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Transcribed from the c1858 Jarrold and Sons edition, using scans from the British Library, by David Price.

ROGERS' DIRECTORY OF NORWICH AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.

PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR, BY JARROLD AND SONS, LONDON STREET, NORWICH.

PREFACE

IT is never pleasant to have to make apologies; and yet there are some circumstances under which an apology is a duty, and therefore, whether pleasant or not, should be tendered cheerfully. The present is a case in point. The work should have been published earlier, and would have been had it been possible. The truth is that the "Guide to Streets, &c.," was a novel experiment, and the compiler--having nobody's experience to guide him--thought the task an easier one than it turned out to be. It was at first imagined that the matter for this "Guide" could be obtained simultaneously with the information for the Directory itself. The attempt proved the mistake. It was found that to do both well they must be done distinctly and independently. Hence chiefly came the delay, to say nothing of the fact that for many "local habitations" it was very difficult to find the "name." In yards and courts not a few, and in some out-of-the-way streets even, not one of the inhabitants could give his whereabouts a designation! The task, however, has been achieved at last; and it is trusted that upon the whole the public will think that it has been achieved well. A few errors have crept in, doubtless; but no labor and no care have been spared to avoid them. The hope is confidently cherished that the faults of the work will be forgiven for the sake of its excellencies, especially as the compiler promises to "do better next time."

HISTORY OF NORWICH.

A century later, and we find the lay and clerical elements in rancorous hostility. Perpetual animosities between the citizens and the monks rose at last to such a height, that the priory was, in 1234, entirely destroyed; while 38 years subsequently, the cathedral itself was well nigh demolished--an offence for which the city was visited with the terrors of an interdict. The injury, however, was not irreparable, for with a fine of 3000 marks imposed on the principal inhabitants, and with some liberal donations, the edifice was sufficiently restored as in 1278 to be consecrated by Bishop Middleton, in the presence of Edward the First and his queen, Eleanor--the first royal visit of which we have any reliable evidence. A wall was, moreover, raised round the Cathedral precincts--St. Ethelbert's Gate being erected by the citizens; and this seems for a time to have prevented further dissension. Between the two epochs of contention above-named, arose the first recorded charitable institution in Norwich--Bishop Walter de Suffield founding St. Giles' Hospital, for the triple purpose of ensuring masses for his soul's repose, providing an asylum for superannuated and infirm priests, and furnishing a refuge for 13 aged persons; to the last object only, it is hardly necessary to say, is the building now devoted; and enriched by subsequent benefactions, the hospital accommodates 50 of each sex, who, on admission, must have reached 65 years of age.

Another noticeable feature which must by no means be overlooked while dwelling on this period, is the enclosure of the city, from Conisford or King street to Pockthorpe, by a wall. This important work, a testimony to the increasing prosperity of the city, as well as to the turbulence of the times, was commenced in 1294 and completed in 1320; but it was not till two and twenty years afterwards that, through the munificence of one Richard Spynk, the wall was flanked with 40 towers, furnished with 12 gates, and fortified by a broad ditch. The gates remained up to 1792, and the wall, though now built upon on every side, may yet be traced for almost its entire length, being especially prominent as the southern boundary of Chapel Field, and offers many a study to the antiquarian and the historian.

