_State of Lynn under George I.—sketch of his character—attachment and
wishes of the people divided between him and the son of James II commonly
called the Pretender—our accounts of this town_, _during this reign_,
_very barren of interesting or memorable incidents—enumeration of some of
the most remarkable—the king dies and his son succeeds_.
No prince, says Coxe, ever ascended a throne under more critical
circumstances, and with less appearances of a quiet reign, than George
the First; whether we consider the state of the European powers, the
situation of parties in Great Britain, or his own character. As to the
latter, he was ill calculated by nature, disposition, and habit to
reconcile the then jarring parties, and remove the unfavourable
impressions which it was natural for all people to entertain of a
foreigner, destined to rule over them. He was already fifty-four years
of age, and had been long habituated to a court of a very different
description from that of England, and to manners and customs wholly
repugnant to those of his new subjects. He was easy and familiar only in
his hours of relaxation, and to those alone who formed his usual society;
not fond of attracting notice, phlegmatic and grave in his public
deportment, hating the splendour of majesty, shunning crowds, and
fatigued even with the first acclamations of the multitude. This natural
reserve was heightened by his ignorance of the language, of the first
principles of the English constitution, and of the spirit and temper of
the people.
It was currently reported, before his arrival, that measures were
preparing to evade the laws which excluded foreigners from honours and
employments. He had several mistresses, of whom two the most favoured
were expected to accompany him to England, with a numerous train of
Hanoverian followers, eager to share the spoils of the _promised land_;
to set up a court within a court, and an interest opposite to the true
interest of England. It was also maliciously circulated that he was
indifferent to his own succession, and scarcely willing to stretch out a
hand to grasp the crown within his reach. “But, adds the same writer, he
had excellent qualities for a sovereign, plainness of manners, simplicity
of character, and benignity of temper; great application to business,
extreme exactness in distributing his time, the strictest economy in
regulating his revenue; and, notwithstanding his military skill and tried
valour, _a love of peace_; virtues, however, which required time before
they were appreciated, and not of that specious cast to captivate the
multitude, or raise the tide of popularity.”—Such was our first sovereign
of the present family. {894}
A great part of the nation was hostile to the Hanover succession; but it
was a divided party, and could never be brought to act in concert, or
with whiggish energy. The _Tories_ were then a very powerful body, and
mostly in favour of the Pretender, but not so decidedly as the
_Jacobites_, who were to a man violent for his restoration. These two
parties were then more numerous and powerful than the _Whigs_, or
adherents of the House of Hanover and the protestant succession. But
they wanted the talents, the unanimity, and the decision of the latter,
and therefore proved unable to gain their point, or introduce the
pretender and place him on the throne. An attempt, however, was made,
chiefly in Scotland, to bring him in, in 1715, and again in 1745; but
they both miscarried, so that the present family in the end got firm and
undisputed possession of the sovereignty of these realms; and the
pretending or rival family is now extinct. Considering the many adverse
appearances, at and before the queen’s death, George’s quiet accession
was not a little remarkable and surprising. His success, it has been
thought, “was principally owing to the abilities, prudence, activity, and
foresight of the great Whigs, and to the precautions which they had
always taken, and now took to promote the succession in the protestant
line, with whom the Hanoverian agents in London concerted their mode of
conduct, and to whom George, from the first news he received of the
queen’s death, wholly resigned himself and his cause.” In nothing did he
discover so much discretion and wisdom, as in acting under the guidance
of such able and trusty adherents.
The history of Lynn during this reign, seems remarkably barren of
interesting, or very memorable incidents. Scarce any thing that we know
of, relating to this town, occurred within that time that is worth
recording. The town no doubt, or at least the members of the
corporation, derived many good things from the high station then occupied
by Walpole, their great patron and representative; and this circumstance
would hardly fail to render Lynn the envy of most other corporations, who
would naturally be desirous of obtaining so powerful a patronage. But
upon this subject we will not here enlarge.
