754, aged 64.

The latter son married, first, Mary Morris, by whom he had issue the

above named John Baker, who died in 1792 , aged 65, and was buried in

the Parish Church at Burgh Castle, and who by Elizabeth Bruce his wife,

who died in 1793, aged 57, and was buried with her husband, had two

sons, the Rev. John Baker, Rector of Cressingham Parva from 1786 till his

death in 1801, aged 40, unmarried; and the Rev. Thomas Baker, already mentioned (ante.

p. 112). The arms used by this family are sa., a griffin sejeant erm. , aimed or., being the

same as those home by a family of this name at Chester.

t Brother of James Sayers already mentioned ante. p. 86.

§ Families of this name still bear for their arms a fesse chequ é , in allusion to the

chequered board anciently used by accountants. The arms confirmed to the Yarmouth

family by authority are—quarterly or. and arg. on a fesse sa ., three fleur-de-lis of the

first; in the first and fourth, quarters a fesse chequé of the second and third; and in the

second and third quarters a lion ramp, gu., debruised by a bend raguly or.; and for a crest,

on a mount vert, within a crown vallery or., a lion ramp. gu.

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153

and finally to Stuart. The name of Steward is not found in our

local records until 1642, when a Mr. Steward contributed two silver

tankards and a considerable quantity of plate to he coined into money

for the use of the Parliament but there is no reason to suppose

that he was connected with the family now under consideration. The

mother of Oliver Cromwell was a Steward; descended, it is asserted,

from Sir John Steward, who accompanied Prince James of Scotland

into England circa 1402. A branch of this family settled at Wells-

next-the-sea. Robert Steward, who was born there, was Prior of

Ely in 1522, and was one of the few divines who had the courage

to uphold the legality of the marriage of Henry VIII. with Catherine

of Arragon. He surrendered his convent in 1539, and became the

first Dean of Ely. He always asserted that his ancestors came from

Scotland to England temp. Henry IV., and that after performing

marvellous deeds in France, finally settled at Upwell in Norfolk; but

it seems that a family of this name had resided in that locality as

far back as the reign of Richard II. Nicholas Steward of Wells

descended, according to Noble, from the above-named Sir John

Steward, died there circa 1520. From him descended, it is said, Timothy

Steward of Wells, who was born there in 1696, and came to Yarmouth,

where he married Hannah, only child of Christopher Harbord (as

mentioned in vol. i., p. 248), and with her acquired some property in the

town; and became the founder of a family who attained to considerable

wealth and importance. He died in 1769, aged 73, leaving a son,

Timothy Steward, to whom his uncle, Tobias Harbord, left a ship called

the Two Brothers. This Timothy Steward commanded a private vessel of

war called the Dreadnought, with which, in 1781, he captured a

Swedish vessel named the Sophia, on her passage from Stockholm to

Bordeaux, and brought her into Yarmouth, where she was condemned as

a lawful prize. This gave rise to a suit in the High Court of Admiralty,

which was decided in favor of Capt. Steward. He died in 1793, aged 60.

By Mary his wife, daughter of Ambrose Palmer, who died in 1829,

aged 89, he had three surviving sons— William, Timothy, and Ambrose

Harbord. Of the eldest we shall have occasion to speak presently; the

youngest has already been noticed. Timothy Steward, Esq., the second

V OL . II.

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son, who built and resided in the above-mentioned house, was a

merchant and shipowner. He possessed some of the fastest vessels

belonging to the port when, they were much in request before the

introduction of steam; to take cargoes of herrings to the Mediterranean

and bring back fruit.* He married Mary, daughter of John Fowler,

Esq.. (ante. p. 119.)

