Chapter 20, South Quay, pp775-836.indd

Chapter 20

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

SOUTH QUAY

Photo P.E.Rumbelow,

about 1935

In the 14th century, those who had houses

on the South Quay had in many cases owned

the ground in front of their house, right to the

river’s edge. They were obliged to maintain

the quayside in front of their house, and to

maintain free passage across their own land.

If they blocked the way by leaving a boat

of anchor, or if they had failed to keep their

piece of quay in good order, or allowed the

gutters to block, then they were ﬁned. (see

Palmer Vol.I, pp 155, 116.)

In Elizabethan times, and the time of the

Stuart Kings, the Yarmouth quay was the

place to live and be seen and where royalty

was entertained and from time to time

10th January 2010

accommodated. We shall see as we travel

along the ancient quayside, how there were

many grand and imposing houses here,

with splendid Elizabethan windows, ornate

chimneys, and ﬁne large panelled rooms

and grand chimney-pieces. The important

politicians, and rich merchants all lived along

the quay.

In the early 17th century, it seems that most

of the ﬁshermen upon the quay here were

Dutchmen, and that few locals actually

learned the trade. (see Palmer Vol I, p. 119,

ref. Tobias Gentleman, England’s way to Win

Wealth , and to employ Ships and Mariners.

In 16th century,

the quayside was

held together with

wooden posts, and

the land surface

sloped towards the

water. At that time,

there was still an

outlet of the river

to the north of the

town at Grubb’s

Haven, but the water

level at South Quay

would be just the

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The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

Detail from “Buck’s Prospect of Great Yarmouth”by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck, 1741.

tied up along the whole stretch it was

certainly a splendid sight, and Daniel

Defoe called it “ the ﬁnest quay in

England,

if not in Europe; at least equalling

Marseilles itself.” Sylas Neville described

“one of the noblest in the world.”

Detail from “Buck’s

Prospect of Great

Yarmouth”by Samuel

and Nathaniel Buck,

1741.

Defoe described the quay - “ the ships ride

here so close, keeping up as it were one

another, with their heads fast on shore,

that for half a mile together they go across

the stream with their bowsprits over the

land, their bows or heads touching the very

wharfs; so that one may walk from ship to

ship as on a ﬂoating bridge all along the shore

side”. Palmer also relates: A traveller, writing

in 1796, describes Yarmouth as “indeed a

beautiful town,” and remarks that “the view

from the centre of the bridge down the river

among the shipping is singularly ﬁne.”

Daniel Defoe

(1661-1731)

Palmer tells us “that portion of the quay which

lies between the South Gate and Friars’ Lane

was called ‘The Strand’, and was appropriated

to the use of the Dominican Friars, whose

possessions were immediately opposite”.

same, nevertheless, since the river here rises

and falls with the tide. Originally the whole

quay from the Northwest Tower to the South

Gate, was open as one single walkway and

quayside, a total of one mile, two hundred

and seventy yards long. With sailing ships

In 1776 Wesley preached at the Dutch Church

on South Quay.

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A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

Row 83

6.1.2010

These photos of South Quay on 6th January 2010 bring to

mind the fact that the act of Parliament that set out to try

King Charles was enacted on 6th January 1649. This photo

shows the outside of the building where the document was

signed that decreed his execution. Miles Corbet of Great

Yarmouth was one of the 59 regicides

who signed the death warrant in 1649.

After the accession of Charles II, Corbet

ﬂed to Holland, but was extradicted

and subsequently hanged, drawn and

quartered on 16th April 1662. General

Ireton was another signatory to the death

warrant. His granddaughter Bridget

Bendish was often to be found at the new

town hall, playing cards or dancing. She

lived in Southtown (previous town hall).

The Yarmouth Mercury Feb.19th.1944

reported that the house at no.4 South

Quay had been bequeathed to the National Trust

by the late Blanche Ann Aldred, leaving it to

her sister Mary for life, but then to the National

Trust. In 1947, as reported in the Mercury on

Sept 6th., the council proposed to demolish the

houses in the block including no. 4. (nos. 1-8

South Quay) Alderman F. H. Stone said that

there were “too many old buildings that they

did not want to preserve”. It was fortunate

indeed that the buildings had been passed

to the National Trust. There was a national

outcry, and eventually some wisdom seems

to have prevailed. The same council proposed

demolishing the shops on King Street between

St. George’s and St. Peter’s Road. The judgement

of many councillors in such matters is indeed

beyond description, since earlier, as reported

in the Yarmouth Mercury on 12th. June 1943,

Councillor Morgan described the northwest

tower as “not even a thing of beauty”, and that

too was intended to be removed!

Photos inside 4 South Quay,

1987.

No.4 South Quay, 2nd Feb. 2010.

Fireplace at No.4, 1987.

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The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

778

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

15th May 2008.

779

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

Palmer tells us that no 3 and 4 South

Quay was in a ruinous state in 1596, and

then pulled down by the owner, Benjamin

Cowper. It was then built as a new house

with a red brick front and gabled dormer

windows. In the 19th century, John Danby

Palmer, Charles’ father, acquired the house,

and cased the front in white brick, which

was then the fashion, splitting it into two

dwellings, then numbered 3 and 4. An extra

storey was added to no.3, and no.4 had a high

parapet added at the top of the front wall.

The rooms inside no.4 were retained largely

unaltered from the Elizabethan original, but

the rooms in no.3 were all new, except that a

multi-light Elizabethan window was kept on

the ﬁrst ﬂoor where it looked into the interior

courtyard.

north side of this row facing the quay was the

residence of the Rev. Benjamin Wymberley

Salmon prior to his death in 1821, when it

was the home of the last water bailiff, John

Fisher Costerton. The ofﬁce of water bailiff

was discontinued, as Palmer tells us, in 1835.

Following Costerton, another councilman,

John Bessey Hylton, was the owner of this

house, but while he was in a meeting about

the ﬁsh wharf bill, he was struck down by a

stroke, and died hours later.

The next house south was a pub., owned in the

18th century by Mallett’s Brewery (Mallett

lived at 43 King Street). In Palmer’s time,

this pub was called “The Rampant Horse”,

“The Custom House”, and then “The Sons of

Commerce”.

The space between row 96 and row 100

was occupied by one house, bought in 1650

by Robert Harmer, bailiff and sold to John

Fuller in 1666, a

councilman in the

time of Charles

II. The house then

passed to his son

Samuel, bailiff

in 1679 and

1698. Row 100

was named after

Fuller as “Fuller’s

South Row”.

The house on the

Between row 100 and row 103, beyond the

above public house, was a single house,

extending to the next row, row 103. This

house was built in the 17th century by William

Spooner, who was married to Jane Scarlett,

the merchant’s daughter. Spooner was bailiff

in 1699, and mayor in 1713. When he died in

1722, he left estates at Hemsby, Winterton and

Billockby.

The house next to the south, beyond Row 103

was the Custom House. This had been built

in the early 1700’s by John Andrews. When

he ﬁrst built the house, there was no way to

get into it, since he had built it right up to the

building line, and the front door

and ﬂoor level was raised up above

ground, presumably to avoid risk

of ﬂooding. He was then refused

the right to build out the porch,

and the council suggested that he

might use a ladder! A very short

porch was then allowed, with steps

up only at each side. The current

large portico was not built until a

hundred years later.

South Quay, about 1880.

Between rows 111 and 113, the

whole space was occupied by a

large house shown on Corbridge’s

map as it was when Occupied by

William Luson. The house was

780

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

Row 92

Wartime photo by Phillip Rumbelow, note that the right half of the building at

the right of the picture has now been removed to create Yarmmouth Way.

781

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

about 1935, by P.E.Rumbelow

782

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

Buck’s Prospect of Great

Yarmouth, above (1741).

Ofﬁces of solicitors: Howard Killin and

Bruce, Ian Tilley, (1987) No 16/17 S.Quay.

William Thomason, right, of

Row 112, and his brother Carl,

ﬁshermen, see Row 112.

Photo. 1987.

no.25

No.26

783

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

96

104

111

112 117 118

103

100

108

106

Row numbers on Swinden’s map

set back from the quay, and also had a large

garden behind it, stretching all of the way to

Middlegate Street. Yarmouth has that long at

least been associated with Turkey farming,

since Luson was married to Elizabeth

Hewling, daughter of a wealthy London

Turkey merchant. Her elder sister Hannah

was married to Major Henry Cromwell, son

of “Lord Henry Cromwell”, the second son

of the Lord Protector, and High Steward

of Yarmouth. Mrs Luson’s two brothers,

Benjamin and William Hewling were both

publicly executed in 1685 for high treason.

This was a plot by the eldest illegitimate son

of Charles II (by his mistress Lucy Walter)

to try to depose James II who was Catholic.

Lucy Walter was descended of the Duke of

Norfolk in the female line, and went with

Charles II when he was exiled to the Hague.

Bridget Bendish, the granddaughter of

Oliver Cromwell, who lived in Southtown,

was much enamoured of Robert Luson, the

eldest son, who had inherited this house.

She gave him a collection of antique dresses

from the court of Oliver Cromwell, which

his second wife Jane Vaughan, took with

her to London after Robert Luson’s death,

where she apparently lived until the amazing

old age of 116. Bridget Bendish was said to

have been intellectually gifted, but strongly

resembled the former Lord Protector in

looks, which had probably put off young

Luson, and so she married Thomas Bendish,

a salt merchant. Bridget Bendish died at her

Southtown residence in 1728, aged 76. She

had been a very industrious person, working

long hours, concerned with her

businesses, including her salt

pans in Cobholm, (previously

the business of her husband

who died before her) often out

visiting, or spending time deep

in prayer and strongly guided

by scripture.

In 1987 the space between 26 South Quay and

the Gallon Can was overgrown like a garden.

On the southwest corner of

Row 117 was a house spanning

the row, which had a 14th

century archway. In 1774 the

house was a pub called “The

George”, which changed

its name later to “The Greenland Whale

ﬁshery”, and a whalebone arch was set up

784

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

106

142 143

129

136

137

138

139

133

132

Row numbers on Swinden’s map

The “Gallon Can”, 1987

on the quay opposite to it. When the house

was conveyed in 1793, the trees and the arch

on the piece of land in front of the pub were

expressly included in the transaction. In 1795

the pub was called “The Ballast Keel”, and

later became “The Gallon Can”. On the front

of the house were “tapestry irons”. These

irons are usually ﬁxed to the ends of beams,

to stabilize the structure. These ones were

especially ornate and designed so that ﬂags or

tapestries could be hung from them on days

of celebration. Dawson Turner apparently

proposed that they should be refashioned as

the originals when replaced some time around

1850. In 1730, Henry Lombe, the owner of

the pub and the merchant’s house behind it,

died of smallpox. It passed to his brother

Samuel, then to his daughter Martha, then to

785

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

Tomkins School had once been between

26 South Quay and the Gallon Can.

Tomkins started his school here in 1865,

and it was closed to be auctioned on

Tuesday 19th March 1895. See Row 112

for more detail.

Mr Gobbett was head

master of another of

Tomkin’s schools, situated

at the southeast junction

of Nelson Road and St.

George’s Road. (Right)

James Bellord, and then to John Day, brewer, of

Norwich (see P.P. vol II, p.344).

the 1700’s it had been called “The Ship”.