Among the principal objects that engaged the attention of our corporation
during this reign, was an inquiry into the extent and limits of the
estates in Dunham and East Lexham, belonging to the Gaywood Hospital, of
which they were the trustees or guardians. This inquiry commenced as
early as 1710–11. as appears from the following note or hint in our
volume of Extracts—“March 23. 1710–11; St. Mary Magdalen estate to be
surveyed and new buttal’d.”—Afterwards, under the year 1715, we read as
follows; “July 27. upon reading the report of the Comittee, ordered to
inspect the Estate in East Lexham and Dunham, belonging to Gaywood
Hospital, It is ordered that a Letter be sent to Edmd. Wodehouse, Esq. to
request and demand a new particular and abuttals of the lands there late
in his possession, and that the Town Clerk attend the persons employed to
new abuttal the same, as occasion shall require.”
This work appears to have been attended with considerable difficulty, and
therefore to have made for a great while but very slow progress; but our
gentlemen still persevered, and seemed fully determined to effect their
purpose, in spite of all obstacles. Accordingly the affair is thus
further noticed under 1718: “April 7th. Ordered a Letter be wrott to
Edmd. Wodehouse, Esq. to desire new abuttals of the lands in Dunham and
East Lexham, belonging to St. Mary Magdalen’s Hospitall, which he and his
predecessors have holden 99 years by lease lately expired.”—A month after
(i.e. May 7. 1718.) it was further “ordered that _Mr. Mayor_, (Ja:
Boardman Esq.) Mr. Turner, Mr. Berney, Mr. Bagge, Mr. Rolfe, _Aldermen_;
Mr. Robotham, Wm. Allen, Tho. Allen, Town Clerk, and Chamberlains, be a
Comittee to inspect the Hospitall lands belonging to St. Mary Magdalen,
at Dunham and East Lexham, and settle the schedules, and treat for a new
Lease thereof; likewise to consider of the regaining the foldcourse at
Dunham.”
Somewhat more than a year and half after the last date, we find the same
business still employing the attention of our gentlemen. Hence, in our
volume of Extracts, the following passage occurs.—“December 23rd. 1710.
Order’d that alderman Bagg, with the town clerk, be desired to wait upon
Mr. Wodehouse at Lexham, and endeavour to ascertain the lands late in his
lease from St. Mary Magdalen’s Hospitall, and enquire after what other
lands there are in Dunham and East Lexham for which no rent is paid.”
{897} How they succeeded, or how the inquiry finally turned out, does
not appear. But it is pretty certain that the Hospital and poor
pensioners there, have never owed much obligation to the Wodehouse
family; and but for the interference of the corporation, this charity, in
all probability, had long ago been alienated and lost. Let this
therefore stand on record among the good and worthy deeds of our body
corporate.
The origin of the appointment of _Watchmen_ for this town, is a
circumstance that seems to be very little known here: but from the
following hint in our volume of Extracts, it seems to be now of near 90
years standing.—“Feb. 3. 1719–20, Order’d that a Letter be sent to the
members of parliament, to gett a clause incerted in the act now about
passing for night watches for the city of _Westminster_, in favour of
this corporation to have the like regulation.” It seems probable
therefore, that Lynn had its night watchmen as early as the city of
Westminster, and of course earlier probably, than most other places in
the kingdom. Somewhat more than two months after the last date, the
following circumstance is memorized in our book of Extracts—“April 6.
1720, Mr. John Cary junr. is elected Master of the Writting School, and
aldermen Berney and Scarlet, governors and inspectors of the said
schoole.” This school still exists; but who are its present governors
and inspectors we have not learnt. They may be supposed to be expert
_penmen_, or good judges of penmanship. On the 23rd. of the following
December, it was “ordered that a book be prepared to register all the
Acts of our Common Councell that pass the seale.”—This book of _the Acts
of our Common Council_, though not quite so interesting as the book of
_the Acts of the Apostles_, may nevertheless contain some very curious
passages, which might be very useful for this work, could we have been
favoured with a sight of it. But it is supposed to be a book of
_secrets_, and so not accessible to the uninitiated and unprivileged.
