The "Norfolk and Norwich Remembrancer and Vade Mecum," upon the plan of
which this work is compiled, was published in two editions. The first
(undated) was issued in or about 1801. It appeared in pamphlet form
(f'cap 8vo), and contained (1) a brief topographical description of the
city and county; (2) a "Chronological Retrospect of the most remarkable
events which have occurred in Norfolk and Norwich during the 18th
century, with a list of Bishops, Deans, High Sheriffs, Mayors and
Sheriffs of Norwich, and Mayors of Yarmouth and Lynn within that period";
(3) an Index Villaris, "including an accurate account of the population,
&c., of every parish in the county, extracted from the official returns
taken in 1801, with the measured and computed distance of each market
town and village from the city of Norwich; also the returns of the
population of Norwich, as taken in 1693, 1752, 1786, and 1801"; (4) a
list of direct and cross roads from Yarmouth, Lynn, and Cromer; and (5)
an alphabetical list of "noblemen and gentlemen's seats and villas in the
county, with their distance from Norwich." The work was printed and sold
by Stevenson and Matchett, Market Place, Norwich, and was "to be had of
the distributors of the NORFOLK CHRONICLE and of all booksellers."
The "Remembrancer" consisted of 80 pages, and was published at
eighteenpence. Although the "Chronological Retrospect" extended over the
period of one hundred years--from 1701 to 1800 inclusive, it was
compressed into 43 pages. This, the most important section of the work,
was reprinted from a local chronology published in the NORFOLK CHRONICLE,
compiled partly from old Norwich histories and partly from the early
files of the newspaper. "Omissions or errors which may have occurred in
this work," says a footnote to the "advertisement" to the first edition,
"shall be corrected in a future edition, and notice of such will be
thankfully received by the Editors."
But many years elapsed before the publication of a second edition, and it
was not until 1822 that the "Remembrancer" again made its appearance.
The modest pamphlet of 1801 had grown to a crown 8vo volume of 274 pages,
bound in cloth, and issued at three shillings and sixpence. It was
printed in bolder type, and contained additional information of a
miscellaneous character, which, published at a time when few general
directories and books of reference were in circulation, and local
statistics difficult to obtain, was received with favour as one of the
earliest attempts to supply the want now so fully met by local handbooks
and year-books. In this, as in the first edition, the Chronology was by
far the most important part of the book. The 18th century "Retrospect"
was revised and amplified, and the record, continued from January, 1801,
to December, 1821, occupied 208 pages. The compiler of this edition, and
probably of the former issue, although his name did not appear in
connection therewith, was Mr. Jonathan Matchett, the senior proprietor of
the NORFOLK CHRONICLE, who states in his preface: "The Chronology of
Remarkable Events has been compiled principally from the volumes of the
NORFOLK CHRONICLE, of which, with the local occurrences of the last fifty
years at least, the Retrospect may be considered an epitome. Such errors
of omission or commission as may be discovered in this humble compilation
shall, if pointed out, be corrected in a future edition, if ever a third
should be called for." As no subsequent issue appeared, it may be
assumed that the demand for the work was not such as to justify the
expenditure of the time and labour necessary to its production. Mr.
Matchett died November 24th, 1844, and from that time until the present
no effort had been made to continue the Chronology.
Little need be written by way of preface to this work. It was commenced
as an index to the Nineteenth Century files of the NORFOLK CHRONICLE, and
was not, as originally planned, intended for publication. The compiler,
however, was advised to elaborate his scheme and to prepare, in place of
a MS. index designed for private use, a work which would serve the
twofold purpose of continuing the excellent Chronology begun by Mr.
Matchett, and of supplying a book of reference upon a variety of subjects
pertaining to Norfolk and Norwich. In Volume I. of "Norfolk Annals" are
recorded the events of the two decades included in the second edition of
the "Remembrancer," but the matter has been entirely re-written, and the
field of research considerably enlarged. With the lapse of time many
things, too familiar and commonplace to be very fully noticed in the
"Remembrancer,"--_e.g._, the coaching system, sports which are now
obsolete, country celebrations and observances, &c.,--have acquired an
interest which they did not present to a compiler of eighty or a hundred
years ago. Some of the facts recorded in these pages may not in
themselves be considered "remarkable," but collectively they illustrate
the manners and customs, the wisdom and follies, the labours and
amusements, of Norfolk people in the century just closed, and, it is
hoped, show to what extent the county and city have progressed morally
and socially during the last hundred years. In one respect "Norfolk
Annals" is less pretentious than its antecessor--it gives no
topographical and statistical information of the kind published in the
"Norfolk and Norwich Remembrancer"; in another sense it is more
pretentious--it contains an index, which will add to its usefulness as a
book of reference.
The writer is indebted to the Chairman (Sir Charles Gilman) and the
Directors of the NORFOLK CHRONICLE CO., Limited, for permitting him to
make use of the files of that newspaper, from which exclusively the
following pages have been compiled.