In 1754, John Fisher bought the “Cat

and Monkey”, pulled it down and built a

large house where he lived until his death

in 1775, aged 56. His son, also called

John Fisher, sold the house to Dover

Colby, who was mayor in 1796, and who

was married to Charlotte, sister of the

second John Fisher just mentioned, who

had inherited the house. Dover Colby

died in 1826, and his wife Charlotte, in

1823. In the house hung four portraits

by Rembrandt, being portraits of John

Elison and his wife. The portraits had

been painted at Amsterdam in 1634,

The pub at the northwest corner of Row 118 was

“The White Swan”, which had wonderful carved

mantle pieces and paneled rooms, but which

were all destroyed when the building was rebuilt

some time in the 19th century.

At the northwest corner of Row 123 was the

“Angel” public house, from which the row was

called “Quay Angel Row”.

Between Row 123 and 124, there was a public

house called “The Cat and Monkey”. Early in

786

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

and passed to the Colby family from Mr.

Dover, who married Elison’s daughter. The

ﬁrst two portraits depicted Elison and his

wife in old age, and the other two were full-

length portraits of their son and daughter. The

painting of Johannes Elison seems to have

had an engraving made of it, and can be seen

on the internet in a black and white version,

the original stated to be (2010) in a “private

collection”. The painting of Maria Bockenolle,

1634, Elison’s wife, is in the Museum of Fine

Arts, Boston, USA. It is thought to have been

commissioned by the son, who was a wealthy

Amsterdam merchant. Elison became minister

of the Dutch Church in Norwich. It appears

that the portrait of Elison himself is also at the

same museum.

Dirck Backers. They were childless. Francois

and Jacob, dates unknown, married sisters

in Amsterdam named Grietje and Hillegant

Victorinus. Anne remained in England and

married Daniel Dover, and nothing is known

about Josina.

The house at the southwest corner of row

124, that had been owned by Fisher, then

Colby, as above, was divided into two. The

next house, on the southwest corner of the

row, was in the early 1800’s occupied by

Captain Ridsdale, the barrack master, then

by James Laws, and then by William Briggs,

who was from Yorkshire, became a J.P., and

died aged 63 in 1864.

At the northwest corner of Row 128 was a

house with bow windows owned by John

Palmer, a merchant who died in 1805 at the

age of 56. He left the house to his second

wife, Mary Wright, who in turn sold it to

G.D.Palmer. The next house, on the south

corner of the row belonged to Thomas

[1634, Johannes Elison, the Younger,

Amsterdam (original commission; d.1677);

1677, by inheritance to brothers and sisters of

Johannes Elison, the Younger; by inheritance

to Johannes Elison’s brother-in-law, Daniel

Dover, Ludham, Norfolk, England (d.1681);

1681, by inheritance to Colby family; by

1860, by inheritance to Rev. Samuel Colby,

Little Ellingham, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk,

England; June 30, 1860, sold at Colby

sale, Christie’s, London, lot 22, and bought

by Fisher, London; 1876, sold by Fisher

to Baron Eugène Schneider, Paris; April

6, 1876, sold at Schneider sale, Paris, lot

29, and bought in; 1876, by inheritance to

Schneider’s son, Henry Schneider; by 1916,

by inheritance to Eugène Schneider, Paris;

by 1956, sold by Schneider to Rosenberg

and Stiebel, Inc., New York; 1956, sold by

Rosenberg and Stiebel to the MFA Boston

for $360,000. (Accession date: October 11,

1956)]

The painting of Rev. Johannes Elison, which hung

in the house.

The paintings of the Rev and his wife thus

remained together, and the paintings of the

son and daughter separated from them in

1876. The Elisons did have other children -

Theophilus was born 1609 and died 1676, he

married and had a daughter named Josijntge.

He succeeded his father as Minister of the

Church in Norwich. Johannes born 1606

and died 1677 in Amsterdam where he was

a successful Merchant and married Josina

787

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

Pitt, mayor in 1776, he had no less than

16 children, and died in 1786, aged 76. A

memorial in the north chancel aisle of St

Nicholas Church advised that he was just

and kind to the poor, a good parent and kind

neighbour.

The Dutch Reformed Church ,

practised a form of Calvinism. This

was was based upon the teachings of

Jean Couvin - John Calvin. Calvin

was born at Noyon, France, in 1509,

and His father was an attorney and

secretary for the Catholic Church in

Noyon. John’s father and brother

were both excommunicated by the

Catholic Church for their independant

views. As a result, John had difﬁculty

in securing a Christian burial for him

when his father died. John Calvin was

bright and extremely hard working. He

rose at 5 am to study, and by the age

of 22 he had secured a law doctorate.

He learned Hebrew, Latin and Greek,

and studied the Bible. In 1533 Calvin

openly supported Martin Luther, and

had to then ﬂee for his life. In 1536 he

published his treatise “Institutes of the

Christian Religion”, and subsequently

settled in Geneva in 1541. He was

one of the foremost of the religious

reformers. Many protestant reformists

joined him and the Geneva Bible was

published in 1560, the ﬁrst to have

numbered verses.

The painting by Rembrandt of Elison’s wife

In the last century, the Dutch Reformed

Church used the Calvinistic idea of

predestination as support for Apartheid

in South Africa. It was used to promote

the idea that the Dutch Afrikaaners

were chosen by God, and the blacks

were a subservient species, not truly

human, deserving of segregation.

The Dutch Reformed Church did not

apologise for this until the 1990’s.

Calvin had died in 1564 in Geneva,

publicly penitent, since he had caused

or allowed the execution by burning at

the stake in 1553 of Michael Servetus,

a Spanish born reformer who had

quarrelled with him over some of his

ideas.

At the northwest corner of Row 129 –St

Peter’s Row West- was an Elizabethan house

with some original multi-paned windows

facing south. In Palmer’s time, an oblong

window could be seen in the stonework

on the west front, and original ironwork

also then survived. The next house, on the

south corner of the row, is now in the space

created for Nottingham Way. The house was

the birthplace of William Jacobson, Bishop

of Chester (see Palmer Vol. II page 366 for

details of this family). William Jacobson

married the youngest daughter of Dawson

Turner. Another Elizabethan house stood

next on the quay, ﬁlling the space up to row

132. In Palmer’s time, some Elizabethan

chimneys, and part of the Elizabethan roof

were still intact. The house had been divided

into two. The northern half was then a pub

Calvin had produced over 100

reference books, 1000 letters and some

4000 sermons.

788

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

called the Newcastle Tavern, and the southern

part had been converted into a butcher’s shop.

house. I make no apology for copying

Palmer’s decription verbatim:

In the 1600’s when the house had been one, it

was occupied by Sir James Johnson, grandson of

James Johnson, Bailiff, 1590. Johnson actually

entertained the King and his brother here, who

stayed in the house. Johnson was then created

knight, and became M.P. in 1681. The house

thereafter passed to the Cooper family, who

owner property at Beccles, Holt, North Walsham

and Paston. It would seem that one or other

member of the Cooper family had the house

divided into the pub and shop (Palmer Vol.II,

p.371).

“The front entrance was through a porch,

having a bench on each side, and by a large

door panelled and studded with nails, with

a smaller door cut through, it (as still seen

at the entrances of some of our colleges),

leading to an inner paved court, behind

which was another court communicating

with the row. To the north of the entrance

was a parlour panelled, in wainscot, with

a carved chimneypiece reaching from the

ceiling to the ﬂoor. The principal room was

on the ﬁrst ﬂoor, having three windows

looking upon the Quay. At the south end

an elaborately-carved chimney piece

projected into the room. This apartment

was lined with wainscot in panels in the

usual Elizabethan style, which still remain,

but the chimneypiece has been removed.

The ceiling is adorned by mouldings

divided into compartments in which are

various devices. One represents Noah’s

ark with the dove returning with the olive

branch: another is the ﬁgure of Neptune

bestriding a sea-horse. The beam running

across the ceiling is powdered with ﬂeurs-

de-lys, and numerous masks of the human

face adorn the sides. Another room on the

same ﬂoor, having two windows looking

upon the Quay, was also panelled and

had a handsome chimneypiece, and there

is a small room over the row. On the

south front, facing the courtyard, some

ornamental ironwork may be seen; and

many old windows can be traced in the

building, which has been much mutilated

and altered in adapting it for the purposes

of two residences. A carved doorway now

serves as a back entrance. It is square

headed, and in the centre appears the

date 1674, and in one spandril is a shield

with the arms of Yarmouth, and in the

other a shield with the letters JCE being

the initials of John Cooper, Esq., and

Elizabeth his wife. Upon the marriage of

John Cooper, their grandson, with Mary

Simpson in 1727 this house was brought

into settlement. He died in 1753, aged

52, and his widow in 1790, at the age of

The house on the southwest corner of Row 132

was rebuilt perhaps about 1830, in the fashionable

style, casing the front with white brick. This

house was owned by Monox Rivett until he died

in 1674, and the house passed to his son of the

same name. He sold to Stephen Thomas, who

sold to Thomas Cooper the merchant in 1721. In

1725 he died and left the house to Mary Spilman,

his daughter, wife of a sea Captain. Captain

Spilman had a cellar here and sold wines etc as

advertised in the Norwich Gazette in 1716,”all

sorts of wine very reasonably”

—at per gallon, tent 7/-. (shillings), canary 5/3.,

sherry, mountain, white and red Lisbon 4/6. By

the pint, tent 1/-., canary .0/9., sherry, mountain,

and white and red Lisbon,0/7. (pence)

Mary and Captain Spilman’s son in due course

sold the house to William Goskar, compass

maker, and James Bracey lived there until his

death in 1817, aged 42, renting from Henry

Glasspoole, who bought it in 1812. William

Davie lived there until 1873, dying at the age of

70 years.

The house on the northwest corner of Row 133,

was in 1870 a public house called the “Bell and

Crown”. It had been the property of John Trendle,

bailiff in 1624. Trendle contributed ﬁnancially

to the Republican cause in the civil war. Later,

in 1652, he made a contribution to the children’s

hospital. On the south corner of Row 133 was

a house that bore the date of 1580, and in 1870

had been divided at some time earlier into two

properties, then numbered 46 and 47. This was

quite an exceptional and remarkable Elizabethan

789

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

90, when this ﬁne old house passed from

the Cooper family, the male line of which

became extinct. In the early part of 19th

century this house was occupied by Miss

Hunter as a Lady’s Boarding School.

On the northwest corner of Row 142,

(No.60) was an ancient house, the residence

in the early 17th century (time of the early

Stuarts) of Thomas Felsted, a member of an

armorial family. Felsted was elected Bailiff

the very year that Charles Ist was beheaded

(30th January, 1649). Felsted died in 1709,

aged 80, possibly of the cold, since January

6th that year marked the commencement of

the coldest period in Europe in 500 years,

when the rivers froze over, and 24,000 died

in Paris. Very large numbers emigrated to

America this year. Felsted’s son died before

the father, and the house was bought by

Samuel Wakeman, who turned it into a

public house called the “Black Lyon” and

later, the “Trinity Arms”. The Wakeman

family had become rich exporting grain

to the continent, although in 1579 they

made a claim to Parliament, having lost a

great deal in shipwrecks. Another relative,

Alderman Robert Wakeman, made ﬁnancial

contributions to the civil war. Another

of the same family, Giles Wakeman (the

younger) was, in 1770, a surgeon. At this

time, Yarmouth was already fashionable as

a place to holiday, and there were boarding

houses as well as the hotels taking this trade.

The richer persons from the country came

to stay, and the papers were in the habit

of publishing the names of the well-to-do,

as they came and went (A bit like “Hello”

Magazine nowadays). A young painter called

Miles, was sponsored by Wakeman, made

his way to London, and became painter

of miniatures to the Duchess of York and

others. He also painted Queen Charlotte

and the Emperor Alexander. Edward Miles,

1752-1828, was born in Great Yarmouth.

