A Concise History and Directory of the City of Norwich for 1811 Part 1

A Concise History and Directory of the City of Norwich for 1811.

by C. Berry.

THE _Editor's Address to the Public_.

Nine years have expired since the publication of the last NORWICH DIRECTORY (which was out of print almost as soon as in); during which period, alterations have been constantly taking place in the residence of the inhabitants, independent of those which have been entirely removed by death or otherwise. It will be found of those which were inserted in the former, and are still to be found in this, not half of them remain in the same residence.-He was not aware of the difficulty of obtaining the address of so large a population, or he would have been deterred from the undertaking: he has used his utmost endeavors to render it as correct as possible, and hopes he has made no very flagrant errors or omissions.-The DIRECTORY contains several hundred names more than that before noticed-the historical part is entirely written and compiled for the present purpose-many charitable and public inst.i.tutions are noticed which cannot be found elsewhere-and the lists are much augmented, and corrected to the present time.-The alphabetical order of the DIRECTORY, is corrected to the first vowel.

He cannot let this opportunity escape, without returning his thanks to several gentlemen who have rendered him information he could not otherwise have obtained.-He writes not for fame, but throws himself on an indulgent public; and should his feeble efforts prove in any degree useful, or meet the approbation of his fellow-citizens, his end is gained.

_NORWICH_, _October_ 19, 1810.

A CONCISE _HISTORY OF NORWICH_.

In attempting a brief History of Norwich, it shall be endeavoured, so far as the limits of the design will admit, to consider its situation and extent, foundation and present state, former and present population, memorable events, antiquities, eminent or learned inhabitants, trade, manufactures, &c.

Norwich is situate in 1. 25. E. of London, and in 52. 40. N. lat.i.tude; it lies considerably eastward of the centre of the county of Norfolk, of which it is the capital, and indeed it may be considered as the princ.i.p.al city in the eastern district of the kingdom. It occupies the top and sides of a gentle hill, which runs parallel with the river Wensum on its western side; the river suddenly takes an almost western course, and runs through nearly the centre of the city. It is distinguished in the annals of Great Britain for its manufactures, the memorable events that have occurred, its antiquities, and for various other objects which shall be briefly touched upon.

Norwich, in its present state, is said to occupy more ground, comparatively with its population, than any city in the kingdom, being much interspersed with gardens, and it is frequently stiled, a city in an orchard; its shape is irregular, and may not unaptly be compared to a shoulder of mutton-it is full one mile and a half in length, and a mile and quarter broad. It contains thirty four churches and a number of chapels and meeting houses, besides the cathedral; it has five bridges over the river; it was formerly nearly surrounded with a wall, planted with forty two towers and had twelve gates, the former is dilapidated the latter, within a few years have been taken down.

The original foundation of Norwich is not easily asertained; however, it is certain, that the Romans, presently after their establishment in Britain, either erected fortresses near the British towns, or invited the natives to a.s.semble round the Roman military stations; and most of our cities and chief towns occupy the site of such stations, or are in their immediate vicinity, which makes it probable, that Norwich orginated in the decay of (_Venta Icenorum_) Castor, and which the following old distich commemorates.

"Castor was a city when Norwich was none, "And Norwich was built of Castor stone.

Camden says, he had no where met with the name of Norwich previous to the Danish invasion; on the origin of the name, various opinions have been formed; however, there is very little doubt that it received its name from the Saxons, their word _Northwic_, signifying a northern station, castle, or town, and the word occurs on the Saxon coins of various reigns. Blomfield mentions several of these-one in the time of Alfred the Great, about the year 872; another in the early part of the reign of Athelstan about the year 925, and several others; besides three coins minted here of Ethelred, called the _Unready_, of which it seems, some are yet extant; and from which it appears, that Norwich was a place of note before the Danes were in possession of Britain.

The Saxons immediately took advantage of the Romans leaving Britain, to pour in their own troops, under pretence of protecting the natives; but they soon threw off the mask, and erecting fortresses to defend what they had seized, they shortly became possessed of the whole Island. At this period 'tis probable the former Castle of Norwich was first founded.

