8.--The steeple of St. Cuthbert's, Thetford, fell upon the roof of the
church, carrying away one of the arches and destroying the organ.
9.*--"A letter from Philadelphia, of the 16th ult., announces the death
of Mr. Davenport, formerly lessee of the theatres on the Norwich circuit.
He had been making a successful tour in the United States with his
talented daughter. He died a few days before, at Cincinnati."
16.--On this date was published an extract from the "New York Express,"
giving particulars of a confession of murder by a private named Thomson,
belonging to the 1st Royals, then stationed at Halifax, North America.
He stated that when at Norwich eight years previously he was on terms of
intimacy with a woman. A quarrel had occurred between them, and he had
thrown her into a canal. The crime had so preyed upon his mind that he
determined to give himself up to justice and allow the law to take its
course. On September 13th it was announced that Thomson had been brought
to England and committed to Winchester Gaol, pending inquiries by the
police of that city. Two police-officers came to Norwich, investigated
the affair, and elicited the following remarkable facts: Thomson was
stationed in Norwich with the Carabineers in 1846, and afterwards
exchanged to the 1st Royals, then in Canada. A girl named Anna Barber
was in the habit of frequenting the barracks, and became acquainted with
Thomson, whom she appeared to have displeased. In the month of August,
1846, a tailor named James Taylor was fishing for eels in the river near
Blackfriars Bridge when he heard a scuffle, a shriek, a splash, and the
sound of retreating footsteps. He immediately rowed to the place and
assisted out of the water a young woman, who refused to give him her
name. She went away, and no report was made to the police. In 1850 Anna
Barber was again seen in Norwich. It was evident, therefore, that the
remorse which impelled Thomson to make his confession was groundless.
28.--The Norwich Corporation adopted the Public Health Act of 1848, and
appointed twenty members as a Local Board of Health.
29.--The church of St. Matthew, Thorpe Hamlet, was consecrated by the
Bishop of Norwich.