He moved to London in 1771. He had been

an errand boy for Giles Wakeman, but

Wakeman somehow had social connections

to Sir William Beechy, who introduced Miles

to Joshua Reynolds, who was impressed with

Miles ability, and promoted him with royalty.

Edward Miles later travelled to Russia and

became court painter to Tsar Paul I. When

Paul was assassinated, he was taken on by

his son Alexander, and painted portraits of

him and his Tsaritsa. In 1806 he travelled to

America and settled in Philadelphia, where

At the northwest corner of Row 132 was

no.52 South Quay, owned by George Danby

Palmer, who lived and died there in 1865,

aged 78. This house and no.51 were built

here in 1819 by George Palmer, who had

the former warehouses and paint shop

demolished. Dr Whincopp lived at no. 51.

George Danby Palmer was the second son of

W.D.Palmer, councilman and magistrate. The

site of the two houses was in the possession

of the Barcham family in the 1600’s and

C.J.P. gives a detailed succession (P. P., Vol.

II, p.389). It appears that George Palmer

himself did not live in the house at ﬁrst,

letting it to Richard Moyse.

On the northwest corner of Row 138 was

a public house called the “Dog and Duck”.

The house on the southwest corner was the

property of William Danby Palmer, who

bought 400 acres of land at Loddon and Hales

Green.

The house on the southwest corner of Row

139 was built by Samuel Paget as his own

residence. In 1653 Thomas Grosse transacted

the site to Thomas Peek. In 1707 on part of

the site stood a pub called the “King’s Head”.

This Samuel Paget was the son of Samuel

Paget. He became victualler to the ﬂeet after

working for Kerridge the Government Agent

for victualling the Navy in Great Yarmouth.

Kerridge died in 1790, and young Samuel

was extremely fortunate to secure the post in

his place. Samuel married Sarah Elizabeth

Tolver, eldest daughter of Samuel, and their

son James became the famous surgeon,

appointed to Queen Victoria. When Samuel

Paget’s businesses later failed, the house was

sold to Roger Kerrison of Norwich, and then

acquired in 1873 by the Government for a

school of navigation. This was bombed in the

Second World War, but not destroyed. Robert

Postle gave a graphic description of the bomb

striking the building . [sound ﬁle link]

790

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

Wherry in the river. Photo. P.E.Rumbelow.

Greenwood, in

1577 was principal

burgess. Charles

Palmer gives a

short history of the

Greenwood family

(P.P., Vol II, p.410).

Greenwood sold the

house to Sir George

England, and in

turn he sold it to

Edmund Thaxter,

bailiff, who

had married his

daughter. Thaxter

was involved in

the preparations to

receive Charles II.

He entertained the

Earl of Yarmouth

at this house, where he was granted £40

for the purpose, so it must have been a

pretty lavish dinner. The Earl left the

sum of £10 for distribution to the poor,

which seems to me something of a net

loss to the town, and shows how the rich

have always had the advantage, salving

their conscience with a percentage of

their takings. He was a signatory of the

Solemn League and Covenant in 1643.

independently wealthy, with a wife and son,

although acting as a drawing master, he was

part of Philadelphia society, and an active

member of the Philadelphia Academy of Fine

Arts. Giles Wakeman the surgeon became

mayor in 1752, and died in 1755.

At the southwest corner of Row 142 in

the 1600’s the house belonged to William

Greenwood, whose earlier relative, John

Mabel (Boyce) Thomason and dog, see Row 112. Arch inside no.26, now Nelson Museum.

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The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

This document guaranteed the preservation

of the Free Church in Scotland, England,

and Ireland. After the restoration, the Act of

Sedition, 1661, declared the Solemn League

and Covenant to be illegal. Anyone associated

with it were liable to be burned, and Thaxter’s

name was erased from any document that

he had signed. This is an example of how

important at that time, the political ﬁgures of

Great Yarmouth were. Thaxter managed to

escape being burned, he lived to the age of

62, and died in 1690, the year of the Battle of

the Boyne, when rebellion raged in Ireland,

and the Orange Army was sent to quell the

rebellion.

in white brick and purchased in 1766 by

Nathaniel Palmer. Nathaniel was a merchant

and ship owner, and lived there until he died in

1783 at the age of 54. The house then passed

to his son James, who lived there for many

years, He was the son of another Nathaniel,

and his son and grandson were also named

Nathaniel. His father was second son of

Ambrose Palmer. The grandson was recorder

to the court for thirty years, dying 30.3.1872,

at the age of 79. One of the sons of James the

surgeon (Edward), emigrated to Toronto in

Canada.

At the northwest corner of Row 145 (the last

row), was an old house, then numbered 65,

which again, was re-fronted with white brick.

In 1778 it became the property of William

Palmer, eldest son of Nathaniel Palmer who

died in 1779. His granddaughter Elizabeth

became heir because her father died ﬁrst.

She herself however died within six months,

before the age of 21, so the considerable

fortune was then divided among the children

and descendants of her great-grandfather.

On the southwest corner of Row 143, the

house in Elizabethan times was owned by the

Grosse family. In 1616, Sampson Cawson

the baker was there. It was sold to Joseph

Maye, also a baker, but in 1652 it ceased to

sell bread, when sold to Gabriel Woodroffe, a

grocer.

The house at the southwest corner was cased

792

The locals would go down to the quay and meet the steamers with their

cargo of visitors. Many just arrived in the knowledge that someone would

offer cheap lodgings. Everyone here is in their smartest clothing.

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

The house was then sold to another

of the Palmers, Ambrose, a ship

builder, member of the corporation,

and magistrate. This Ambrose was the

third son of the above Nathaniel who

had dfed in 1799, by Lorina, his wife,

daughter of John Burton the water bailiff

and Mary Ferrier (see Northgate Street

Post Ofﬁce, formerly 3&4 Northgate

Street).

On the southwest corner of this last row

was a house with a cut-ﬂint front that

had been painted over. It was a public

house once called the “Nag’s Head”,

and in 1734 called the “Hat and Feather”. In

1870 it was called the “Unicorn” and was in

possession of the Cobb family. Appalling as

it now seems, the “Feather in the hat” was

originally one for each Turk that the wearer

had slain in battle.

Whole oxen were roasted on the quayside.

seated at tables along the quay in the open air.

Thirty eight tables were placed in one long

line from Edmund Lacon’s “Quay House” on

Hall Quay, to Samuel Paget’s residence at 59

South Quay. At this incredible party, 6,844

lbs of beef were eaten, and no less than 70

barrels of beer drunk. This party seemingly

extremely premature, celebrated Napoleon’s

resignation, but he was in fact not defeated at

Waterloo until 18th June 1815, more than a

year later. After a disastrous attempt to invade

On the 19th April 1814, to celebrate the

overthrow of Napoleon, a massive dinner

was held on the quay for 8,023 people,

Before the rush of the motor car, children played and the well-to-do paraded on the quayside.

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The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

Russia in 1812, Napoleon had

been defeated at Liepzig in

1813, was forced to abdicate

in April 1814, as celebrated in

Yarmouth. He was exiled to the

Isle of Elba, but escaped and

returned to power, and was not

ﬁnally defeated until the battle

at Waterloo the following year.

(What a waste of beef!)

6.844 lbs. of beef were consumed

at the party on the quay held to

celebrate the defeat of Napoleon

(previous page).

794

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

Panelling in an old house on South Quay, photos by P.E.Rumbelow, about 1935. Date on

mantlepiece - 1595.

L.A.W.Turner, mayor, 1780

Sam Tolver and Sam Barker, Chamberlains,

1780

The Royal Coat of Arms and the Town

Coat of Arms, were removed and restored

in about 1976, then hung in the Magistrates

Court in the Town Hall.

Robert Warmington, Mayor, 1809

P&O Line, autumn cruises

Ofﬁce for P&O Line, London

C.P.R. Canadian Paciﬁc Railways

................ Consulate Board

Hull, 5/- and 6/-

Cunard Line

American Line

Right, panelling at 56 South Quay, photo 1992

795

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

Crane Quay, opposite to the old Y.M.C.A.,

now empty ofﬁces to let, was the site of a

large crane for hundreds of years. A crane was

depicted here on the Elizabethan map. The

public house on the quay, opposite to the crane

was called the “Three Cranes”, and passed in

1775 into possession of James Turner, a partner

in the bank of Gurneys and Co. of Norwich.

They closed the pub., and converted into a

bank. Later, the bank moved to its current site

(Barclays) on Hall Quay, and Sam Barker,

one time mayor, acquired the building, had it

demolished, and erected a “spacious house”

as residence for his new son in law, William

Palgrave jun. The ﬁrst crane according to

Manship, was erected in 1528. This was blown

down in 1826. A third crane was in use in

Palmers time, the second having disappeared

also. (see also under Row 106) Before

continuing down South Quay, some unique

wartime experiences:-

A John Crane was drawing master to

C.J.Palmer.

Photos of Winterton, by P.E.Rumbelow,

1.8.1935

Prior to the last war a family called Crane were

resident in Winterton. John Crane was born

in Winterton on 20/8/31, to Elsie, daughter of

Bob King, part owner of “Ocean Trust”, one

of Bloomﬁeld’s boats. Bob King’s boats had

acted as tender to naval ships at Scapa Flow in

the war, and then resumed ﬁshing, but he sold

up before the ﬁshing failed. Elsie had a brother,

also called Bob, who kept a shop in Winterton,

and in the 1938 ﬂoods, when landlord of the

Nelson at Horsey, the pub. had been ﬂooded

out, moved to an off-licence in Ordinance Road,

this was demolished by a bomb, and then he

went to Horsey. One day in the war, in the

shop in the village a Fokke-Wulf 190 came low

over Winterton, dropping several bombs, one

of which went through the doctor’s surgery,

and through the outside toilet into the King’s

kitchen, where, as it had not exploded, the cat

sat on it! Since this was a 500 lb bomb, if it had

exploded, the centre of Winterton would not

exist as it does today. The bomb squad defused

the bomb, took it into the village square, and

steamed out the explosive. Grand-father Crane

was blown up on a Trinity House ship in the

First War. They were destroying a wreck, but it

796

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

was full of explosives, and the whole crew was

killed. Crane’s sons were all sent to the Trinity

House School for Seamanship in London.

John’s father was at ﬁrst in the merchant navy,

on a tramp ship, a general cargo vessel, and

later went ﬁshing. Two other brothers were

James, who emigrated to Australia, Tom, who

went to Liverpool, another brother that moved

away also, a sister living in Brundall, Ellen,

who married one of the Reynolds family of

Caister, (see St. Peter’s Road) and another

sister who married a garage owner in Kent.

At the commencement of war in 1940,

John Crane was 8 years old and at School

in Winterton village. Another boy at school

with him then was his cousin Malcolm

King. Lessons in wartime were not always

so frequent, and the boys tended to gather

on the beach away from the school, or in a

hut that had been a net chamber. The sand

dunes had been mined as well as some of the

beaches, and there was a shooting range, and

large numbers of troops came to Winterton,

staying perhaps a week at a time, for training

purposes, not only for riﬂe practice but also

for exercises under ﬁre, with machine guns

ﬁring over their heads. The boys used to

know safe trails through the mineﬁelds to the

beach. When the wind blew the mines were

exposed, although later they might well be

covered by sand again. They also played on

the ﬁring range, and when the soldiers were

elsewhere they would gather cartridges by the

sackful. Although most were spent, many were

not, and live ammunition was plentiful. On

one occasion the lads obtained a full box of

riﬂe bullets, dragging the heavy wooden box

away through the sand dunes. They

became experts on gun-powder

and explosives. Amazingly they

were never injured. They found

mortar bombs and shells too, and

dismantled them, extracting the

powder to make their own rockets

and toy mortars, that really ﬁred

and exploded. They found that in

terms of the powder there were

three types of 303 cartridges. They

would ﬁt the bullet into a hole and

then break the end off the cartridge.