Vulgar chronology makes it as old as Julius Caesar; but its gothic structure belied such conjecture-the elevated spot on which this castle stood, commanding a prospect over a large s.p.a.ce of country, pointed it out as a proper place to fix an advanced post.

Uffa is considered the first Saxon monarch over this part of the kingdom, in the year 575; but it appears, notwithstanding, from undoubted authority, that Grecca, the father of Uffa, was the first sovereign of East Anglia.

The monarchy, therefore, was probably established between the years 530 and 540, and the castle erected about the same period. In the year 642 it is said to have been a fortified royal seat of Anna, the seventh king of the East Anglian line.

From this time till the reign of Alfred, we find little or no mention of the Castle: but during the incursions of the Danes, it was frequently possessed by them and the Saxons alternately; and it appears, that king Alfred in his time, finding the walls and ramparts of Norwich Castle insufficient to repel the attack of the Danes, caused others to be erected with the most durable materials.

Norwich Castle was evidently a military station in Alfred's time, as appears also by the coin struck here, about the year 872, before noticed; but in the reign of Etheldred the II. it is described to have been utterly destroyed by an army under Sweyne, king of Denmark, about the year 1004. In 1010 the Danes again settled in and fortified Norwich, and the Castle appears to have been rebuilt by Canute, about the year 1018; to have been first used as a prison in the early part of the 14th century, and from this period, its history merges into that of the city.

Mr. Wilkins says, Norwich castle is the best exterior of this kind of architecture extant. The area of the ancient castle, including its outer works, contained about 23 acres, the whole of which was surrounded by a wall; the princ.i.p.al entrance was by Bar, now Ber-street, through Golden-Ball-lane, by the Barbican Gate, which was flanked by two towers, and connected with the external vallum, by a wall; the extent of the outermost ditch reached on the west part to the edge of the present Market Pace, on the north to London-lane, which it included; and on the east almost to King-street; the southern part reached to the Golden-Ball-lane, where the grand gate stood.

According to Mr. Wilkins, the entrance into the Barbican was at the south end of Golden-Ball-Lane, and not at the north, as Blomfield has it; over each foss in this direction was a bridge, but only one of them remains; this extends across the inner ditch, and according to Mr. Wilkins, is formed of "the largest and most perfect arch of Saxon workmans.h.i.+p in the kingdom." This bridge is nearly 150 feet in extent, and the Castle stands just across it on the south west part of the hill; the extent of the Castle from east to west, including a small tower through which was the princ.i.p.al entrance, is 110 feet 3 inches, and from north to south, 92 feet 10 inches; and the height to the top of the battlements, 69 feet 6 inches; the height of the bas.e.m.e.nt story is about 24 feet, which is faced with rough flint; the upper part is ornamented with small arches and decorated so as to appear something like Mosaic work; the small tower before-mentioned on the east side, was of a richer kind of architecture, called, BiG.o.d's Tower, which is now chiefly inclosed, defaced or pulled down, as in the year 1793 the county thought it necessary to erect a new goal, and it was resolved to attach it to the eastern side of the old Castle. Mr. Wilkins expresses himself justly indignant at the addition, which he calls an heterogeneous and discordant ma.s.s.-This venerable pile has been a castle of defence to British, Saxon, and Norman kings; it has been the boast and pride of the province for ages past, yet by this recent change it is bereaved of its ancient beauty; but, surely, whatever alterations were necessary, they might have preserved the same character and apparent date of architecture with the mutilated parts of this stately pile. The interior is also now an unroofed area, although formerly covered and divided by floors. The entrance to the top of the Castle is on the west side, at the south corner by a flight of 99 steps.

The Castle precinct contains upwards of six acres, and the summit of the hill is in circ.u.mference 360 yards, the whole of which is enclosed with iron palisadoes, as is also the ditch around it; which, within the last 20 years, have been occupied for gardens, many of which are tastefully laid out; and the summit of the hill on all sides commands a most delightful view of the city and surrounding country. The Castle with the hill and ditch surrounding it, may be considered a _chef d'uvre_, and the prospect therefrom superior to any thing of the kind in England.