Containing now the acts of near 90 years, it may be presumed to be, by
this time, rather bulky.
In the spring of 1722, our book of Extracts speaks of the Blockhouse
being let on lease to one Quash. The reason of noticing this here, is,
because the passage alluded to shews that one of the gates of the town
anciently stood there, and bore the name of _St. Agnes_.—The passage
reads thus:
“April 4th. 1722, Ordered that a lease be made to Wm. Quash, mariner,
of the messuage called the Blockhouse, in North End, being formerly
_St. Agness Gates_, for the terme of 99 years, at 10_s._ per annum,
from Lady Day last, he putting the same into repair, and so keeping
it as a dwelling house during the said terme, and leaving the same in
tennantable repair at the expiration, excepting to this corporation
the common way and passages as usual through the same.”
On the 23rd. of the following November, according to the Hall Books, it
was “ordered that the tolls for the carriage of goods through the two
gates be suspended for one year, from Lady Day next.” This shews that
toll was formerly paid for the passage of goods through our gates; but we
have not learnt the reason of the suspension of that payment now for one
year. It was a measure, no doubt, which some circumstances were thought
to render necessary, at least by way of experiment. Its country and
commercial connections had long given Lynn a bad name, for its
extortioning spirit, and exorbitant exactions; and it is probable that
the town had suffered on that account: this might therefore be an
expedient used, along with others, for the purpose of retrieving its
character. Whether it promoted that object in any degree, or proved of
any material benefit to the town, we have not been able to
discover.—Under the date of March 1. 1722–3, (or 1723, as we reckon) the
following short note or hint occurs in our book of Extracts—“Market Tolls
declared to be the Mayor’s.” By which it would seem that there were
before some doubts entertained here upon this subject, and that it had
never been fully settled, till now, to whom those tolls belonged.
In the following August, the resentment of the Hall, was excited in a
very high degree against Dr. Browne the physician, for having set up, on
some occasion, a kind of competition for precedence with the very Mayor
himself. This daring deed is thus memorized in our book of
Extracts—“August 29. 1723, Ordered that a Letter be written by the Town
Clerke to Dr. Wm. Browne, to acquaint him with the resentment of this
corporation of his affront to the mayor (Richd. Harwich Esq.) justices
and gentlemen of this corporation, by an undue precedence he assumed and
persisted in, on Monday last.” [also] “that the Letter now written by
the Town Clerke, on that occasion, be sent to Doctor Browne.”—Things must
have been then queerly situated at Lynn; especially between the mayor and
Dr. Browne. What effect the Town clerk’s Letter had upon the doctor, we
have not been able to discover. But we have always understood that there
was never any great cordiality between him and the corporation. He
resided here long after this, and afterwards removed to London, where he
received the honour of _knighthood_, and became _president of the Royal
College of Physicians_, to the no small gratification of his vanity, of
which he had a most enormous portion. He has been spoken of as a good
physician, but beyond that, or out of the line of his profession, he is
not known to have acquired much respectability. In one thing he seemed
more fortunate than his contemporary Hepburne; for he died _rich_, and
the other _poor_. Hepburne’s numerous patients were, it seems, more
liberal in _feasting_ than in _feeing_ him; whereas Browne would not have
been satisfied with that sort of liberality. He was the grandfather of
our present parliamentary representative, Sir Martin Browne Folkes,
baronet. {901a}
In 1724 and 1725, the decayed, unsafe, and dangerous state of the river
and harbour, which had been much complained of for many years before,
continued still to engage the attention of our rulers, as appears by the
following memoranda in the Hall records—“August 3. 1724; this day _Col.