But we now come to a catalogue of disasters: the Cathedral was seriously injured by fire, 1463; the fatal plague ravaged the city, 1479; and in 1505 and 1507 there were great fires, in the latter year 718 houses being consumed, which obliged the corporate authorities to prohibit the erection of thatched buildings. In 1517, disputes between the citizens and the monks being again rife, Wolsey came over on a mission of mediation, but it was not till several years afterwards that peace was restored by the settlement of the civil and ecclesiastical boundaries and jurisdictions. We must not forget to notice the burning of the martyr Bilney, after an imprisonment in a dungeon of the Guildhall; and scarcely were the lurid fires of persecution extinguished before a memorable political outbreak exposed the city to the ravages of contending armies, and excited the anxious consideration of the youthful Edward's ministers. The details of Kett's rebellion are too well known to require recapitulation; suffice it to say that after obtaining possession of the city and defeating the Marquis of Northampton in an encounter on Palace Plain, the insurgents were dispersed by the Earl of Warwick--Robert Kett being executed at the Castle, and William at Wymondham. To close a paragraph of casualties, persecutions, and tumults, we must record the visitation of the sweating sickness, striking down near 1000 victims in 1551, and of the quartan ague six years later; the conviction of several citizens in 1570, for participation in a plot for assassinating the queen, re-establishing Popery, and expelling the strangers "out of the citye and realme," of whom four suffered death, and others confinement for life; and the imprisonment in the Castle of certain persons apprehended in Suffolk for "refusing to come to the church in time of sermons and common prayer."

Turning from these saddening scenes, we note the foundation, in 1557, of Caius College, Cambridge, by a Norwich citizen of that name, physician to three sovereigns of the house of Tudor, and a man of learning. He was one of the first of a long line of distinguished men educated at our Grammar School--an institution of ancient date, but which did not become located in the present venerable structure until the reign of Elizabeth. And this mention of "Good Queen Bess" reminds us of her visit to the old city in 1578, spending a week in all sorts of festivities, pageantries, and amusements, to the unutterable delight of her loyal subjects. Nearly a century was destined to elapse ere Norwich was honored with another sight of royalty; and as there is a back-ground to every picture, so all this rejoicing was followed by the dread calamity of the plague--introduced, indeed, it was supposed, by some of the Queen's attendants--and which slew five thousand victims.

Coming down to 1671, we must chronicle the visit of the "Merry Monarch," with his Queen and brother, who were sumptuously entertained by the Duke of Norfolk, as well as by the civic grandees: an animated description of the city at this period--with its ducal palace, its prosperous manufactures, and the priceless cabinet and botanical gardens of the famous Sir Thomas Browne --is given by Macaulay. Ten years later, James, Duke of York, paid a second visit; but in 1687 he had, as king, forfeited all popularity by his arbitrary interference with the corporation; and the representative of the house of Howard, riding into the market at the head of 300 knights and gentlemen, amid the acclamations of the citizens, declared for a free parliament. It was the son of this duke, who, taking umbrage at the mayor's forbidding his comedians entering the city with trumpets, demolished the whole of his ancestral palace, said to be the largest town house in the kingdom out of London, and which, from Christmas to Twelfth-night, was wont to be open to all comers.

Henceforth politics almost disappear, and the remainder of the narrative must be confined to matters of purely local interest, which may be very briefly chronicled. From 1696 to 1698, a mint was established here, and coined about a quarter of a million of money. In 1732 the Market and Charing crosses were taken down; in 1731 the St. George's Company--incorporated 1416, and the principal of the city guilds--resigned their charters to the corporation. In 1761 a coach was started between Norwich and London, to run the distance in twenty hours, it having hitherto taken two days in summer and three in winter. An inundation in the following year, flooded nearly 300 houses. In 1771 the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital was founded, William Fellowes, Esq., of Shotesham, laying the first stone. In 1776 an act was obtained for making a turnpike to Thetford. In 1785 the first balloon ascent seen in the city took place, Major Money being the adventurous aeronaut. In 1791 the barracks were erected, at a cost of ?20,000. In 1824 the first Musical Festival was held, and was conducted by Sir George Smart; its chief promoter was Mr. Edward Taylor, now Gresham Professor. The same year the City Gaol was built, in lieu of an old building on the site of the Public Library--the Shirehall is of about the same date; the Museum was founded in 1825, and in 1828 the Corn Exchange was erected. In 1835, June 16, the last guild-day celebration took place, 800 ladies and gentlemen dining in St. Andrew's Hall; the late Mr. T. O. Springfield was, in the following January, elected the first mayor under the Municipal Reform Act. In 1837 Dr. Stanley was appointed bishop; this beloved prelate expired in 1849, about two years after the death of the equally beloved and philanthropic Joseph John Gurney. In 1844 the Yarmouth railway was opened, in the following year the Norfolk, and in 1846 the Ipswich and Colchester line. In 1854, the mayor, was knighted by her Majesty, on presenting an address from the Corporation, on the war with Russia. In 1857 the Free Library was opened, and the first stone was also laid of the New Workhouse.