A panoramic view of the city and surrounding country has been lately published by Messrs. Stevenson, Matchett, and Stevenson, taken from several stations on the hill.

The s.h.i.+rehouse which joins the Castle, has lately undergone complete internal repair, and considerable alteration whereby the courts are enlarged and rendered much more commodious than heretofore; and here all county business is transacted, and the summer a.s.sizes held.

The town of _Nor_-_wic_ probably soon succeeded the building of the Castle, and became occupied by the Anglo-Romans, from Castor, at which time it appears to have been chiefly inhabited by fishermen and merchants. According to ancient ma.n.u.scripts, a large arm of the sea flowed up to Norwich, till about the time of William the Conqueror.

There exists positive evidence of Norwich being a fis.h.i.+ng town in the reign of Canute, about the year 1020. In the time of Edward the Confessor, about the year 1050, it appears to have had 25 churches, and 1320 Burgesses; during the peaceable reign of Edward, and his successor, Harold, it continued to increase in wealth and population. In the year 1075, it experienced a serious decrease by siege; in about the year 1085, according to Doomsday book, a great number of houses were uninhabited, yet the churches were increased to 54, and the houses to 738, which, allowing six persons to each house, makes the population 4428. In the reign of William II. the bishop's see was removed from Thetford hither, which together with a great influx of Jews at that time, made a considerable increase to the population. In the reign of Henry I. the government of the city was separated from the castle jurisdiction and in the following reign licence was granted for Norwich to have coroners and bailiffs. In the time of Richard I. 1193, the inhabitants were called citizens.

The city wall was begun in 1294, and finished in 1320.

Previous to the plague in 1348, according to Blomfield, the population amounted to 70,000; but, surely, this account as applied to the city, must appear incredible from the extent of the walls, and from the increase of population since 1085, a term of 263 years, the population must have increased sixteen fold-a circ.u.mstance, I believe, unparalleled in the annals of History.

In 1336, a great influx of Flemings in consequence of religious persecution, settled in Norwich, and introduced the worsted manufactory.

Henry IV. in the year 1403, granted the city a charter, which made Norwich a county of itself; and from this time it was governed by a mayor instead of bailiffs; and in 1406, another charter was obtained for regulating the mode of choosing the mayor, sheriffs, &c.

This city has suffered greatly at various times by the plague and scarcity, and few places have sustained more damage by fire, which may be attributed, in some measure, to the custom of covering the houses with thatch.-Two desolating fires which happened in the latter part of Henry VII's reign, induced the corporation to make a law, that no new building should afterwards be covered with thatch.

Norwich was beginning to decline, but again revived in 1566, by the settling here of about 300 Dutch and Walloons, who had fled from the persecution of the Duke of Alva; and their number kept increasing very rapidly for several years. About this time, bombasines and some other valuable articles were invented here, and contributed much to the population of the city. In 1574, Norwich exhibited on its muster roll 2120 able men, towards the general defence against the invincible Armada.

In 1578, queen Elizabeth took up her abode for several days in the city.

In 1688, the charter was confirmed to its full extent, by virtue of which, the government is vested in a mayor, recorder, steward, two sheriffs, twenty-four aldermen, of which the mayor is one, sixty common councilmen, a town clerk, chamberlain, sword bearer and other officers.

In 1556, the extent of Norwich was ascertained, by which it appears to be 14 miles in circ.u.mference. Norwich first sent members to parliament in 1264. In 1403, four citizens were summoned to parliament, but as they were paid by the citizens 3 for their attendance, they pet.i.tioned sending only two to save expence. The city at present sends two who are chosen by the freeholders and freemen, some of whom are so by inheritance, some by servitude, and others by purchase-the sheriffs for the time being, are the returning officers.