* The following anecdotes testify to the bravery of Yarmouth men

in the merchant service. In 1800 Mr. Steward had a ship called the Lord

Petre, Hezekiah Martin, commander, which, on a voyage from

Mogadore to London, was captured by two Spanish privateers and

carried into Camarino, a port near Cape Finisterre; "not without a good

deal of bloodshed," says the captain in a letter to his owner, "for I had

two men killed and three wounded. When they first boarded we cleared

the deck of every man, some going overboard; and the second time they

came up, we did the same. We still steered our course, but after four

hours constant firing I was obliged to give up the vessel. I am wounded

myself through the thigh. Captain Mc Farlane, whom I had on board as

a passenger with his wife, was killed. They lost their vessel at

Mogadore, and I gave them a passage. My mate was killed, and I have

another man that I am afraid will not live as he has got two balls in his

head. When we landed in the place, the cries of the people were

shocking to see our situation. Our vessel was nothing but blood all

over. I should not have given the ship up had not two privateers come

down upon us when I was wounded by swivel shot through my thigh,

and two men lay dead on the deck, and two more wounded out of eight

in all. Capt. Martin had a narrow escape, for besides the serious wound

he mentions, a ball passed quite through his hat. He was of an old

Yarmouth family; and died at Southtown in 1828, aged 60.

Mr. Steward had another vessel called the Eve, which in 1804 was

captured by a French privateer. All the crew were taken out except the

mate, named Piggin, and a boy; and six Frenchmen, and three

Americans were put on board the prize. When half way to Holland,

Piggin proposed to one of the Americans to seize the ship and take her

back to Yarmouth, to which he assented, and when the rest of the crew

were below and Piggin at dinner with the prize master, this man put

down and locked the hatch; upon hearing which Piggin rose from the

table, seized the prize master, and told him he was a prisoner. The latter

snatched up a pistol and snapped it at Piggin, but it missed fire, and the

man surrendered; and then Piggin, with the assistance of the American,

brought the ship into Yarmouth with their prisoners in her hold.

An almost similar instance occurred in the case of the Rapid, one of

Mr. Steward's fast ships. On the same day he heard that she had been

captured by the French, and that she had arrived safe at Malta.

Subsequent letters explained the mystery. She had been captured in the

Mediterranean, and her captain (Miller), a lady passenger, and all her

crew, except the mate, were taken out of her and sent to Marseilles. A

prize-master and crew were put on board the Rapid; her mate, a young

man named Jex, being left to assist in navigating her, Among the prize-

crew were a Dane and a Hamburgher, neither of whom, as Jex

discovered, had much liking for the French service; and with them he

planned a rescue. One day Jex,

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155

(sister of Thomas Fowler, Esq., of Gunton Hall), who died in 1837,

aged 74. They were both buried in Blundeston Church, There is a

portrait of Mr. Steward, when a young man, by Sir William Beechy.

There is also a portrait of him by Davis. Timothy Steward, the eldest

son of the above marriage, was, when a youth, a Lieutenant in the

Yarmouth Yeomanry Cavalry. He became a principal partner in the

brewery firm of Steward, Patteson, and Co., and resided for many years

at Heigham Lodge, near Norwich, where he died in 1858, aged 63. He

filled the office of Sheriff of Norwich in 1856. Charles Steward, the

third son, commanded an East-Indiaman before the highly-lucrative

trade of the company was thrown open. He resided for many years at

Blundeston house ; was an active magistrate for Suffolk, and died at the

Rectory of his only child, the Rev. C. J. Steward, at Somerleyton in

1870, aged 72, where also died Harriet his widow (daughter of A. H.

Steward, Esq.) in 1872, aged 71. George, the youngest son, was

educated at the Grammar School at Norwich, then ably conducted by

Dr. Valpy, where he formed an acquaintance which powerfully

influenced his future career. Evincing an early predilection for the sea,

he was placed in the mercantile navy of the East India Company,

watching his opportunity, felled the prize-master to the deck with a handspike, his

confederates seized the man at the wheel, and the rest of the crew being below were

secured by fastening the hatches. The Rapid was then taken into Malta, and delivered up

to the British authorities. Jex, on his return to Yarmouth, was made master of another

vessel built by Mr, Steward, but he lived a few years only.

* The beauties of this charming spot have already been mentioned (see vol. i., p.

170). The lordship of Blundeston and the advowson were at one time the property of the

Pastons, from whom they passed to the Sydnors, and from them to the Allens and

Anguishes of Somerleyton, and were never severed until their sale by Lord Sydney

Godolphin Osborne. The present rector is the Rev. Robert Woolmer Cory, third son of

Robert Cory, Jun., Esq., see ante p.33, where it is stated that the widow of Dr. Cory, the

second son, married Thomas Woodthorpe. This is an error. Mrs. Cory married William

Woodthorpe, Esq., of Carlton Colville, where the family have held an estate for nearly

two centuries. The site of Blundeston house was in 1627 the property of Sir Butts Bacon,

Bart., seventh son of Sir Nicholas Bacon of Redgrave, Bart., who was the direct ancestor

of the present representative of that ancient family. The late Mr. Charles Steward made

very extensive collections towards an illustrated history of the hundred of Lothingland,

and also possessed a valuable ornithological museum.