Having thus brought down the political history of the city to the present time, we propose to offer a review of the origin and progress of the manufactures of Norwich, on which its prosperity has so materially depended, and indeed still depends.

We must not forget to notice the opening of the shoe manufacture in the city, which gives employment to a considerable number of persons of both sexes: nor must we overlook the starch and mustard works of Messrs. Colman.

Appended is a brief statement of the particular branches to which the principal factories are devoted:--Messrs. Middleton and Answorth, and Messrs. Bolingbroke, are famed for their poplins, and for the production of crinoline--the material being horsehair from South America. Messrs. Clabburn, for fillover long shawls, by a patented process, which gained the Paris Exhibition medal. Messrs. Willett and Nephew--paramattas, and many plain and fancy fabrics. Messrs. Grout and Co. --silk crape. Mr. Geary and Mr. Sultzer, cotton fabrics--the latter establishment also carries on the winding of cotton on reels. Messrs. Blake and Mr. Jay--spinning of woollen and mohair yarns. Messrs. Towler and Co., and Messrs. Rowling and Allen--plain and fancy fabrics. Mr. G. Allen--woven silk for gloves. Messrs. Hinde--bareges and paramattas.

Other important departments of trade, too numerous to be enumerated, are also carried on; such as sacking, tobacco, brushes, egg-flour, artificial manures, &c., &c.

PLACES OF WORSHIP.

CHURCHES.

We have already alluded to the fact, that in the reign of William the Conqueror there were 45 city churches; and it appears from an inventory of the ornaments in the churches of the Norwich archdeaconry--commenced by William de Swyneflete in 1368, and continued to about 1419--that at that period there were 55 churches in use, exclusive of the Cathedral and conventual churches, besides the following which had then been desecrated or annexed to other parishes: St. Wyndwall, or Catherine in Newgate, , St. Olave's Chapel, St. Michael Conisford, St. John the Evangelist, St. Cuthbert, St. Matthew, St. Christopher , and St. Anne. Of the 55 then in use, the following, however, have long ceased to exist as parish churches; St. Botolph, St. Margaret Newbridge, St. Mary Combust, St. Margaret Colegate, St. Olave, , St. Cross, St. Bartholomew , St. Michael, St. Edward, St. Clement Conisford, St. Vedast, and St. Mary Parva . St. Mary in the Marsh was desecrated in 1653, and the parishioners have since used St. Luke's Chapel, in the Cathedral.

We append a statement of all the edifices now standing, in connection with the Established Church, commencing of course with

THE CATHEDRAL.

The present structure is considered by some to be mainly the work of Bishop Alnwyck, temp. 1430, and this prelate is generally supposed to have completed the cloisters--one of the finest quadrangles in the kingdom, commenced by Ralph de Walpole in 1297. The edifice is principally in the Norman style. The nave is divided into fourteen semi-circular arches; its roof is attributed to Walter Lyhart, the second bishop after Alnwyck. The large west window has recently been filled in with stained glass, as a memorial to Bishop Stanley. The nave itself contains the tombs or monuments of Chancellor Spencer, Bishop Nix, Bishop Parkhurst, Dean Gardiner, Sir James Hobart, and Bishop Stanley; while in the church are the monuments of Bishops Goldwell and Bathurst. Attached to the Cathedral were several chapels, but these have mostly been demolished. The interior generally suffered much defacement at the hands of the iconoclasts of the 16th and 17th centuries; in 1740 the nave and aisles were repaired, and in 1806 the whole fabric was restored and beautified.