Inside they found “black ball

THE GANG ON WINTERTON BEACH

(JUST AFTER THE WAR)

THE SWIMMERS” ON WINTERTON

BEACH AFTER THE WAR. Russell, Ricky,

****, John, Buddy, Audrey, and two others?

cordite”, “black cordite”, and “stick cordite”.

They found that there was not much fun to be

had from the black type, but the stick cordite

was more useful. To make a home made bomb,

they would use a “Camp Coffee” bottle with

the lid off, put some cordite inside, and then

lay a stick of it over the edge and light the end

so that it acted as a fuse, and when it burned

through it got to a stage when its own weight

would tip it into the jar and set off the rest with

a good bang. One day, the cordite, usually

set smouldering with a cigarette so burning

quite slowly, was by-passed entirely, and the

14.5.2005

797

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

Photos inside 25 and 26 South Quay, 1992

798

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

799

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

cigarette fell directly into the bottle,

which blew up instantly, glass ﬂying

everywhere, yet no injury was sustained!

The boys found hundreds and hundreds of

live rounds, and stored the cordite that they

extracted in a biscuit tin. Sometimes they

would put a stick of cordite onto the stove

in the kitchen at home, and it would go

ﬁzzing around the room! One day the stick

jumped off the stove right into the biscuit

tin. The kitchen was instantly invisible due

to ﬂames and smoke. The boy’s mother was

not at home! Another trick was to use a two

inch mortar ﬂare; there were various types.

This particular arrangement was to dig the

ﬂare into the ground, knock the top off, ram

it in to made it harder, and then set light to

it. There was then an extremely loud bang,

and the ﬂare would be projected some two

hundred feet into the air. These tricks were

routine over most of the ﬁve year period of

the war, and yet the only boy ever hurt was

the policeman’s son, when someone threw a

smoke-bomb onto the ﬁre, when it blew out

into his arm, so breaking it. When it was all

clear, the boys would trek across the mine-

ﬁeld to the beach.

Ships were often blown up out at sea, and all

sorts of wreckage would ﬁnd its way onto the

beach. One day a large tea-chest was washed

onto the beach, and when it was opened up,

it was full of Chinese money, packed full -

probably thousands of pounds worth. Another

day, barrels of fruit pulp were washed up all

along the beach. Sometimes in the evening

the E-boats were inshore on the surface,

shooting at the shipping with their deck guns.

At school there was a boy posted on the roof

to spot enemy aircraft. One day when they

were on the sand hills, an enemy Heinkel

came out of the cloud at about 300 feet,

and going over the youngsters the crew just

waved to them, as though one of their own.

The boys gave the sand hills names. One was

“Blue Bird hill”, looking like the racing car.

One misty day there was a huge explosion

nearby, then several more at close proximity.

Shelling had started on the range!

800

Cruck-like roof timbers at no.25 South Quay

1992

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

At night the children would gather at the cart

shed, quite a crowd of them of all ages. They

tried to avoid a boy called Percy, as he used

to tell his mother what they were getting up

to! Perhaps twenty children would gather at a

time. Sometimes they picked sides and threw

stones and bricks at each other in mock wars.

Ancient

side wall

of no.21

photo.

27.4.2007

The shells that they found, they would hide

everywhere and anywhere. One stash was in

the coal shed. One day when mother put some

coal on the ﬁre, the front of it was blown off.

“Cor, this is funny coal” she said! The door

holding the coal, and the grating in it was

blown right out of the range.

In one place on the range where the gunners

ﬁred bren-guns over the heads of the soldiers,

there were millions of shells in a hollow.

The boys would rummage through for the

live ones, and were un-interested in the spent

cartridges. One day they took several boxes

of 9mm shells, boxes of about 2x1x1 feet or

so in size, with rope handles, and buried them

for safe keeping but were unable to ﬁnd them

again, and they may well be there to this day.

There had been an anti-tank trap there, so they

might be quite deep.

The boys would “pinch” thunder ﬂashes from

the back of the army lorries. The trick with

these then was to light one which had been

weighted by ﬁlling the hollow end with sods

of grass, drop it down a length of scaffold

tube, count ﬁve, light another, drop that down

the tube the other way round, and then the

explosion from the ﬁrst would blow the second

high into the air where it would detonate. The

boys thought that the soldiers were pleased

not to have too many left to use themselves!

The thunder ﬂash had a strip on the side like a

matchbox, and a match-like end, that enabled

it to be lit. Sometimes the boys set off smoke

bombs in the middle of the village when the

washing was out. There was so much smoke

that no-one could see a thing! For a ten year

old boy this was bliss indeed.

Above, front door of

no.25,

below, door,

entrance to Nelson

Museum

both, 27.4.2007

The sand in the mine ﬁelds would shift around.

One was thought to be a dummy mineﬁeld

by the lads. Sometimes the mines would be

801

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

uncovered, and sometimes they might be three

feet deep. Of course the adults never knew

what the boys were up to - they would have

been distraught. This particular mineﬁeld they

walked through regularly, and none of them

was ever blown up, but whether it really was a

dummy ﬁeld or not will never be known. There

were wires leading from one mine to another

that were sometimes exposed. Some boys crept

around the mineﬁelds avoiding the mines to

collect the small parachutes that were attached

to the two inch mortar bombs. Several dogs

had been blown up in the mineﬁelds though.

The mineﬁeld was a strip of land immediately

inland from the beach, about 50 yards across.

The parachutes were fun to play with when

a weight was attached and the string and

parachute coiled up. These parachutes were

about two and a half feet in diameter. The

best time was to be when out at night. Crowds

of the boys went up the cart sheds beside the

pubs. They messed around by these sheds at

night, but on the range the tracer would be

ﬁred, and they could get around out of sight of

the adults.

4th January 2010

Other favourite games were making bicycles

from scrap parts, racing tin cans down the sand

hills; and crouching up inside old rubber tyres

that were rolled down the sand hill with the

boy thus inside it. One day Mally (Malcolm

King), George, and John found a stove in

the far plantation, dragged it to the near

plantation, and there they cooked pheasants

eggs by boiling them. These were children’s

games when the imagination was used to great

advantage.

There were gangs in the village, the boys

would be afﬁliated to one gang or another such

as the Smith’s gang, and used to ﬁght each

other. If an outsider came into the village the

word would be round like wild-ﬁre and they

would appear from everywhere to “ston-em-

home”. They would drive any other child out

by throwing stones at them. The children of

one village could never go into another, even

say from Winterton to Martham. One day

mother sent John to the tally man in Martham

on father’s “biceckle”. This was a frightening

experience indeed. He had to “run like hell”, or

The grand

entrance to the

ofﬁces of the

Port and Haven

Commisioners,

27.4.07

802

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

else the boys in Martham would have

given him a “good turning over” if they

caught him. Every village was the same,

and hence very interbred in those days

before the war. The only thing that put

paid to it was the war, when the soldiers

came, and the girls in the village

fancied the soldiers. A number of the

girls married soldiers. Regiments such

as the Gloucesters and the Berkshires

would visit on training exercises for

perhaps a week at a time.

On the cliffs were gun emplacements

with 14 inch guns. There were search

lights also, and some other guns positioned on

the beach. There was a narrow gauge railway

with a locomotive that was used to pull

wagons laden with boxes of shells. The boys

played on loose trucks, taking them off their

coupling to the locomotive, pulling them to the

top of a hill, then sitting in it, allowing it to run

down the hill and up the other side. One they

called “jumping jenny” as it used to jump off

the tracks at the speeds the boys used to go at.

One time there were two trucks running down

from the beach end, one behind the other, and

another boy let a truck go from the other end

at the same time. There was a violent collision,

and John who was positioned at the front of

the leading truck, was unable to get off. The

truck threw the lad through the air under the

leading truck; then the truck behind collided

also, and the boy went through between its

axles. At the ﬁnish he was cut on the leg and

his head. A soldier nearby picked him up

and carried him to the nearest house, where

the doctor was called to stitch his wounds.

Evidently the soldiers allowed the boys to

play there with little restriction. Shortly after,

during the Battle of Britain, there was a raid

on the village, when the bombs fell onto the

sand-hills, where the marram grass was set on

ﬁre by incendiaries. This great ﬁre could be

seen from afar, and attracted more and more

bombs. Next day it was seen that every square

yard had been hit by bombs. “Lord Haw Haw”

announced on German radio that Yarmouth

had been razed to the ground in the night. It

The young women’s project centre, 27.4.07. A

drop in centre for young mothers with problems.

(bottom right)

Rear of 25 South Quay, about 1941.

Outside

Nelson

Museum,

27.4.07

803

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

appears that this would certainly have been

so, if it were not for the marram grass on

Winterton hills.

There were four large net chambers in

the village, buildings with two ﬂoors, the

upper quite stout, where the soldiers were

billeted. Some of the houses in the village

were converted net chambers. The soldiers

had straw mattresses on the ﬂoor. They used

parafﬁn stoves outside to cook and boil

water. The ﬂame was projected along under

the billy cans. Nearby the net chambers were

the tanning tanks that had been used with a

ﬁre underneath to coat the nets in a hot tarry

liquid.

And so to sea:

After the war John Crane, leaving school,

went to sea as a cabin boy on King’s boat.

They went initially into Felixstowe, but on

leaving that port the engine failed. Removing

a plug from the engine, it simply poured out

water, so was unrepairable. The boat drifted

south for three days. Eventually a huge

vessel stopped beside them in the Thames

and radioed to land. In due course they

were towed into Ramsgate by the lifeboat.

This was not a good ﬁrst experience at sea

however and it was to be his last. The water

had all been contaminated by salt, and the

boat simply drifting about and bobbing up

and down as it pleased. The rugs were burned

to try and catch attention, and ﬂares when the

ferry passed, but all to no avail. At that time

the ﬁshing had been still in full swing, indeed

there was a glut of herring for ﬁve years or

so after the war before it became over ﬁshed

and the industry failed quite suddenly.

No.12 South Quay, ofﬁces of H.K.B. Wiltshire,

solicitors, 27.4.2007.

Crane house was bought for £1400 and

opened as a Y.M.C.A. on 2nd July 1900. They

left the building 9th May 1934, when it was

bought and used by the Church of Scotland.

Later, it was converted to ofﬁces.

Crane senior was on a drifter during the war

that was ﬁtted out as a mine-sweeper. There

were cables running around the outside of

the vessel that induced a magnetic ﬁeld so

as to set off the magnetic mines. One day

coming into harbour further south, they came

up against one of the new acoustic mines and

the vessel was blown to pieces. Only two

men survived this. The wife of one of the

dead men later drowned herself in the Yare.

Crane himself was subsequently in charge

of the tug the “George Jewson” (see North

Quay). During the war the river was home to a

number of motor torpedo boats. The captains

of these tended to be rather reckless, and could

not be trusted to come in and out of harbour

804

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

safely, so the “George Jewson” was instructed

to tow them in and out and so ensure the safety

of other craft and the sea wall.

Ignoring the Air raids:

During the war some of the young lads at

Bunn’s warehouse, on the opposite side of the

river, kept watch up on their roof. After some

passage of war, the staff being very busy with

animal feed, they tired of abandoning work for

the incessant sirens, that frequently went off,

yet nothing followed. Rather than rely on the

sirens, even though there were two types of

siren, one to warn of activity in the area, and

a whooping type of call that indicated aircraft

actually over the town itself, they devised their

own system, taken when this local warning

sounded. Three or four boys were rostered by

Mr. Bunn to take turns and climb up a ladder

to the roof, and another short ladder up the

chimney stack, and observe to warn if the

aircraft was actually headed in their direction

or not. Robert Postle or one of the other

youngsters, would be sat on top of the roof

with an electric bell-push to sound the alarm

if there was any real danger, when everyone in

the ofﬁce would dive for cover.