156

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one of the private ships in which service was commanded by his

brother, Capt. Charles Steward, and another by his cousin, Capt. Robert

Fowler, but before he became eligible for a similar command, this huge

monopoly was broken up. Finding no field for enterprise at home he, in

1843, joined a brother officer, Mr. Henry Wise, in fitting out a vessel;

and proceeding in her to Sarawak, was cordially received by an old

schoolfellow, James Brooke, who was then exercising supreme power

there as Rajah. The Bornean Seas at that time swarmed with pirates; and

a determination was taken to put them down by force. For this purpose

Rajah Brooke applied for assistance from H.M.S. Dido, then

commanded by a Norfolk man, Sir Harry Keppel, and a boat expedition

was decided on, in which Steward joined as a volunteer, and

commanded a party of friendly Malays and Dyaks, After attacking some

strong forts at the entrance of the river, the boats proceeded for twenty

miles up the country destroying the strongholds of the pirates on both

sides as they went along. On the following morning, Steward obtained

permission to go ahead with the light native boats, but with an

injunction to proceed cautiously and to fall back on the appearance of an

enemy. In about a quarter of an hour the war yells of the pirates were

heard, mingled with the report of fire-arms. Keppel immediately pushed

forward, and soon found that the foremost boat, commanded by

Steward, had been too daring, for she had been attacked by an over-

whelming force consisting of six large war-boats, each containing from

fifty to sixty men. When last seen, says Brooke (who was present with

the British force), Steward was endeavouring to board the enemy, but

his own boat sunk under him, and every soul on board, sixteen in

number, perished. As soon as the Dido's boats could get up, the pirates

were attacked and ultimately defeated with great loss. The boats then

went farther up the river, and completely destroyed the town and capital

of Karaugau. At the time of the above fatal occurrence, Mr. George

Steward was in his thirty-ninth year and unmarried. There is a mural

tablet to his memory in Blundeston Church,* Amelia, the younger of

* Steward, fell in a truly glorious cause. "A visitor to Sarawak, says a recent

traveller who knew its former state, may well be struck with its flourishing

condition, and with the aspect of peace, plenty, and security, which now pervades a

place so short a time back a prey to lawlessness, rapine, and bloodshed. No portion

GREAT YARMOUTH

157

the two daughters of Timothy Steward, Esq., married John Hector

Munro, Esq., of Walsham-le-Willows, Suffolk, and died leaving an only

daughter, who married Frederick Arden, Esq., of the 12th Lancers,

eldest son of Joseph Arden, Esq., of Rickmansworth Park, Herts. A

hatchment with the arms of Steward, as granted to the Yarmouth family

by Sir Isaac Heard, Garter, hangs in the Parish Church.

At the north-west corner of this row, fronting the Quay, is a public

house, which in 1814 was called the Peace and Plenty; but has now

resumed the old name of the Bush,* and this row is called Bush Tavern Row.

At the south-east corner, fronting Middlegate Street (No. 171), is an

of the globe could have been more wretched than this territory, when pirates and robbers swept the

country with fire and sword; when murderous head-hunters sought for their bleeding

trophies far and near; when savage tribes sought opportunities of making a raid upon the

least protected of their neighbours, murdering all the males and leading the females into

captivity. Such was the reign of terror, and worse than civil war, which Brooke found

existing in this part of Borneo. Far from the seat of even nominal government, the strong

hand kept down the weak with the ferocity of the savage and without appeal; and as a

necessary result the country was becoming depopulated; for those who escaped the kris of

the enemy could only look to die of starvation. Having with a mighty effort given such a

blow to piracy that it has never been able to lift up its head since, and having fairly

scotched if not killed the snake, Brooke thus essentially mitigated the great crying evil of

that part of the world, and paved the way for improvements, which the natives readily

appreciated and soon sensibly adopted. He succeeded in winning the entire confidence of

the population, and by his own indomitable will and enthusiastic nature, backed by no

state support or military force, changed this desolated district into a thriving settlement,

well governed and secure, where every man sits under his own vine and under his own

fig-tree none daring to molest him. Cuthbert Collingwood, p. 202. He might have added

that the head-house in which the skulls of slaughtered enemies were kept has now given

place to a church, where the doctrines of Christ are preached.