The present bishop--appointed in 1857--is the Right Rev. J. T. Pelham, D.D. Dean--the Hon. and Very Rev. G. Pellew, D.D. Archdeacons--Norwich, Ven. R. E. Hankinson; Norfolk, Ven. W. A. Bouverie; Suffolk, Ven. T. J. Ormerod. Canons--Revs. M. Wodehouse, A. Sedgwick, G. Archdall, and H. Philpott; besides 23 honorary and 4 minor canons.

ALL SAINTS, a small structure, with a square tower and three bells, contains an antique font with curiously carved figures of St. Paul and other apostles. The living is consolidated with St. Julian, and the joint benefices were returned in 1831 at ?246 per annum. The Rev. T. Gurney is rector.

ST. ANDREW, next to St. Peter Mancroft, the finest church in the city--was rebuilt in 1506. The font is massive. In the north aisle is a costly monument, with effigies of Sir John and Lady Suckling, of whom there is an annual commemoration. The curacy is in the gift of the parishioners; the Rev. A. C. Copeman was elected in 1857. Out of the proceeds of the sale of the church ornaments at the Reformation, the parish paid ?17 towards the repair of the gates and walls, and ?20 to that of the Great Hospital--both injured in Kett's rebellion.

ST. AUGUSTINE, an unpretending edifice, with a tower and three bells. Rev. M. J. Rackham, rector.

ST. BENEDICT, a small building with a round tower. The parishioners are the patrons; perpetual curate--Rev. W. Goodwin.

ST. CLEMENT, one of the most ancient fabrics in the city. In the churchyard is the tomb of the parents of Archbishop Parker, rebuilt over the original, in 1823, by Caius College; and also the "Leper's tomb." Rev. R. Rigg, rector.

ST. EDMUND, a small structure, founded in the time of the Conqueror, has a tower and one bell. Among the relics formerly preserved here, was a piece of the shirt of St. Edward the King and Martyr, kept in a box of crystal, and visited with great reverence. The Rev. G. B. Everett, rector.

ST. ETHELDRED is a small fabric, with a short tower and one bell. In the burial-ground was formerly an anchorage, which continued till after the Reformation. Rev. J. Deacon incumbent.

ST. GEORGE AT COLEGATE is a large, handsome, gothic structure, rebuilt at different periods, and has a lofty tower. In the chancel is a fine altar tomb to Robert Jannis, a great benefactor to this church; and near it a beautiful mural monument to John Herring, Esq. The window over the communion table is of stained glass. In a vault is buried the elder Crome, the distinguished painter, who died in 1821. The Rev. A. W. Durdin, incumbent.

ST. GEORGE AT TOMBLAND consists of a nave, chancel, and side aisles, and has a handsome square tower; it was erected by the parishioners in 1445. In the interior are spacious galleries, and many monumental inscriptions. Rev. K. Trimmer, incumbent.

ST. HELEN--or the Great Hospital, previously mentioned as founded by Bishop Suffield, was originally built like a cathedral, in the form of a cross, with nave, tower, aisles, and transept; the tower is all that remains entire, but the cloisters are still almost perfect. The men's apartments occupy the refectory and part of the nave and aisles, while the choir is appropriated to the women's. Rev. W. F. Patteson, incumbent.

ST. JAMES' , is a small building, rebuilt in 1743. The font has some fine panel carvings. Rev. J. Ross, incumbent.

ST. JOHN MADDERMARKET, a handsome church, consisting of nave, side aisles, and a fine tower, was founded before the survey made in Edward the Confessor's time. The lead was removed, and the roof covered with slate in 1835. It contains many ancient sepulchral inscriptions, with a few brasses and several neat mural tablets. Lady Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk , died at the Duke's Palace in 1563, and was interred with great pomp on the north side of the choir, where a mural monument was raised to her memory in 1791. Rev. J. Perowne, rector.

ST. JOHN SEPULCHRE was founded before the Norman conquest. Rev. T. Calvert, incumbent.