..\..\SOUND\Postle9Bunns alarm system.wav

The boy would simply be hanging onto the

chimney-pot! One grey and misty day, early

in 1941, Robert was despatched to take watch

when the crash alarm sounded. There was

the sound of an aircraft, and looking in all

directions through the drizzle, he could see

nothing. He turned to look north, when out

of the cloud appeared a Heinkel 111, coming

over the Haven bridge, at a level below the

town hall clock, and since the aircraft had now

passed, Robert did not push the bell-switch,

but the plane released ﬁve silver bombs,

which fell horizontally into the river without

exploding. The ﬁve bombs fell in the region

of the cranes, and have never been reported

or found. It looked as though the plane was

aiming them at the cranes, but hit nothing.

..\..\SOUND\Postle8bombs in river.wav

Digging under ﬁre!

It was at about this time that the corporation

decided to construct another road at the back

of Southtown. Until then there was only the

one road to Gorleston, and Suffolk Road was

Inside the entrance of the Nelson Museum,

27.4.2007

Entrance of what had once been Hurry’s

Warehouse, now below Plummer’s Dental

Surgery. 27.4.2007 (“Quay Plaza”).

805

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

constructed then as an alternative route.

Fortunately too, since shortly thereafter

Southtown Road was made impassable by

bomb damage. The dig for victory campaign

was initiated, and the allotments created

in Cobholm and everywhere that there was

spare ground that could be dug up. Young

Postle was digging at the allotment one

morning, when a DO-17, having attacked

Jewson’s premises, where a ship was

unloading timber dropping a bomb missing

it, but damaging the quayside, and killing

two dockers. The pilot could see no other

activity bar the sight of Postle digging, and

so made a raid on the allotment, straﬁng it

with machine gun ﬁre.

Children’s Games: Some are described in the

preceding paragraphs, but the South Quay

was formerly a favourite place for children

to gather and play, since it had an avenue of

trees in the middle and little vehicular trafﬁc

compared with today. Before the last war

the children in this area would also wander

down towards the harbour’s mouth and onto

the open ground of the South Denes, where

barrels would be piled on which to play, but

also a man might be found burning debris

such as broken barrels and ﬁsh baskets.

Walking a distance was thought nothing of,

and they would play cricket or football down

there, since the power station and the big

factories had not yet been built. The children

would climb up piles of barrels higher than a

house without complaint. Baby might also be

in care of the older ones, and taken out on a

trolley or antiquated perambulator. Children’s

games in the thirties used cigarette cards for

currency. They were sometimes stood up

like skittles and the child that knocked them

down acquired them. Darts were popular, as

were marbles. An “alley” was the name for

the big marbles; again, the winner acquired

the marbles. Cigarette cards were ﬁxed

to Inkson’s ﬁsh-house wickets, and darts

thrown. Whoever impaled the card won it.

“Knock-a-doory-bunkum”: knocking on

people’s doors and running away, was good

sport to the children of the Middlegate. area.

Very annoying for adults, though harmless

enough. Mainly in out of the way rows, the

Inside “Quay Plaza” 27.4.2007

Entrance portico of No.4 South Quay,

27.4.2007

806

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

children would ring a bell or

knock on a door and ran away

as fast as they could. Mind you,

should they get caught, they got a

thick ear, and if they cried about

it at home, another one. In the

ﬁshing season there was more

trafﬁc on the south quay, but

otherwise spinning tops could

be hit in the road without any

concern. Skipping with one each

end and one in the middle was

common. To a child then, the

Methodist Chapel at Priory Plain

was fascinating, and a site of

imaginary games and exploration.

When empty, children could still ﬁnd a way in

to explore and play out their imaginary games.

Crane on the Quayside, 31.3.1985, (photo.

P.G.T.) The crane was broken up and removed

in May 1985.

Crane House

Now the Nelson Museum,

then, ofﬁces.

Crane Quay 31.3.1985. (Photo. P.G.T.)

Crane, with conical roof.

The crane, prior to 1854 - (PGT collection).

Missions to Seamen Institute, no.63

South Quay. Photo. by Yallop.

807

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

The “sceptre” public house on

the corner of Friars Lane. (N.W.

corner) Arthur Greaves was the

landlord here in the 30’s. He

came to Yarmouth from London,

having previously kept the

Kings Arms at Wood Green,

and the “surprise” at Chelsea.

He also, in-between those,

took the working man’s club

at Twickenham. He was thus

an experienced publican and

leased the pub. from Bullards,

it being one of the very few that

were not owned by Lacons. He

brought his wife and young daughter Lucille

with him to go to the Theatre Stores pub. at

Norwich, but feeling that to be too rowdy he

came to one of Bullards’ three Yarmouth pubs,

which he took for some 5 years. Their daughter

Rose was born here, and then they moved to

take a boarding house in Victoria Road, which

he bought in 1936. In the ﬁrst war he was

in Jerusalem with the 21st lancers, a cavalry

regiment, and lost the sight in one eye. The

best trade in the sceptre was when the Scots

ﬁshermen were in town, and Mrs. Greaves

put some of them and holiday boarders up in

the rooms above the pub. that were on the two

upper stories. Above the Pub. itself was a large

ﬁrst ﬂoor room that served for functions of

such groups as the Masons and the Buffaloes.

Mrs. Greaves looked after the lodgers, there

were lunches and evening meals to provide as

well as the bed and breakfast. In all there were

seven in the family. The children were Lucille,

now Dufﬁeld; Sid, now at Kennel Loke, and

who worked at one time on the old Queen

Elizabeth liner; Grenville, who worked

at Bunns and then Spandlers as a senior

manager in the haulage business; Dorothy,

now Pettit De Mange, living in Lowestoft,

and the baby, Rose, who married into the

Smithdale family of Lowestoft, who had an

iron foundry in Acle.

all 6.1.2010

The Smithdale line at Acle started with

Thomas Smithdale, who had six sons and had

moved from Ramsey. They made pumping

machinery and drains, and at one time had a

mustard business before Colmans started up.

South Quay Surgery, Dr Suman Nagpal and Dr Sunita Nagpal.

(compare 10 pages further on)

808

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

The foundry was at Acle behind the manor house that they

owned there, and that smelting furnace is now to be seen at

the museum at Gressenhall. In the photo outside the Sceptre,

Alf Walker was Mrs Amelia Greaves’ brother, who was a

carpenter, now of Lowestoft, but who came to Yarmouth

with the rest of the family. The Greaves family moved to

a boarding house at 28 Victoria Road, now the “Garrick”

Holiday ﬂatlets, prop. D. A. Knights. (see under Victoria

Road) Mrs. Walker never lived in Yarmouth, but visited

from her home at Southall.

Rose Greaves, outside the Sceptre.

The former Sceptre public house, converted to ﬂats a

few years previously, seen 6.10.2010, and below -

10.9.2006.

A r t h u r

Greaves on

the doorstep

of the Sceptre

p u b l i c

house, about

1930. (Then

Bullard’s

Ales)

Lucille back left, Grenville, front Left,

baby Rose in grandmother’s arms.

10.9.2006, ﬂats, once, “The Sceptre”(re-built post war).

809

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

When the south part of South quay was

demolished (now flats) an undercroft was

discovered . Robert Postle’s description of

the undercroft was recorded by me in 1992.

Robert said that the undercroft is still there,

filled in .

No.12, Row 138, when demolished,

revealed underneath, an undercroft, as

photographed by Philip Rumbelow, below.

He also recorded the plan below left.

Drury House appears to have been the third

south from the corner of Friars Lane. The

house was a Jacobean one, erected at the

beginning of the 17th. century by Roger

Drury. The Drury family acquired most of the

property of the Blackfriars monastery. The

whole front was faced with square-cut flints.

and dressed with stone. The centre porch had

a room above, and over that at one time were

the figures of three naked boys, cast in lead.

Evidently the rainwater was passed by them

in a way you can imagine. The house was

shown on Corbridge’s map with an avenue of

trees in front that led right across the Quay

to the river. The house was occupied during

the 17th. century by Major Ferrier. In 1777

the house was owned by Anthony Taylor,

and following him, the owner was Jacob

Preston, mayor in 1793 and 1801. On the day

of his inauguration as Mayor for the third

time, in 1834, Preston officially opened the

new Regent Street. At a radio interview on

28th. Dec. 1994, I questioned a man called

Keith, who phoned in, and admitted to being

on the crew that actually demolished the

property. He said that the house was then in

the worst state imaginable, having been set

Philip Rumbelow’s plan of the site of the

undercrofts (which remain there covered

over, today).

810

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

fire to by occupants who used the panelling

for firewood. Afterwards though, on 31/12/94,

Percy Trett told me that the house had belonged

to Yarmouth Stores. Then the historical building

Company managed to acquire it. The directors

used to meet at Lovewell Blakes office. They

included Col. Beevor, Ecclestone, Millican

and Meldrum. When Meldrum died, Trett was

elected in his place, but unknown to him, the

others had taken a decision to demolish it.

Trett, horrified, was unable to prevent the act.

The house had a black and white marble floor

in the hallway, and was extensively panelled

throughout. It had several of the Yarmouth

“Angel” cupboards, which were somehow

saved from the demolition team and sold, as

was the staircase, by Malcolm Ferrow. The

staircase was reassembled at Blickling Hall,

and is still to be found in the building with

the tea rooms. Apparently the fire raisers were

unauthorised squatters.

South of Drury House, the ground between

it and the South Gate, which had belonged

to the Black Friars, was purchased by John

Berney in 1671. The last house before the

811

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

south gate was a pub that in 1772 was called the

“Dolphin”, then called the “Ship on the stocks”,

and then the “First and Last”.

The South Gate is depicted as a ruin in an

original sketch given to P. E. R., and contained

in his diary for 1941-2. It shows the western

tower of the gateway remaining, the eastern

part and the arch having disappeared.

The advent of North Sea Oil

Further down the Quay towards the harbour’s

mouth now, have in recent years been

based a number of offshore companies. The

quays are controlled by the Port and Haven

commissioners. Wimpey Marine of London

acquired rights over several sites on the quay

in the 60’s. Sites were let to such offshore

companies as Haliburton and Brown and Root,

that are American in origin. A man called Reg.

Butcher came to Yarmouth to investigate the

Charlie and Billy Brett, marine

engineers, see Row 142.

812

Detail from sketch preserved in Rumbelow’s Diary, showing the South Gate,

part demolished.

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

Snow scenes, 6th. January 2010.

This blacksmith’s shop later owned by the

Brett bothers.

site in the days when the only remaining

shipping concerns were such as Lee

Barber, Jewson, Palgrave Brown, and

Bunns. Timber and grain were imported,

but there was no offshore industry until

1964. Pipes were then stored and shipped

in and out, and the ships servicing the

rigs were introduced. The supervisor’s

job then meant being on call 24 hours

a day, and carrying a “bleep”. B.P. was

10.9.2006, Scrap Yard opposite old South Gate.

813

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

Town Hall

Row 76

Row 83

Queen Street

1

2

3

4

12

(Wiltshire)

(Plummer’s

Surgery)

Detail from Henry Swinden’s map of Great Yarmouth 1758 (?38).

another company to arrive in the early

days. In 1983 Wimpey Marine took

over the sites of Brown and Root, and

in 1988, Inspectorate E.A.E, a Swiss

based investment company combined

with Francis Holmes’ East Anglian

Electronics, bought up the pipe yards,

and created a new business park. Later

Francis Holmes’ newly formed company,

Ventureforth, bought the Yarmouth sites

from Inspectorate, and they became

entirely locally controlled.

