Tag: Norwich

And the next in my series of posts from the Norfolk Chronicle of 200 years ago this week is all about walking…..

“Monday last, Townshend, the pedestrian, undertook to pick up with his mouth from the ground, in Finch’s gardens, 300 stones, placed one yard apart, and to deposit the same in a basket, in 11 successive hours, being a distance of 51 miles and 540 yards. In this undertaking, the pedestrian put his mouth to the ground 300 times, turned 600 times and stopped 600 times. The feat was performed 16 minutes within the time allowed. We understand that Townshend has undertaken to walk 40 miles backwards in 10 hours, on the same ground, on Monday next”.

This is the time to say that I’ve walked 100 miles, I might not have mentioned that…. Actually, I’d rather repeat that than walk over 50 miles and pick up stones with my mouth. This is certainly a challenge that I’m not sure would take off today, even with the TikTok generation demanding new content styles. The walker in question is, I think, John Phipps Townshend, who wasn’t a local man as he was born in Lewes, but he did do these pedestrian events around the country. He referred to himself as the “The Champion of Living Pedestrians”, although I would humbly suggest that David Morgan of the LDWA would be a contender for that title today….. There are adverts from the time relating to Finch’s Ranelagh Gardens, so I’m guessing that this was the location of Townshend’s exertions, more of which at https://colonelunthanksnorwich.com/tag/ranelagh-gardens-norwich/.

In the Norfolk Chronicle 200 years ago, there was an article about how 3,000 people turned out to watch a fight in Poringland. I suppose these were in the years before people could watch TV and go on-line, but it’s quite a fascinating article. It reads:

“A pitched battle was fought near the Dove in Poringland between Fenn and Camplin, two Norwich men. It is supposed that not less than 3,000 persons assembled to watch this battle, which after 76 rounds, during which very little science was exhibited on part of Camplin, who fell after every first blow, terminated in favour of Fenn. A countryman and a dyer afterwards amused the spectators for some time by milling each other at a desperate rate till at length both discovered that they were making sport at rather too dear a price, and they mutually agreed to put an end to the fun.”

Firstly, 76 rounds!!! And, relating to that, the Marquess of Queensberry Rules weren’t introduced until 1867, so it’s likely that this was bare knuckle boxing. I can’t say that I’m in awe of boxing, I’ve never quite understood physical violence, but each to their own I suppose. Despite attempts by Watney Mann brewery trying to close the pub in 1969, the Dove is still trading to this day.

The boxer in question was John Camplin who was a Norwich blacksmith and city weaver, although I can’t work out with Fenn was. I also can’t find out when Camplin died, the only possible death with that name was someone who lived in London.

I had to remind myself of the exact definition of what “milling” was, but the answer of ‘moving around in a confused mass’. Sounds reasonable as an after-fight fight…..

Going back 200 years ago and the journalism in the Norwich Mercury….. I’m more amused by the editor’s response to a letter rather than what the correspondent had sent, but let’s deal with that first:

“Sir,

It has often been a subject of regret to many of the inhabitants of this city, and not less to many of the country families who resort hither for medical advice, that in a place where there are so many public and scientific societies, and in which public improvements have kept pace with its increased population*, that there exist not in the city of Norwich any public baths, either for the benefit of the invalid or the gratification of the luxurious.

There is no doubt that if baths were established here, our medical men would be still more resorted to for advice, by distant patients, than they now are, and many families might be thus encouraged to take up a temporary residence here, who, under present circumstances, must go to Yarmouth or London for the sake of such conveniences.

As an establishment of this nature could not fail to succeed, it is, I conceive, worthy the attention of some spirited individual to invest a small capital in the scheme, as a source of emolument, sure to repay him liberally for his trouble. A lodging house upon a respectable scale might be attached to the baths. Should no individual be found who would undertake this, possibly there might be found twenty gentlemen who, by subscribing 25l each, would become shareholders of such an undertaking, or as a joint stock company, for their own personal comfort or convenience.

There are, perhaps, few places which possess such advantages as this city, in regard to pure water, daily into the very houses, besides the facility of carrying off the water at a very trifling expence.

I am Sir, an Invalid.”

As an aside, Norwich didn’t get baths for some time after this letter, but it was response of the editor that moderately amused me.

“*We wish we could confirm the compliment our correspondent pays the citizens. There certainly is no place in the kingdom where so little public spirit is exhibited, and where improvement is so far behind wealth and population”.

I’m not sure that the present editor of the EDP, or indeed a similar journal, would get away with that.

There are currently quite extensive works going on at Norwich Castle to try and restore the keep to what it might have looked like in medieval times. However, 200 years ago this week, it was decided to approve work on the new prison that would be going into the keep. It was reported in the Norfolk Chronicle:

“At the general Quarter Sessions for this county, held yesterday se’nnight, it was agreed that the whole of Mr Wilkins’s plan for erecting the new gaol on the Castle Hill should be carried into execution and we understand that the entire expence of the gaol and Courts of Justice should not exceed 46,000l”.

I still like the word ‘se’nnight’, meaning week (or seven days and nights), it’s a shame that it’s fallen out of usage.

And, indeed, it fell out of usage in the early nineteenth century.