Armstrong’s_ Report concerning the river, with severall maps, &c. were
brought into this House.” again—“Jan. 4th. 1724–5; To apply to
Parliament for reviving the Extinct Powers for Commissioners concerning
the navigation of the river Ouze.” again—“Febr. 3. appointed a Comittee
to state, settle, and consider of proper ways and means, by tonnage upon
goods imported, to raise 2500_l._ per annum, stipulated to be employed in
amending and restoring the navigation of this harbor.”—again {901b}—“June
7th. 1725; Ordered that _Mr. Badslade_ be paid 20_l._ for his
disbursements for printing the severall schemes, cases, and answers,
relating to this navigation.”
In the latter part of 1726, an affair came on between the corporation and
one _Henry Southwell_, a freeman, which ended rather disgracefully to the
former. They seized a quantity of coals belonging to him, under pretence
of their being foreign bought and foreign sold; for which he brought an
action against the Town Clerk, which the corporation defended. They
proceeded further, and actually disfranchised Southwell. Upon which he
procured a mandamus, and obliged them to restore him to his freedom.
This must have been not a little mortifying to them. They thought they
had him entirely in their power, and could master him; whereas the
mastery, in fact, belonged to him, and it so turned out that they were in
his power: so that like the Irishman, {902} they _caught a Tartar_, and
thereby brought themselves into a most humiliating dilemma, and exposed
themselves to the ridicule and derision of the whole country. The
Hall-records notice and memorizet his affair as follows: “Nov. 16th.
1726; ordered that the suit brought by Henry Southwell, a freeman,
against Edw. Bradfield, Town-clerk, for seizing a parcell of coales,
fforeign bought and fforeign sold, which came into this port in a ship,
Wm. Coverdale, master, a foreigner, for Wm. Taylor, fforeigner, be
defended, at the publick charge—and that Hen: Southwell be disfranchised
for his collouring bargains and sales, contrary to his Oath of ffreedom,
and using opprobious words (in his Letters) to the corporation, unless he
shews good cause to the contrary, upon due notice to him for that purpose
to be given.”—again—“Febr. 3rd. 1726–7. Ordered that Mr. Hen: Southwell,
appearing and shewing no sufficient cause to the contrary, be
disfranchised the freedom of this burgh, and he is disfranchised
accordingly.”—again—“April 29th. 1728. _Ordered that the former order_,
_made for discharging Hen_: _Southwell of the freedom of this burgh_, _be
made void_, _and that he be restored again_, according to the direction
of a peremptory mandamus, issued out of his majesty’s court of King’s
Bench, to the mayor, aldermen, and common councell for that purpose
directed: and the said Hen: Southwell appearing, was sworn, and found
pledges.”—This might have taught our corporation a very useful lesson,
and been a standing warning to them never more to act in so arbitrary a
manner, or attempt to extend their power beyond its due bounds.
Being now come to the close of this reign, it may be proper here just to
mention some of the principal events by which it was distinguished.
Among them the first in order of time was the _rebellion_ in 1715, in
favour of the pretender; which, though it was suppressed early in the
ensuing year, was far from being eradicated from the minds of the people.
The malcontents were long after very numerous in the kingdom, and ever
busy in forming new plots against the government, of which that wherein
bishop _Atterbury_ was concerned seems to have been the most formidable.
The seasonable discovery of it prevented its being productive of much
mischief, except to the conspirators themselves, some of whom paid very
dear for the share they had in it; particularly Layer and Atterbury. The
former was hanged and quartered, and the latter banished his country for
ever.
But of all the occurrences of this reign the South Sea scheme, or grand
bubble, as it is sometimes called, was that which proved most disastrous
and calamitous to the nation. This memorable scheme was laid before the
House of Commons by the South Sea Company, along with another from the
Bank of England, in 1719, for reducing all the public Funds into one, in
order to discharge the national debt, on some valuable consideration to
be granted them, &c. After much debate and contest, it was determined in
favour of the South Sea Company, and their proposals were accepted on
Feb. 1. 1719–20. An Act afterwards passed both Houses for that purpose,
which received the royal assent in April following. Upon the proposals
being accepted, stock rose gradually to a prodigious height; to 310 per
cent. even before the bill received the royal assent; in a few days to
340, then to 400, and before the end of May to 500. In short, what by
the artifices of the managers, and the credulity of the people, eager to
grasp the riches now held out to them, by the 2nd. of June it got up to
890, and continued rising and falling till it amounted to above 1000.