ST. JOHN AT TIMBERHILL, so called from the timber market formerly held on the plain adjacent, has a small wooden steeple, in place of the tower which fell down in 1784. Rev. S. Titlow, incumbent.

ST. JULIAN, the smallest church in the city, and one of the oldest, was founded before the Conquest, and had an anchorage or hermitage in the churchyard.

ST. LAWRENCE is an ancient Gothic fabric, with a fine tower; was rebuilt in 1472. Over the west door are two ancient carvings, one representing the martyrdom of St. Lawrence. Rev. P. U. Brown, rector.

ST. MARGARET has a square tower, in which were five bells till 1830, when four of them were sold to assist in defraying the expense of covering the structure with blue slate. Rev. J. W. Cobb, rector.

ST. MARY AT COSLANY was built in 1477, and contains six antique stalls. Rev. C. Morse, incumbent.

ST. MARTIN AT PALACE is an ancient structure, where, in early times, a boys' singing school was kept. Rev. A. Braddell, incumbent.

ST. MICHAEL AT COSLANY is a handsome structure, with a lofty embattled tower, containing a clock and eight musical bells. The interior of the church is handsomely decorated. The altar-piece represents the Ascension, and the four evangelists; and the floor in front is paved with black and white marble, from the domestic chapel of the Earl of Yarmouth, at Oxnead. On the south side is Thorp chapel, erected in 1508, of flint and freestone, and one of the finest specimens of flint-work in the county. The church contains a very old font, several mural monuments, and some ancient brasses. Rev. R. Rigg, rector.

ST. MICHAEL AT PLEA, so named from the Archdeacon of Norwich holding in it his Pleas or Courts, is built in the form of a cross, and has a square embattled tower. There are some ancient paintings near the pulpit, well worthy of inspection. Rev. C. Morse, rector.

ST. MICHAEL AT THORN--a large thorn tree still grows in the graveyard--is a small structure, with a tower, built in 1436. Criminals executed at the castle were formerly buried in the churchyard. Rev. C. T. Rust, incumbent.

ST. PAUL is a small structure with a round tower, and is in a dilapidated state. Rev. B. Cook, rector.

ST. PETER HUNGATE, so called from the bishop's hounds being formerly kept in the parish, is built of flint and stone. Rev. S. Titlow, rector.

ST. PETER OF MANCROFT, the finest church in the city, was rebuilt of white stone in 1455. It has a noble tower, 98 ft. high, with a splendid peal of twelve bells, exchanged for the old peal of ten in 1775, at a cost of ?800. The font stands under a canopy supported by pillars, forming a baptistry on a raised platform, which there is room enough to walk round. The church was greatly beautified about twenty years ago, by the putting in stained glass windows, with figures of the apostles. Among the church plate is a beautiful large cup cover, on which is represented Abigail bringing presents to David, presented by Sir Peter Gleane, 1633. In the vestry is a portrait of Sir Thomas Browne, who was buried here, and whose coffin was accidentally broken open in 1840, when the skeleton was found in a good state of preservation. Several old books are also preserved in the vestry, including a manuscript bible of 1340, and a beautifully illuminated copy of St. Paul's Epistles, much more ancient. In the church are many monuments and inscriptions. The parishioners are patrons, and the Rev. C. Turner is incumbent.

ST. PETER PER MOUNTERGATE--so named from a gate formerly adjacent--was erected in 1486. In the chancel are twenty-four stalls, which belonged to a college of secular priests that stood in the churchyard. South of the altar are the tomb and effigies of R. Berney, Esq., and his wife; and in the nave is interred Thomas Codd, mayor during Kett's rebellion.

ST. PETER OF SOUTHGATE is an ancient building, with a square tower. Rev. J. Deacon, rector.

ST. SAVIOUR, a small fabric, dedicated to the Transfiguration, has a square embattled tower, and contains several neat mural monuments. In Bishop Oxford's time it was appropriated to the almoner of the cathedral convent. Rev. W. H. Cooke, incumbent.

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