The Smithy. Off Southgates Road in 1938,

at no.19, were Plane R.& J., ship smiths. John

Plane worked there very briefly, and described

the work. The owners were his father John

and Uncle Robert. (another brother Billy, was

a capstan maker) In the Smithy was a forge,

burning coke, and forced with bellows. The

iron was softened and worked. Perhaps two

pieces at once would be made white hot. The

two pieces would be joined by hammering

them together whilst white hot. John Plane

snr. went blind due to the white light off the

hot metal. Then it would be heated again, and

finished off with more hammering. Chains for

ships anchors were one of the items made.

814

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

(Custom

House)

No.20

21 22

23 24

(YMCA)

25

26

27

28

29

(Nelson

Museum)

30

31

(Gallon

Can)

(Car Park)

the crane

The iron came from a foundry further up the

Quay, on the site of (now) Pertwee and Back’s

premises. Coke was used in the furnace, and

there was a hood over it, but no doubt gave

copious fumes all the same. This smithy was

up the little passage that is beside the Albert

Tavern. The business then owned by Albert

and John was inherited from their father. The

forge was on the south side of the passage,

although there was a second forge on the north

side, together with the iron store. Here now

is the warehouse of the East Coast Electric

Co., on the south, and a garage on the north.

At lunchtime, the men of the forge used the

Albert Tavern. There is a passage behind,

running to Exmouth Road.

no.31, 31a, no.32, about 1930. 31 was then

Miss Dyson, confectioner, 31a was Seaman,

hairdresser, and 32 was the pub., Daniel

S.Dyson, landlord.

815

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

816

(see next 2 pages on)

Clarendon Close

Row 132

Row 133

Row 136

Row 137

Row 138

Row 139

(Buck’s drawing)

(Swinden’s map)

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

Unicorn

59 South Quay

Sam Paget’s house

34 + 35 South Quay,(Escombe

Group) 31.3.1985 (on map

previous page)

818

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

Sceptre

Halcyon Shipping,

no. 36 South Quay,

from Nottingham

Way, 31.3.1985 (map

prev. page)

Drury House.

South Gate part demolished

(also see detail, earlier page).

South Gate

819

The “First and Last”

31.3.1985, PGT.

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

Custom

House

Tolhouse

Red

Lion

Druid’s

Arms

London

Tavern

South Quay - Ordnance Survey

1885

820

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

Custom

House

Gallon

Can

White

Swan

The

Angel

821

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

822

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

The Occupants, South Quay, 1863

1. Haven Duties Ofﬁce, ofﬁcer – George

Costerton, House, Southtown

2. National Provincial Bank of England,

Manager, John Brewer Bowden

3. Preston, Isaac (Isaac Preston and Son)

timber merchant, ofﬁce, Southtown

Preston, Charles Abbott (I. and C.A.Preston),

solicitor

4. Palmer, Charles John, solicitor, ofﬁce -

Regent Street

5. Holt, Mrs. Martha

6. Holt, William, solicitor, magistrates clerk,

and agent to Norwich Union Fire and Life

Ofﬁce, house – no.51

7. Barker, John, ship owner

8. Gooch, Capt., Thomas Lewis R.N.

9. Shelly, John W., and Co., ship agents,

brokers, hemp and tar merchants and Consular

agents.

10. Barber, Henry Holt, ship and general

commission agent, house, Friars Lane

11. empty

12. Hodgkinson, Francis, solicitor

13. Lonsdale, Mrs Elizabeth

14. Boardman, the Misses

15. Pumfrey, James, victualler, xxxx

Tavern, coal meter and assistant crane

master

16. Palmer, Frederick D., surgeon

17. Hylton, John B., (Berney and Hylton)

ship owner and coal merchant

18. Andrews, John, victualler, “Sons of

Commerce”

19. Knox, George, victualler, “Royal

Exchange”, ship agent and custom house

agent

20. Custom House, collector – William

Maclean, house, 5 Camperdown

21. empty

22. Public Library, librarian -Edward

Cattermole, House St George’s Row West

23. Port Dues Ofﬁce, accountant Henry

Teasdel, collector &c., George Colk

823

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

“South Star”

originally

a narrow

build

“First and

Last” just

one narrow

building

north of the

town wall.

824

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

Ballast Ofﬁce – Lessee Thomas Bower,

house – Leeds

24. Marsh, Mr Samuel Charles

25. Bunn, James William, (T & J W Bunn)

corn and seed merchants – ofﬁce – Riverside,

Southtown

26. Steward, Thomas (Lucas and Steward)

solicitor, ofﬁce – St Georges Row West

27. Tompkins, Daniel, boarding school

Teasdel, James, ship agent and broker

Whincop, Philip, victualler, “Gallon Can”

Garrod, Edward, beer house

King, Catherine, victualler, “White Swan”

33. Clarke, John, ship owner and merchant

34. King, John, victualler, “The Angel”

35. Farraday, Mrs Agnes

36. Lawson, George, beer house

37. Briggs, William, ship owner and shipping

agent

38. Davie, William, Trinity- House Agent, and

sub-commissioner of pilotage

39. Woolverton, Charles, painter &c.

40. Clarke, William Thomas, notary public,

conveyancer and agent to salvors, house -

Gorleston

Clarke, William Benjamin, solicitor

41. Fill, Samuel John, ship’s chandler, oil and

colour man, house – 1 Alma Road

Powell, victualler, “Newcastle Tavern”

42. Shipston, Samuel, butcher

43. Fulcher, Benjamin, greengrocer

Child, John, brazier, and tin man, house,

Row 132

44. Johnson, Robert, (Johnson and sons)

draper &c., shop – Market Row

45. Carter, George Cornelius, victualler, “Bell

and Crown”, and smack owner

46. empty

47. Betts, John, ship owner and harbour master

48. Preston, Jacob, wine merchant

49. Shelly, Mrs Elizabeth

50. Gedge, William, victualler, “Three

Herrings”

51. Holt, William, solicitor, ofﬁce – No.6

52. Palmer, George Danby, ship owner

54. Shelley, Rev. Augustine Thos. Wesleyan

Boarding School

55. Fisher, William Thornton, solicitor

Cox, John, victualler, Dog and Duck

56. Clowes, John, solicitor

57. Veale, Robert, mast and block maker, shop

– South Denes Road

58. Stone, Alison Davy, sail maker, ship

owner and ﬁsh curer

59. Reeve, James Robert, wine and spirit and

vinegar agent

Government School of Art and Navigation,

Patrick B. Brophy, navigation master, James

Jones, house, 4. Dowager Place

Mayston, John, brazier and tin man

60. Giles, George William and son, ﬁsh

merchants, ﬁsh salesmen, and auctioneers

61. Page, Nathaniel Engel, victualler,

Mariners Compass

62. Bayes, Benjamin, green grocer

63. Fenner, Horatio, grocer

64. Steward, Mrs Anne

Steward, Mr Eaton Stannard

65. Chevalier, Mrs. Sophia

Tompson, Mrs. Arthur

66. Jex, Edward, victualer, Unicorn

67. Giles, George William, ship bread maker,

house, no.60

68. Harmer, Robert Henry, solicitor, ofﬁce

– 17 Regent Street

69. Preston, the Misses

Steward, Joshua, victualler, Britannia,

and butcher

70. Poll, William, timber merchant

71. Eastoe, William, master mariner

72. Manning, George Henry, shop keeper and

joiner

73. Dyson, William Ferrett, sail maker and

ﬁsh curer, shop, Row 18

74. Hastings, Henry, boat builder

75. Brown, Mr.George

76. Blanchﬂower, Timothy Colman, chemist

and druggist in Gaol Street, house here

77. Halls, Mr James Henry

78. Mansell, Benjamin, beer house

79. Brown, Jane, victualler, “South Star”

80. Coleman, James, shopkeeper and

greengrocer

83. Hartley, Robert, shopkeeper

84. Teasdel, John, victualler, “First and Last”

P.H.,

High, James, rag dealer

Fish, J., coal merchant, house – Friars

Lane

Plane, John, ship smith, house- 1

Blackfriars Road

Wooden, Thomas, mast and blockmaker,

825

The Wall

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

house- Row 139

Anderson, William, (Thomas and William

Anderson) sailmaker, house Row 108

[Anderson the sailmaker was later found

behind 51 North Quay]

18. Botwright, victualler, “Sons of Commerce”

19. George,Henry, victualler, “Royal George”

…..Row 103…..

20. Custom House, collector, William Crighton

Maclean, FGS., house - 31 Camperdown

Terrace

…..Row 104…..

21. Black, William

22. Public Library (established 1802) Librarian

Edward Cattermole, house- 63 George Street

23. Corporation Ofﬁce, accountant, Henry

Teasdel jun., house – 2 Pier Terrace

…..Row 106…..

24. Hall, John Parkinson, crape manufacturer,

Crane House

…..Row 108…..

25. Bunn, James William, corn and seed

merchant, ofﬁce – Riverside, Southtown

26. Steward, Thomas Fowler, (Lucas and

Steward) solicitor, house- St George’s Row

West

27. Reeve, James Robert, wine and vinegar

merchant

…..Row 111…..

28. Tomkins, Daniel, classical and commercial

school, (Travers House) Yarmouth College

…..Row 112…..

29. Brown, Mrs C., corn merchant, maltster,

and agent for Barclay, Perkins and Co.

Hnaworth, William, receiver of corporation

rents

30. Isaac, Edward Bernard, victualler, “Gallon

Can”

…..Row 117…..

31. Barrett, James, beer retailer, “Sailor’s

Home”

…..Row 118…..

32. King, Catherine, victualler, “White Swan”

…..Row 118…..

33. Nicholson, Rev.Richard, Minister of

Countess of Huntingdon’s chapel, Fish Street

34. King, John, victualler, “Angel”

…..Row 123…..

35. Fishermen’s Institute

36. Lawson, George, victualler, “Collier’s

Arms”

…..Row 124…..

37. Tritton, Rev.William, Minister of

St.George’s Chapel

38. Cowle, Henry, notary public and

conveyancer

The Occupants, South Quay, 1874

1. Palmer, Frederick Danby, solicitor and

notary public, Agent to the ﬁre and life

ofﬁce, and clerk to the guardians

2. Preston, H Waters, solicitor

Haven Duties Ofﬁce, collector, George

Costerton, house Southtown, Preston, Isaac,

clerk to the Haven and Pier commissioners

Waters, John Tolver, solicitors

3. Worship and Rising, solicitor and clerk to

the charity trustees

4. Aldred, Samuel, auctioneer and estate

agent, and agent to the National Provident

Institution, the Essex and Suffolk ﬁre ofﬁce,

and General Accident Death Assurance

Company

…..Row 83…..

5. Holt, Mrs Martha

6. Holt, William, solicitor, magistrates clerk,

and agent to the Norwich Union ﬁre and life

ofﬁce; house Kings Road, South Denes

7. Martins, Richard, tailor and draper, shop

– Market Row

Barker, Mrs J

8. Gooch, Admiral Thomas Lewis

……here is Queen Street……

9. Catling and Waller, Russian tar merchants

Humphreys, John, agent for Muntz’s metal

company, Life and Insurance Agent

10. Barber, Martin, ship and insurance

broker, general commission agent, and

wharﬁnger, house – 53 South Quay

11. Wright, Miss Maria

12. Hodgkinson, Francis, solicitor

……Row 93…..