Nothing was now minded but the business of stock-jobbing. Exchange
Alley, where these affairs were transacted, was in a continual hurry, and
thither crowds of all ranks and qualities daily resorted. The desperate,
who ventured first, were generally gainers, whilst the more wary, who
came in later, were many of them great sufferers: so that the
_wrongheads_, (as the saying then was,) had the better of the
_longheads_. A spirit of gaming thus prevailing in the nation, many
projects were set on foot, which obtained the name of _bubbles_, and were
evidently the progeny of the grand bubble. They were near 100 in number,
and it was reckoned that almost a million and half was won and lost in
them. A proclamation was issued against them on the 11th. of June, and
they were soon after entirely suppressed by order of the Lords Justices.
As to the South-Sea Stock, it continued to rise till about the end of
August. It then began to fall, and fell faster than it rose; so that by
Michaelmas-day it sunk to 150. In December it underwent a parliamentary
enquiry, which induced _Knight_, the South-Sea Company’s treasurer to
abscond. In the end, parliament applied to the relief of the sufferers
the estates of the sub-governor, deputy-governor, directors, &c. And
also that of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, _Aislabie_. They were also
incapacitated from sitting or voting in either House of Parliament, or
holding any office or place of trust under his Majesty, his heirs, or
successors. The following Summer an Act against the directors received
the royal assent, and shortly after another _for restoring the public
credit_. The share _Walpole_ had in settling this distracted affair, and
restoring public credit, brought him into great favour at court, and
facilitated his promotion. He was now made chancellor of the Exchequer,
and first Commissioner of the Treasury, and continued prime minister to
the end of this reign, and fifteen years after; to the no small benefit,
no doubt, of many Lynn freemen, whatever may be said of the nation at
large.
This reign was also distinguished by those memorable religious
controversies which sprung from the novel or unfashionable opinions
advanced and maintained by Clarke, Whiston, Peirce, Hoadly, and others,
and which wrought a considerable revolution in the minds of a great many,
both in the church and among the dissenters. The athanasian trinity was
given up by numbers of our most learned countrymen; the nature of the
kingdom of Christ, with the measure and extent of the obedience due to
the civil magistrate, became better understood; the injustice and
iniquity of imposing human creeds, or articles of faith, were more fully
evinced; in short, the English nation is supposed to have been
thenceforth more generally and accurately acquainted with the principles
of civil and religious liberty, the claims of conscience, and rights of
man, than at any former period. Of late years, however, we are thought
to have made no advances on these grounds, but rather to have been moving
in a retrogressive direction; so that our favourite word _liberty_ itself
would seem to be in danger of losing its wonted meaning, and becoming a
vague, or rather an obsolete term in our language. Nor will the violent
hubbub lately raised, by Lord Sidmouth’s illiberal, illconditioned,
illfeatured, illdigested, and deservedly reprobated bill, be sufficient
to invalidate this opinion.
The effects of the above-mentioned controversies extended even to this
town; and the elder _Pyle_, who was then at the head of our established
clergy, as well as the elder _Rastrick_, who was at the head of the
dissenting interest here, were both actually brought over to what was
deemed the heterodox side of the question. They were men of considerable
eminence and learning, and had been both educated at Cambridge; for
Rastrick was originally one of the established clergy, and had been for
sometime vicar of Kirkton near Boston, before he left the church and
joined the dissenters. But we will say no more of them here, as we shall
have occasion to bring them forward again in our biographical sketches.
The king died suddenly, at Osnaburgh in his German dominions, on the 11th
of June 1727, and was succeeded by his only son, George prince of Wales,
which brings us to the end of this section.