Till within a few years, the population of Norwich had been increasing, _viz._ from the year 1693 to 1786, as will appear by the annexed parochial list; but this is owing princ.i.p.ally to strangers resorting to Norwich as a manufacturing place, for by comparing, the births with the deaths within that period, the latter have considerably exceeded the former. The decrease in the population observable in the table since 1786, is 3197; but 1786 was a year of peace; and in 1801, those serving in the army, navy, and militia, were not included; out of the number of houses in 1801, there were 747 unoccupied, and of the total number of persons, 21,044 were females, and 15,810 males, being nearly in proportion of 4 to 3.

At what period the art of manufacturing cloth from wool was first introduced in this Island, is not certain; but it may be supposed it was early practised in Norfolk, from the circ.u.mstance of spinning with the distaff, being still retained here. Before William the Conqueror woollen cloths were made in Norwich; but what tended most to increase the Norwich worsted manufactory, was the number of Flemish artizans who came over here in 1336; and in the time of Richard the II. and succedings reigns, various statutes were enacted for the encouragement and regulation of the trade. In 1445 the trade had arrived to such a degree of excellence, as to rival all other nations in the foreign Markets. In Henry VIII's time, according to Blomfield, the sale of stuffs made in Norwich only amounted annually to 200,000 besides hose which were computed at 60,000 more.

During the reigns of Edward VI. and Queen Mary, new articles of Manufactory continued to be introduced, and new regulations made. In the time of Queen Elizabeth, encouragement was given to the inhabitants of the low Countries, under the persecution of the Duke of Alva, to settle here; and they introduced a variety of new fabrications, by the intermixture of silk and mohair and several new articles were manufactured as various in their qualities as their names. In 1575 Bombasines were first introduced, for the manufactory of which elegant article, Norwich has ever since been famed, but still the trade seemed confined princ.i.p.ally to home consumption; and the act of 1721, which prohibited the general wearing of cottons, and the order for the Court Mourning to consist of Norwich c.r.a.pes, serve as proof that the trade did not depend so much on foreign demand as home consumption. From about, 1740 to 1760, the stuff trade gradually declined, and through the prevalence of the India and Manchester cotton goods the destruction of the home trade was almost completed. The Manufacturers were obliged to extend their continental connections, their travellers were seen in every kingdom in Europe, and the great continental fairs were crouded with purchasers for goods of Norwich manufactory. They also sent their sons to be educated on the continent that by learning the languages they might strengthen their connections; the taste and habits of every country and clime were consulted. Hence Norwich and the Country for many miles round, became crowded with looms, and though Norfolk and Suffolk, were incessantly employed, yet the produce was unequal to the demand. It became necessary to import yarn, as well as wool, and the consumption of bay yarn from Ireland was very great. The neighbouring Counties and Scotland also contributed something considerable. At this meridian of prosperity, the trade, from the capriciousness of fas.h.i.+on, began again to decay, and the disastrous war breaking out, dissolved its continental connections, depressed the spirit of enterprise, and paralized the hand of industry.

The author of the Tour through the Island of Great Britain, in 1724, gives a statement which was furnished by a manufacturer, whereby it appears 120,000 persons were employed in the various branches of the Norwich manufactory. Arthur Young considers the interval from the year 1743, till the unfortunate dispute with the American colonies, to have been a flouris.h.i.+ng era; the number of looms were then found to be 12,000, and it was calculated that each loom, with its attendant preparation, produced work to the value of 100 per annum; and that every loom employed five hands besides the weaver, in the various processes before and after the weaving, so that the whole number of persons employed, many of which were old women and children, amounted to 72,000, and the money earned by them to 1,200,000.

At present, the merchants being shut out of foreign markets by war, and from our own by fas.h.i.+on, the number of hands employed must be considerably reduced. The princ.i.p.al articles of this manufactory, are bombazines and broad camblets, for the latter, of which the East India Company, have annually given large orders, and it is much to be lamented that the benefits, which formerly accrued from this manufacture, should within the last few years have been in a great measure dissipated by a narrow jealousy and want of unanimity amongst the manufacturers. This discordance has created a baneful compet.i.tion, for the favours of the East India Company, which are consequently distributed, in the greatest proportion, to that quarter, where the labours of the poor must necessarily be the most depreciated. A good understanding between them would not only have preserved their consequence with the company, but would certainly have rendered their connection with that body much more advantageous, the Company finding their account in the goods; and not being able to procure them at any other market. However, during the failure of a continental trade, it certainly is of considerable consequence to the city. The wools of Lincolns.h.i.+re and Leicesters.h.i.+re are chiefly used.