13. Brown, William H

14. Boardman, Miss

15. Pumphrey, James, victualler, “Bush

Tavern”, coal meter and assistant crane

master

…..Row 96…..

16. Bryant, Richard, corn merchant

17. Palmer, Mrs H., (Palmer and Rayson,

solicitors) ofﬁce – Regent Street

…..Row 100…..

828

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

…..Row 128…..

39. Woolverton & Son, painters etc.

40. Watson, G.S., Emigration Agent

…..Row 129, St. Peter’s Row West…..

41. Skinner, Edward, victualler “Newcastle

Tavern”

42. Shipston, Samuel, butcher

43. Lawson, George, hair cutter

Blythe, Wm., boot and shoe maker (see

Howard Street)

…..Row 133…..

44. Davie, Mrs W.

45. Knights, Thomas, victualler “Bell and

Crown”

…..Row 133…..

46. Fellows, John, ship builder and owner

47. Grifﬁths, William, M.A., minister of

Congregational Chapel

48. Preston, Jacob, wine merchant

49. Watson, G Stacey, emigration agent

Fisher, William Thornton

…..Row 136…..

51. Barnaby, Capt., board, of trade; ofﬁce- 12

Hall Quay

52. Palmer, Frederick, surgeon

…..Row 137…..

53. Barber, Mrs

54. Maystone, John, tinman

55. Cox, John, victualler “Dog and Duck”

…..Row 138…..

56. Grantham, Major, 9th regiment

57. T.Small and Co., ship and insurance broker

58. Fenner, Horatio, ﬁsh salesman &c.

…..Row 139…..

59. Ryan, James Francis, Master of school

of art, Government Schools of Art and

Navigation, art master, Ryan J.F., navigation

master, Stockton, William

Brookes, H.F., ship broker & “Star Steam

Company”

….Row 142….

60. Page, Nathaniel Enget, victualler,

“Mariner’s Compass”

62. Gedge, William, beer retailer, “Brother’s

Arms”

63. Durrant, Edmund A., grocer and ship bread

baker

….Row 143….

64. Veale, Roberty, mast and block maker;

shop South Denes Road

65. Stone, Allison Davie, ship owner, sail

maker – ofﬁce Row 124, and ﬁsh curer

…..Row 145…..

66. Sidle, William, victualler, “Unicorn”

67. Bales, William Ellis, ship bread Baker

[Bales later took over Rollings shop in

Northgate Street] and potato merchant

68. Lubbock, Daniel, victualler, “The

Sceptre”

…..here is Friars Lane…..

69. Groves, Matthew, “Britannia”

70. Bell, James, boot and shoe depot

71. Ford, T.P., plumber, glazier and painter

72. Bristow, R., tailor

73. Bayes, Benjamin, greengrocer and potato

merchant

74. Hastings, Henry, boat builder

75. Blake, Lovewell, accountant, ofﬁce, Hall

Quay

76. Blanchﬂower, Timothy Coleman, chemist

and druggist

77. Halls, Mrs

78. Jones, Robert, general outﬁtter

79. Bammant, Robert, victualler, “South Star”

80. Coleman, James, shop keeper and

greengrocer

81. Mihill, Samuel, coal dealer

82. Turrell, Mrs., day school

83. Swann, James P., grocer and dealer

84. Kelf, Thomas, victualler, “First and Last”

The “First and Last” about 1874

The “First and Last” 31.3.85 (P.G.T.)

829

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

The Occupants, South Quay, 1913

1. Yarmouth Mercury

2. Waters, John Tolver, solicitor,

commissioner to administer oaths, perpetual

commissioner, coroner and clerk to Port and

Burgh Castle Drainage Board

4. Aldred, Samuel and sons, auctioneers

4. Aldred, Edward Robert

5. Lucas and Wyllys solicitors

Wyllys, George Harvey, (ﬁrm – Lucas and

Haven Commissioners

2. Royal Society for the Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals, local hon sec John Tolver

Waters

2a. Blake, Lovewell and Co., chartered

accountants

Lark, Albert E., F.C.A. chartered

accountants

Flower William Tacon, chartered

accountant

Norfolk and Suffolk Permanent Building

Society (Albert E.Lark F.C.A., hon sec)

2a. Yarmouth Traders Association, Lovewell

Blake and Co., secs.

3. Worship Rising and Frederick, solicitors

3. Rising, Alderman Thomas Alfred, J.P.,

solicitor, commissioner for taking afﬁdavits,

permanent commissioner, clerk to the trustees

of the municipal charities and to the Great

Yarmouth Grammar School Foundation, sec

and solicitor to the Victoria Building Society

and to the Yarmouth Waterworks Co.

3. Frederick, Henry Penrice (ﬁrm

– Rising, Worship and Frederick) solicitor,

commissioner for taking afﬁdavits, and

perpetual commissioner and Clerk to the

Wyllys)

Steward of manors of Scratby BardolfsBurgh

St Margaret, Burgh Vaux, Ormesby with the

members, Filby Cleres, Filby Giggs, Filby

Holme Hall, & Bovills in Thrigby and Filbys

in Filby

Rivett, Sidney M.S.A., architect and

surveyor

6. Holt and Taylor, solicitors

Taylor, Cecil G., solicitor and commissioner

for oaths, notary public and clerk to the

magistrates for the Borough of Lowestoft &

the Mutford and Lothingland Petty Sessional

Division

7. Goodwin, Miss

8. Diver and Preston, solicitors

8. Diver, Charles Barwick, solicitor and Clerk

to the Magistrates for East and West Flegg

8. Smith, Albert, Clerk to the Guardians, and

Assessment Committee, East and West Flegg

poor law incorporation and Clerk to the East

and West Flegg and rural district council,

superintendent clerk and registrar to the

Caister Parish Council and Burial Board

8. Preston, George Frederick Durrant (ﬁrm,

Diver and Preston) solicitor, Clerk to the

830

Southwest corner of Friars Lane,

23.12.1976, P.G.Trett.

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

Justices of the Borough of Great Yarmouth,

Clerk to the Great Yarmouth Parish Church

Estate Trustees & Deputy Superintendant

Registrar

…..here is Queen Street……..

Greyfriars Chambers

Anglo Scottish Herring Co.

Yarmouth Carriers Ltd.

Wilson W.J. and Co., steamship brokers

9. Brown and Colby, iron and steel merchants

House Co. Ltd., & to the Yarmouth and

Gorleston Building Society

14. Hepworth and Co.’s Trade Protection

Institute, Arthur Edwin Cowl, solicitor

15. Bush P.H., Benjamin Balls

16. Ferrier and Ferrier, solicitors

16. Ferrier, Richard Frederick Ernest, solicitor,

notary public, commissioner for oaths,

perpetual commissioner and clerk to the

commissioners of taxes

16. Ferrier, John Albert Henry, solicitor and

commissioner for oaths, and registrar for

births and deaths, north subdistrict, Great

Yarmouth Union

16. Thrower, Percy Humphreys, deputy

registrar of births and deaths for the north

subdistrict, Great Yarmouth Union

16. Great Yarmouth Historical Buildings Ltd.,

(Richard F.E.Ferrier, hon director and sec.)

…..Row 96…..

17. Palmer, William Hurry, J.P.

…..Row 100…..

10. Barber H.H. and Co., shipping agents

11. County Court (Edward William Worlledge

M.A., registrar and high bailiff; John Henry

Barnes Gedge, chief clerk

11. Howard, George B.,

11. Worlledge, Edward William M.A.,

solicitor and commissioner for oaths and

registrar and high bailiff of the county court,

registrar of court of survey, and district

registrar of the high court of justice

12. Wiltshire, sons and Jordan, solicitors and

commissioners for oaths

12. Wiltshire, Charles Jennings(ﬁrm Wiltshire

sons and Jordan) solicitor and commissioner

for oaths and clerk to the Winterton and

Somerton drainage commissioners

12. Wiltshire, Percy, solicitor and

commissioner for oaths

….Row 92….

Lynde, Humphrey De La, solicitor and

commissioner for oaths in the supreme court,

agent for the Law, Union & Rock Insurance

Co., County Fire Ofﬁce Ltd., Norwich Union

Fire Insurance Ltd., Hon Sec Gt Y. branch

NSPCC

14. Cowl, Arthur E. and son, solicitors and

commissioners for oaths, solicitor to East

Anglia Investment Association, Liberal Club

18. Bessey and Palmer Ltd., coal merchants

18. Norfolk and Suffolk Finance and

reversionary Interest Co. Ltd., William Hurry

Palmer, sec.

19. Crane Hotel, Albert Henry Dyer

…..Row 103…..

Custom House (I.P.Cross, surveyor of customs

and receiver of wreck)

Tennyson, J.D., Large, B.A., A.Stuart Brown,

B.A.Lond.; John W Grant and P.C.O’Neill,

ofﬁcers; Alfred Geo. Davis and Geo. Poskett,

preventive ofﬁcers

20. Board of Trade Surveyor’s Ofﬁce,

(G.T.Cheney, surveyor)

20. Great Yarmouth Port and Haven

Commissioners Ofﬁce, (John Tolver Waters,

831

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

clerk; Richard William Barnes, inspector and

collector; John George Bammant, harbour

and ballast master. Thomas Press, assistant

harbour master (see Press’ Row, 126)

…..Row 104…..

23. Turrell and Torkildson, ship brokers and

emigration agents

Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers

(1900) Ltd., Turrell and Torkildson, agents

…..Row 106…..

31. Auker, Robert, shopkeeper

31a. Layton, Edwin Nudd, hairdresser

32. White Swan P.H., William Joseph Curtis

33. Timothy Peter Vincent, LRCP Lond.,

MRSS Eng., physician & surgeon

34. Lawson, George

….Row 118…..

…..Row 123…..

35. Nicholson’s Towing Co.

35. Nicholson, Henry

24. Young Men’s Christian Association,

Holiday residence and seaside boarding home

(Robert Jupe, general sec., Crane Hotel)

…..Row 108 (St George’s Row West)…..

25. Sankey, Julius Ivor, LRCP Lond.,MRCS

Eng., physician and surgeon and medical

ofﬁcer, South district, Great Yarmouth Union

26. Archer, Thomas

27. Pearl Life Assurance Co.Ltd.,

B.C.Bardwell, supertintendant

…..Row 111…..

28. Great Yarmouth Education Committee

Ofﬁces, Frederick William Wroughton, clerk,

Benjamin Peart, organiser of education

28. Great Yarmouth Education Committee

cookery and laundry centre (Mrs Rowe and

Miss M Jarrett and Miss A May, teachers)

…..Row 112…..

29. Orbell, Charles

29. Diver and son, wine and spirit merchants,

stores

30. Gallon Can P.H., William Corrigan

…..Row 117…..

No.125 and 126 South Quay, 26.12.1976,

Photo., P.G.T.

36. Halfnight, Samuel, beer retailer

….Row 124…..

Pillar letter box

37. Berry, William John

38. Adams, Arthur Edward

….Row 128…..

40. Stuart, J.&W., net manufacturers (L.C.

Harvey, agent)

….Row 129….

41. Ferry Hotel, George Fraser Giles

42. Whiteside, Robert Breeze, coffee rooms

43. Sheen and Mason, coal merchants

…..Row 132…..

44. Blake, Garson Henry Lovewell

45. Bell and Crown Public House, Wm. Searle

Wright

…..Row 133…..

46. Harvey, George

47. Edwards, Arthur C., lodging house

48. Smith, William

49. Moore, Herbert

832

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

…..Row 136…..