On that matter, the usage of the word ‘expence’ was soon overtaken by ‘expense’.

As for the new prison, the previous one had only stood for thirty years, but there’s more about this at the Norwich Castle web-site. The new prison was built by William Wilkins and it was designed with the new radial structure, something rather forward thinking for its time. Anyway, I digress once again, I was just intrigued to think that there was an exciting building project 200 years ago to the week that this new one is taking place.

In the latest in my series of posts from the Norwich Mercury of 200 years ago…..

“Singular Discovery – On Tuesday, as some men were employed in sinking a well upon a piece of land belonging to Mr. Sendell, situated within a hundred yards of the site of St. Giles’s gate, they suddenly found themselves over a vault when about 35 feet from the surface of the earth; naturally alarmed at such an appearance, they left their work until the afternoon, when they provided themselves with stronger tackle and proper implements for ascertaining the “depth below”, they soon found that no danger was to be apprehended in descending to explore the cavern, and accordingly proceeded with a supply of lights, and found very beautiful and extensive vaults, running in almost all directions.

Encouraged by this account, Mr. Sendall and some friends descended to view these unexpected excavations. The air was perfectly pure, and the soil, which is a fine solid chalk, quite dry and of snowy whiteness. On lights being placed at various turnings the appearance was extremely interesting; at what period these places were in use cannot be ascertained, as neither record or remembrance of them exist. They they are growing over the mouths of 60 to 70 years of age, yet the marks of the tools appear very fresh, and the stains of smoke remain in the small niches where lamps were placed by the workmen. A great anxiety to see them has been manifested by the public, and in order to gratify such curiosity we understand Mr. Sendell has waited upon our worthy Chief Magistrate for permission to exhibit them, which permission has been very handsomely granted, and the exhibition will commence as soon as a comfortable entrance can be effected at the front of the hill. It is a singular fact that many marine shells have been taken from the solid chalk in the sides of these arches.”

There’s a whole network of these chalk mines around Norwich which have caused some excitement over the years, not least when a bus fell into one near to the Roman Catholic Cathedral on Earlham Road. They were caused by mining for flint and chalk and plenty are still under the city centre, although many have also been filled or their entrances closed by nervous  property owners and councils. The city council makes reference to these discoveries in their recent notes for the St Giles conservation area.

“It is believed that for several hundred years after the 11th century (and maybe earlier) the area was closely associated with chalk and flint mining. In 1823 an extensive system of tunnels were rediscovered under Earlham Road. They became a tourist attraction and candle-lit tours took people through various tunnels with names including Beehive Lane, Bacchus Street and Royal Arch. One cave was found to contain the inscription ‘John Bond 1571’.”

There is a map of the streets in the area from 1823, but I haven’t yet been able to locate a copy. Although tucked a little away in the Norwich Mercury, the discovery was certainly one which caused some general excitement amongst the denizens of Norwich. Urban explorers still try and find entrances to various chalk mines across Norwich, but I’m not brave enough to do that (there are limits to even my bravery).

Back to my series of posts about what was happening in Norwich 200 years ago this week. And, it’s yet another reminder of just how dangerous a city it was at that time, crime seemed to be rocketing and this is another example of the problems that were faced. The Norwich Mercury reported:

“On Sunday last an inquisition was held at the Workhouse, in the parish of St. Andrew, before Mr William Bell, coroner, on the body of Elizabeth Chaney, aged 19 years, who was picked up in the River Wensum, near Blackfriars Bridge. Septimus Sterey and John Plummer deposed, that they took the body out of the water that morning about 9 o’clock; marks of violence appeared on her face and blood on her cap. Jane Nixon, of the parish of St. Andrew, stated that she has known the deceased upwards of seven months, who, occasionally, came to her house to clean; that deceased was a very steady girl, and was a good character; had in her pocket, when she left witness’s house, one shilling in silver, which she had not had when found; deceased left between 10 and 11 o’clock on Saturday night.

John Cook, living in the Water Lane, in the parish of St. George’s Colegate, said he heard a scuffle in the lane about 11 o’clock on Saturday evening; went to the door, and saw a man and woman (cannot say that she was the deceased). The man appeared to use violence, and the woman ran away; the man followed her. The man had on a dark coloured coat and light trowsers [I like this old style of spelling trousers]. Jeremiah Sexton stated he lived in Water Lane; on the Saturday morning, sweeping there, found a pair of pattens near the staithe, and by the water side saw foot steps. Sarah Nixon deposed, that the deceased lodged at her father’s, and slept with her; knew the pattens to belong to the deceased by the strings, for she gave them to her.

The Coroner said, as there was no evidence adduced to prove how or by what means the poor girl came into the water, the Jury could return no other verdict than found drowned under very suspicious circumstances.”

As the Coroner hinted, this was a murder, but with no evidence to ever prove anything, but it seems to me to the worst of domestic abuse. I didn’t know what a ‘patten’ was, but it’s a clog or sandal. St. Andrew’s Workhouse, housed in St. Andrew’s Hall, was in operation between 1712 and the 1850s, before larger premises were constructed in Dereham Road. Also, Water Lane is now known as Hansard Lane. These were certainly challenging times for the city.