* This is a very ancient sign, and arose from the custom of hanging out a bush to

denote that good liquor could he had there. The old saying that "good wine needs no

bush," means that the fame of the former would bring men to the house where it was to be

had without any external sign. In the old play of Woman's Prize it is said—

"Twenty to one you'll find him at the Bush.

" There's the best ale."

In 1812 the landlord of this house, having been convicted of perjury, underwent the

punishment of the pillory, and was probably the last who so suffered in Yarmouth, but the

pillory was not legally abolished until 1837.

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old tavern, now re-fronted, called the Turk's 1 Head.* Being erected

upon the site of the conventual buildings belonging to the Grey Friars;

and when the latter came into the possession of the corporation this

house was called the Town Arms. f It was subsequently called the White

Bear, exhibiting a painted sign of that animal, and afterwards the

Dolphin. Beneath this house there are some extensive vaulted cellars of

a very ancient date. The White Bear was at one time kept by a man

named Osborne, who had been a wherryman. It is related of him that

coming down the river one tempestuous day, he took the wind out of

the sail of a small pleasure boat, in which was the famous John Horne

Tooke. The boat capsised, and the great philologist and his servant were

in the water. Osborne leaving his wherry to the mercy of the wind,

dashed to the rescue and succeeded in saving the life of the former, but

his servant was drowned. Osborne it is said was rewarded with a

pension for life. J

* The Turk's Head was a sign, much used in the 17th century. The Turks were then

much dreaded by all European nations, and especially by maritime towns having

intercourse with the Mediterranean. The merchants of Yarmouth suffered greatly from

their depredations; their ships being captured and their crews detained in slavery till they

could be ransomed. William Wilde of Lowestoft, who had been captured by the Turks, in

a letter addressed to his father and written from the prison at Constantinople in 1633, says,

I am chained in the gallies by the leg and also both hands together, besides a chain on my

back, as the other slaves; with all which I am forced to row. My allowance is bread and

water; and I am exposed, naked, to the extremity both of heat and cold. In 1635 Anne

Ladd, widow, had leave to appoint four men to gather benevolences from the inhabitants

to ransom her son who had been captured by the Turks, and had been for two years in

prison at Algiers. The first expedition against the pirates of that place was undertaken in

1620, and was a miserable failure. In 1655 Blake appeared before Algiers and compelled

the Dey to promise the restoration of all captives, and immediately afterwards the English

admiral attacked and nearly destroyed the sister pirate city of Tunis; but the death blow to

Algerine piracy was not given till 1816, when the English fleet, under Lord Exmouth

(afterwards High Steward of Yarmouth), compelled the Dey to release upwards of 2,000

christian slaves, not one of whom, however, is believed to have been English. The Three

Turk was a sign at Norwich in 1750.

s

f No one in the 17th. century could sell wine without a license from the corporation,

who could impose what terms they pleased for the same. In 1642 they granted two

licenses only. George Glasscock had one under seal "to keep a tavern or wine cellar, and

therein to sell and uttor wine by retail" for seven years, he paying £8 a year for the same

and giving bond; and the other was bestowed on the tenant of the Town Arms.

j At the time of this occurrence Horne Tooke was probably on a visit to

1 Palmer’s Addenda: Turks – reference has already been made to the depredations

committed by the piratical Turks when attacking English vessels and condemning

their crews to slavery. Mr Kingsley in his Tales of Old Travel , has given an

interesting account of the escape of Mr. John Fox a native of Woodbridge from the

captivity of the Turks in the port of Alexandria in 1577. He was accompanied by

Robert Moore of Harwich. In 1670 a brief went round to all the churches to collect

alms for the relief of all the captives in Turkey Entries of these collections were

usually made in the parish registers. At Thrigby the sum of 25s.2d. was collected and

paid to the Lord Bishop in 1680. The (previous) Thrigby register was burned in 1651

at a fire which destroyed the parsonage house. The next register commenced in 1663

(the one quoted from).