Norwich

“ The old buildings of Norwich gave me, even at five years old, the intense and passionate pleasure with which I have ever since regarded them. No others are the same. No others come back to me constantly in dreams in the same way. ”

“ Southward was visible the dark line of Long Island Sound; on the west, half hidden by groves, rolled the Thames; northward and eastward lay a vast amphitheater of cultivated hills, and the valleys of the Yantic, Quinebaug, and the Shetucket, and at our feet was Norwich city, in crescent form, clasping a high, rocky promontory, like the rich setting of a huge emerald, for in the midst rose the towering Wawekus, yet green with the lingering foliage of summer. A more picturesque scene than this grand observatory affords need not be sought for by the student and lover of nature. ”

“ Norwich is 108 miles from London by Newmarket, 110 by Colchester, 114 by Bury St. Edmunds, and it is a remarkable fact, that Norwich, Bury and Lynn, form an equilateral triangle, each side measuring 42 miles, it is also 43 miles from Ipswich, and 24 from Yarmouth. The soil of Norwich is mixed the upper stratum is light of sufficient depth for the plough upon chalk, gravel and sand; the air is remarkably salubrious, it is screened from the easterly wind by Moushold Heath, and abound in springs of water of the purest kind. ”

“ Norwich is very remarkable for its antiquities, its historical associations, its manufactures, and its trade; and also for the eminent men who have flourished at various periods in the city. It was the scene of many important events in the times of the Iceni, the Romans, the Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Danes, and Normans. It was the royal seat of Anglo-Saxon princes. It was the Hierapolis Monachopolis of the middle ages; famous for its churches and convents; and in later times, celebrated for its Norman castle and cathedral. ”

“ James assures us that Norwich attained its highest prosperity during the middle of the eighteenth century, so great was the energy and fertility of resource displayed by its merchants. The worsted dyers of the city were pre-eminent for skill, and their profits were great. The city merchants sent travellers throughout Europe, and their pattern books were shown in every principal town as far as Moscow. Norwich goods were introduced into France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Poland, and there was also a large trade with Russia. ”

“ No merely ecclesiastic settlement, the cold glories of its Cathedral are but one phase of Norwich. Prosperous and self-sufficing in the best sense; its citizens public-spirited, its situation beautiful, its highways imposing and byways quaint and curious, Norwich stands by itself, in its likeness to no other town or city in England. If one must seek a parallel, it is to Exeter one must look, for there is much in common between the two. Both are, very distinctly, the capitals of their respective 294provinces; Norwich still metropolitan to East Anglia, and Exeter to the West of England. ”

“ Norwich is the capital of all the county, and the centre of all the trade and manufactures which I have just mentioned; an ancient, large, rich, and populous city. If a stranger was only to ride through or view the city of Norwich for a day, he would have much more reason to think there was a town without inhabitants, than there is really to say so of Ipswich ”

“ Another strong point in favour of Norwich having been the Venta Icenorum is, that all the roads radiated from the city to all parts of East Anglia.
In tracing the rise and progress of the city we must remember that it was in the centre of a vast common, and that it was the nucleus of an agricultural community, at first without any trade or any kind of manufactures. ”

“ A grand and venerable old place is this of Norwich,—full of inducements for a visit, or even a permanent stay. It should have been named that the suburbans, and those living on the outskirts, give much attention to farming, and that Norwich is in some respects like our Brighton, for it has weekly market-days for the sale of cattle, and has the largest market in the kingdom, with the single exception of those near London. The stores, many in number, and a large portion of them of high grade, present for sale every conceivable article, and argue of a high civilization. ”

“ And notwithstanding all the stir and eager revival of the Fourteenth Century in religion, politics, literature and general life, there was much both of sin and of sorrow then to exercise the pitiful soul—troubles enough in Norwich itself, of oppression and riot and desolating pestilence—troubles enough in Europe, West and East,—wars and enslaving and many cruelties in distant lands, and harried Armenian Christians coming to the Court of Edward to plead for succour in their long-enduring patience. ”

“ Taking, then, Norwich for the Venta Icenorum of the Romans—called Caer Guntum by the British, and Northwic by the Saxons and Danes—you find the Capital of the Iceni, founded on the shoulder of the promontory overlooking the Wensum, towards the great estuary, which formed a natural stronghold for successive races of inhabitants. Whilst the Romans, fixing their permanent camp at Caistor, on the Taes, where that river joined the estuary, into which the Wensum, the Taes, and the Yare, all discharged themselves, would command the passage into the interior of the country ”

“ Norwich men took an active part in all the great movements of the day,—in the Reformation, the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth, and all the agitations of more modern times. Therefore, the story of the city is interesting and important in every period, and it is identified with the whole course of events in East Anglia. Indeed, it is difficult to separate the history of Norwich, the capital of East Anglia, from that of the whole district. ”

“ The volunteer corps of Norwich and Norfolk were disbanded on March 24th, 1813. The West Norfolk militia returned to Norwich from Ireland, on May 11th, 1816, and were disembodied on June 17th in that year. A long peace of 40 years ensued, but the old trade of Norwich destroyed by the war, never revived. In January, 1817, upwards of £3000 were contributed to relieve the poor, many of whom were employed in making a new road to Carrow, and in other public works, the trade of the city being in a state of stagnation. ”