To articles before mentioned, have been of late years added, cottons, shawls and some other fancy goods, both of silk and cotton; some of which are calculated for furniture, and some for dress, and which for elegance, surpa.s.s any thing of the kind made in the kingdom. Cotton thread lace is also made here, and no inconsiderable quant.i.ty of hempen cloth.

The staple manufactory of Norwich, furnishes about fifty distinct occupations from the shearer of the sheep to the mariner who s.h.i.+ps the goods. The earnings of the different artizens are various-men from 6s.

to 30s. per week; women from 5s. to 15s. and children, by spinning, filling and tire drawing, from 1s. to 4s.

The combing of wool used to employ a great number of hands; but since the invention of machines, their employ is in a great measure superseded.

In the time of Edward III. it is recorded there were not less than 76 places of Christian wors.h.i.+p, besides a Jewish synagogue, in Norwich-we shall now proceed to give a brief account of some of these now remaining.

The foundation stone of the cathedral is recorded to have been laid by bishop Herbert, in 1096, and it was not until the year 1430, the cloisters were completed. In 1361, the upper part of the steeple was partly blown down by a hurrican, after which, the present spire was built. About the year 1470, the stone roof of the nave was constructed, and adorned with sculptures of scripture history; and shortly after, the stone roof over the choir was erected, and adorned in a similar manner; and about the same time, the whole vaulting was covered with lead. In 1509, it was considerably injured by fire; in 1601, part of the spire was struck down by lightning, but speedily repaired; it again suffered considerably by the rebellion, in 1543; it was completely repaired and beautified in 1763, and again in 1807.

The architecture is chiefly of the style, called Norman; the columns and arches are exceedingly various in their size, mouldings, and ornaments; the choir terminates with a semicircular east end, over which, are curiously painted windows, by Dean Lloyd's lady. The walls include various chapels, and some courts belonging to the dean and chapter. The extreme length of the building is 411 feet from east to west; and the width from north to south, 191 feet; the height of the spire and tower, 315 feet; the spire is ornamented with bold crockets, 5 feet asunder, attached to and running up the ribs at each angle, and is the highest in England, except Salisbury. The cloisters are 174 feet square, with arched openings or windows, looking inwards on all sides; the roof, which is about 16 feet high, is ornamented with scripture sculptures, which however, are much injured by accident and time. The west front of the cathedral displays a large central compartment, corresponding with the width and heigth of the nave; also two lateral divisions corresponding with the side aisles, the whole forming a very grand entrance. The interior must be allowed to have a grand and solemn general effect, and that the whole appears of an unusual, bold and substantial stile. It is to be lamented that the fitting up of the choirs serve to destroy part of the grandeur and solemnity, and shuts out the sight from a general and comprehensive view of the building. Within the church and cloisters, still remain some curious memorials of the dead; but the greater part are removed, like those to whom they belong, to make room for others, or have fallen a sacrifice to the gradual inroads of time.

The Bishop's Palace stands on the north side of the cathedral, was erected in the year 1318, and was enlarged and ornamented by several successive Bishops; it suffered greatly in the rebellion, and it was with some difficulty made habitable; it has been improving ever since, and is now made a tolerable neat and convenient residence.

On the south side of the cathedral, formerly stood a priory, occuping part of the s.p.a.ce, now called the Lower Close, and which was built as a residence for 60 monks, who officiated in the cathedral.

In the year 1804, on pulling down the workhouse, which stood at the entrance of the deanery, some curious ruins were discovered, and the shafts of three ma.s.sive pillars are still left standing, as specimens of the architecture of the age in which they were built.