50. Upper Ferry Public House, William George

Gedge*audio interview

51. Johnston, James Ray

52. Butcher, Matthew, and vice consul for the

German Empire, Portugal, Sweden, shipping

agent and consular agent for Italy and Lloyds

Agent

…..Row 137…..

…..Row 138…..

56. Lark, Charles Palgrave

…..Row 142…..

61. Woods, Thomas, ship chandler

…..Row 143…..

62. Edwards, beer retailer

63. Seamen’s mission church and institute

(Rev George Godwin Coopland Storrs M.A.,

chaplin; Mrs Ernest Lacon, hon. sec.

64. Combes J.

65. Bonings stores Ltd., clothiers

….Row 145…..

66. Plummer, John

67. Sussams Ltd, bakers and

confectioners

68. Sceptre public house, Fred. J.Clapp

…..Friars Lane…..

70., 71., 72. Yarmouth Stores Ltd.,

outﬁtters

…..Mouse’s alley…..

73. Durrant, Mrs. Louisa, greengrocer

74. Wooden, Richard Samuel

75. Pycraft, Edward Sidney

76. Pycraft, E.B., hairdresser

…..here is Preston Square…..

…..here is Woodger’s Buildings…..

57. Pumfrey, James

58. Porter, Robert, Herbert

….Row 139…..

59. Borough of Great Yarmouth

Municipal School of Science

(Sydney Featherstone B.Sc.,

headmaster; P.L. Crickmer,

assistant, Chemistry and practical

mathematics; R.J.Woods,

teacher of machine construction;

Leonard Leaper, teacher of

building construction; Benjamin

Peart, organiser; Frederick

William Wroughton, clerk to the

education committee; & special

local secretary for examinations)

Cole, Samuel, ﬁsh merchant

60. Small, T. & Co., ship brokers

60. Great Yarmouth, East Norfolk and Suffolk

mutual drift net ﬁshing boat owners trading

protection society Ltd., W.G.Brown, sec.

60. Great Yarmouth ﬁshermen’s widows and

orphans fund (branch of Friends Provident)

(W.G.Brown, sec.)

Brown W.G., vice consul for Greece and

Russia

60a. Hampton, Arthur, coffee house

78. Rudderham, John, coffee house

79. South Star P.H., Wm. Gregory

80. Crook, Herbert Harris, shopkeeper

…..South Star Yard…..

83. Woodger, John and sons, herring curers

84. First and Last P.H., Henry Smith

…..Crowe’s Court…..

85. Wright, William E., grocer

…..here is Mariners Road…..

British and Foreign Sailors Society, Mariner’s

Chapel.

833

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

The Occupants, South Quay, 1927

1. Local Government Guarantee Company

Ltd., Ernest Gammage, Eastern Counties

Manager

2. Central Rates Ofﬁce, Capt.J.W.Challice,

asst. rating ofﬁcer

2. Blake, Lovewell and Co., chartered

accountants

2. Lark, Albert Ernest, F.C.A., chartered

accountant

Dicker, Arthur S.H., MBE ACA, chartered

accountant

Walker, Bernard, FCA, chartered account

Rivett, Sidney, LRIBA, architect and

surveyor

3. Worship, Rising and Frederick, solicitors

Frederick, Henry Penrice, solicitor

Rising, Arthur Preston, solicitor, clerk to the

trustees of municipal charities, & to the Great

Yarmouth Grammar school foundation, and

sec to the Victoria Building Company and

sec. to the Great Yarmouth water Co.

4. Aldred, Samuel and sons, auctioneers

5. Aldred Edward, Robert

5. Lucas and Wyllys, solicitors

Wyllys, George Harvey, solicitor,

commissioner for oaths, steward of the manor

of Scratby Bardolfs, Burgh St Margaret,

Burgh Vaux, Ormesby with the members,

Filby Cleres, Filby Giggs, Filby Holme Hall,

& Bovilles in Thrigby, and Filbys in Filby

6. Tunbridge and Lacey, incorporated

accountants

6. Tunbridge, Sidney Thomas, FSAA,

incorporated accountants

7. Imrie and Bowman, stock and share

brokers

8. Diver and Preston, solicitors

Preston, George Frederick Durrant, solicitor,

commissioner for oaths, coroner for the

Borough of Great Yarmouth clerk to the Great

Yarmouth Parish Church estate trustees

……Queen Street……

Greyfriars chambers

Great Yarmouth Traders Association Limited

(A.J.Joy, & E.S.Chapman, directors)

Waller, George, architect

9. Brown, Colby and Case Ltd., iron and steel

merchants

10. Barber H.H., and Co. shipping agents

11. Joseph, Walter J., solicitor, commissioner

for oaths, registrar and high bailiff of the

county court, registrar of court of survey, and

district registrar of the high court of justice

12. Wiltshire, sons and Jordan, solicitors and

commissioners for oaths

12. Wiltshire, Charles Jennings, solicitor and

commissioner for oaths

…..Row 92…..

13. Lynde, Humphrey De La, solicitor,

commissioner for oaths in supreme court,

Agent for the Law Union and Rock Insurance

Co., County Fire Ofﬁce Ltd., and Norwich

Union Fire Insurance Society

14. Cowl, Arthur E. and son, solicitors,

solicitors to East Anglian Investment

Association Ltd., to the Yarmouth and

Gorleston Building Society & NSPCC

Cowl, Arthur Edwin

Cowl, Clifford Horace Henry

15. Guyton and Read, coal merchants

15. Culley and Co., accountants

15. Brundall Gardens Steamship Co. Ltd. Reg.

Ofﬁce

16. Ferrier and Ferrier, solicitors and

commissioners for oaths

Ferrier, Richard Frederick Ernest

Ferrier, John Albert Henry

Ferrier, Richard Gournay, solicitor and

clerk to the guardians East and West Flegg

poor law incorporation, clerk to the East and

West Flegg rural district council, clerk to the

commissioner of taxesfor East and West Flegg,

clerk to no.2 area assessment committee and

steward of the manor of Martham Moregraves

& at Martham and Gorleston

16. Pratt, Arthur Norton, deputy registrar of

births and deaths for the north subdistrict,

Great Yarmouth Union

16. Great Yarmouth Historical Buildings

Ltd., Richard Ferrier, Hon Director and sec.

(registered ofﬁce)

…..Row 96…..

17. County Borough of Great Yarmouth

Insurance Committee, (Ernest J Shepherd,

clerk)

…..Row 100…..

18. Bessey and Palmer Limited, coal

merchants

19. Crane Hotel, Albert Henry Dyer

…..Row 103…..

20. Morgan Geo. E., surveyor of customs &

834

A New Perlustration of Great Yarmouth

excise, registrar of shipping, receiver of wreck,

supt. Mercantile marine, & registrar Royal

Naval reserve, Gt.Yarmouth

20. Customs and excise ofﬁce, & old age

pensions ofﬁce, (C.E.Smith (1st station); Wm

Denholm McLay (2nd station); Archibald D.

McAdam, (3rd station); F.J.Broadhead (4th

station), ofﬁcers)

20. Abbey, W. A.

21. Great Yarmouth Port and Haven

Commissioners ofﬁce, G.R.Talbot LLB, clerk

S.E.N. Hogg, harbour engineer, Capt. J. H.

J. Smith, harbour and ballast master, James

Pumfrey, crane master

…..Row 104…..

23. Turrell and Torkildson, ship brokers

23. Associated Portland cement manufacturers,

(1900) Ltd., (Turrell and Torkildson)

…..Row 106…..

Young Men’s Christian’s Association and

hostel, (E.C.Bessell, general sec.)

…..Row 108 (St George’s Row West)…..

25. Connell, Ernest, LRCP, LRCS, Ireland,

LM rotunda, Physician and Surgeon, &

medical ofﬁcer & public vaccinater north

and southtown and Cobholm DistrictsGreat

Yarmouth Union

26. Archer, Mrs

27. Crow, Edward William, draper

…..Row 111…..

28. Great Yarmouth Education committee

ofﬁces (Fred. Wm. Wroughton, clerk; Joseph

W.May, organiser of education)

28. Great Yarmouth Education Committee

cookery and laundry Centre, (Mrs Rowe and

Miss G.M.Alexander, teachers)

….Row 112…..

30. Gallon Can P.H. Mrs. Edith Corrigan

…..Row 117…..

31. Auker, Robert, confectioner

31a. Seaman Albert Edward, hairdresser

32. White Swan P.H. Daniel S.Dyson

32. Buchan, William James

33. Hartley, Fred.

…..Row 118…..

…..Row 123…..

35. Fisher, John King, confectioner

…..Row 124…..

37. Morgan, Mrs

38. Adams, Alfred William

…..Row 128…..

40. Stuart and Jacks Ltd., net manufacturers

…..Row 129…..

41. Ferry Hotel, Charles R. Cole

42. Young, Joseph, restaurant

43. Middleton, Herbert, hairdresser

…..Row 132…..

44. Blake, Garson Henry Lovewell

45. Bell and Crown, Mrs Emily Bartlett

…..Row 133…..

46. Moore, Herbert, hayer

47. Archer, Thomas

48. Small, T. & Co., (Great Yarmouth) Ltd.

Ship brokers and Lloyds agents

48. Great Yarmouth boat owners association

Ltd., (A. H. Cartwright sec.)

48. Great Yarmouth ﬁshermen’s widows and

orphans fund, (branch of the Royal Provident

fund) A.H.Cartwright sec.

48. Cartwright, Arthur Henry, vice consul for

Greece, Sweden, Latvia, Finland and Spain

49. Great Yarmouth shipping Co. Ltd.

Stuart, William George

…..Row 136…..

50. Upper ferry P.H., William George Gedge

52. Durrant, Albert

52. Durrant, Robert

…..Row 137…..

54. North Sea Coaling Co. Ltd

Beck and Parr, printers

…..Row 138…..

56. Sutton, Joseph Henry

57. Pumphrey, James

58. Porter, Robert Herbert

…..Row 139…..

59. Municipal School of Science (A.Corlett,

headmaster; Joseph W.May, organiser; Fredk

Wm Wroughton, clerk to the education

committee)

59a. Swanston, William, ﬁsh merchant

60. 60a. Cole H. and Co. Ltd., engineers

….Row 142….

62. & 63. Seaman’s Mission Church and

institute (Rev. Henry James Gibbs)

64. Coombes, J. engineer

65. Bonings Stores Ltd., clothiers

Brett Bros. Marine engineers

…..Row 145…..

66. Rouse, William

66a. National Sailor’s and Firemen’s

Union(ﬁshermen’s branch) (G.T.Martin,

agent)

835

The Revised History of Great Yarmouth

67. Eastern Counties Scale Co.

weighing machine makers

68. Sceptre P.H., George Ellis

…..Friars Lane…..

69.,70.,71.,72., Yarmouth Stores Ltd.,

outﬁtters

…..Mouse’s Alley…

73. Stoneham, Henry, tobacconist

74. Crook, Herbert

75. Standring, Albert

76. Warne, Ernest C., tobacconist

77. Palmer, Edward, grocer

…..Preston Square…..

…..Woodgers

Buildings…..

78. Dervin, Christopher,

coffee house

79. South Star P.H.,

The Sceptre whilst still operating as a public house, 1987.

Geo. Frid

80. Gibbs, Clifford, shopkeeeper

…..South Star Yard…..

83. Woodger, John and sons Ltd., herring

curers

84. First and Last P.H., Walter Stickley

…..Crowe’s Court…..

85. Wright, William E., grocer

…..Mariner’s Road…..

British and Foreign Sailor’s Society (Mariner’s

Institute A.W. Lewin, port missionary)

836

Old John the war veteran, a very pleasant gent., was famously often

seen waving on South Quay outside his ﬂat. (1987)