“ Norwich then became one of the chief seats of Anna, king of the East Angles, who gave the castle, with the lands belonging to it, to his daughter Ethelfrida on her marriage with Tombert, a prince of the Gyrvii or Fenmen, who inhabited the fens of Lincolnshire and the adjacent parts of Norfolk. At the same time Tombert granted to Ethelfrida, as a marriage settlement, the isle of Ely, which for greater security was to be held by castle guard service to the castle of Norwich. ”

“ There is no evidence of the existence of Norwich as a city for 400 years after the Christian era. The whole island was a howling wilderness, and Norfolk was a vast common, like Roudham Heath. The natives lived by hunting or fishing, and sheltered themselves in the woods, or in caves, or huts. Water covered nearly all the area in which the city is now built, and filled all the valley of the Yare. The aborigines, called the Iceni, probably lived in huts near the banks of the river, as it afforded a good supply of fish ”

“ The first was the city of Norwich; the second Debora; the third Judith; the fourth Hester; the fifth Martia, sometime Queen of England. At the first sight of the Prince, and till her Majesty's coming to the pageant, the musicians used their loud musick, and then ceased; wherewith her Highness staid, to whom the personages representing the city of Norwich, did speak in these words,
Whom fame resounds with thund'ring trump, That rends the ratling skies, And peirceth to the haughty heavens, And thence descending flies, Through flickering air ”

“ On April 26th, 1786, the Norwich and Norfolk Benevolent Medical Society was instituted. In May, an exact account of the inhabitants of Norwich was taken from house to house, and the population was ascertained to be 40,051 souls, exclusive of those living in the precincts of the Cathedral, being an increase of nearly 4000 since 1752. This entirely contradicts the statement of Mr. Arthur Young, in his Tour of England, published in 1770, to the effect that 72,000 persons were then employed in manufactures in this city. ”

“ Norwich, like every other city in England, was affected by it, and lost nearly all its foreign trade during the terrible conflict. On July 14th, the Revolution was commemorated by republicans at the Maid’s Head Inn, in this city. Among the toasts of the day after a dinner were “The Revolutionary Societies in England,” “The Rights of Man,” and “The Philosophers of France.” The Revolution, however, had not advanced very far in its atrocities when most people regarded it in a very different light, and associations were formed here against “Levellers” and “Revolutionists.” ”

“ That reminds me, sweet, thou wilt like to hear my minstrel tell the story of Blauncheflour, who was the betrothed of Percivale, the searcher for the Graal. The fair white walls, faced with goodly Caen stone, seemed to me in their invincible dignity to resemble a pure maiden, so I named them after her.'
Norwich in those days was surrounded by broad and deep streams, at least five times as wide as its present modest rivers, and the chroniclers of Edward the Confessor's day record that the fisher-folk suffered terribly through the receding of the waters. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The sensation in Norwich and its neighbourhood p. 518cannot easily be described, and is probably without precedent in the case of a mere private individual. During the entire interval of seven days between his decease and the funeral, the half-closed shops and the darkened windows of the houses gave ample proof of the feelings of the inhabitants. It furnished the principal topic of conversation in every family, in every private circle, in every group by the wayside. People of all ranks vied with each other in their eulogies of their departed friend. ”

“ The Commercial History of Norwich.
What has been the trade of the city, from the earliest period up to the present time, is an interesting subject of inquiry to the inhabitants. The sources of information are very scanty, for local historians of former days did not trouble themselves much about trade, but were content with simply recording passing events and the proceedings of public bodies. ”

“ Norwich was then next in size to York, and contained 738 families. Thetford had at the same time 720 burgesses, and 224 houses empty. Thetford, therefore, was decaying and Norwich was rising. In 1377, a census was taken of several great towns in England, and Norwich was found to contain 5300 people, for a migration hither of Flemings and Walloons, who introduced the manufacture of woollen and worstead fabrics, had increased the population. ”

“ Norwich was mentioned as one of the assay towns in 2 Hen. VI, cap. 17, in 1423, which honour it shares with York and Newcastle as being of such ancient lineage. The corporation of Norwich possesses several pieces of plate of the Elizabethan period, with the city arms, a lion, and a castle as a hall-mark. A Tudor rose with a crown above is the standard mark. The office ceased early in the eighteenth century. ”

“ The twelfth century is a period in which Norwich began to be particularly mentioned for its trade arising from manufactures. It is also a period when a very valuable source of information is opened by the monumental effigies of the dead, sculptured in their habits as they lived. The effigies on brass are numerous in Norwich and Norfolk churches, and indicate progress in useful arts. ”

“ Norwich has experienced of late years, a number of improvements; the lighting is much more brilliant, and better regulated than formerly; the paving also, which is in great forwardness, and the alterations consequent thereon, have already much improved many parts, and will when finished, add greatly to the beauty of the city, and to the convenience and comfort of the inhabitants and occasional visitors. ”

“ Proceeding eastward out of the Fenland and among the hills of Norfolk, the little river Wensum is found to have cut a broad, deep, and trench-like valley into the chalk and gravel plateau. Upon the elevated bank of the river is the irregularly picturesque town of Norwich, with the castle keep rising above the undulating mass of buildings, and the cathedral and its noble spire overtopping the lower portion of the city on the right hand. Norwich is an ancient town, but very little is known with certainty about it anterior to the Danish invasions. ”

“ Whereas the city of Norwich is an ancient populous city and county by it's self, formerly incorporated by the name of the mayor, sheriffs, citizens, and commonalty of the city of Norwich, And as such, enjoyed many privileges and immunities granted them by former Kings, all which they now enjoy for the better support of the said city and augmentation of trades and manufactures, for the publick advantage and benefit of the kingdom of England ”