The Ports, Harbours, Watering-places and Picturesque Scenery of Great Britain Vol. 1. Finden William
from the "craft of sail and oar"
That states and kingdoms sprang of yore;
When Commerce ceased to woo the wind,
Their wealth decreased – their power declin'd —
Then, thou who lov'st thy native shore,
Pray Heaven to bless "the sail and oar!"
The subject of the annexed View, representing the Quay at Yarmouth, conveys a faithful idea of that interesting and important locality. It is considered by competent judges as the finest quay in England, and in point of length exceeds every other in the United Kingdom. It is one hundred and fifty yards in breadth, contains in its centre a delightful promenade – planted on each side with trees, protected from the east wind by a row of handsome and well-built houses – and presents in all its aspects a striking combination of commercial activity and ornamental beauty. To the elegant Town Hall, which occupies the centre of this space, and to other public buildings, we have briefly alluded elsewhere. As a grand panorama of commercial life, it would be difficult to point out a finer scene than what is every day presented on the Quay at Yarmouth. Its principal foreign connexion is with the Baltic; and its trade in coal, corn, and other merchandise, coastwise, is very extensive. By means of the navigable rivers Yare, Waveny, and Bure, it possesses great facilities of intercourse with the interior of the county.
In Yarmouth Roads – so renowned for the safe riding they afford to shipping – the anchorage is extensive, and there is room for any number of ships. The Roadstead, however, is better calculated for summer than winter, for to large vessels it is only accessible in the daytime with safety.
The trade for which Yarmouth is peculiarly noted is its fisheries, which are an unfailing source of wealth and employment to the inhabitants, and have proved an invaluable nursery for those hardy and gallant seamen who have so often fought and conquered in the battles of their country. The mackarel1 fishery begins in the end of April, and ends in the beginning of July. The herring2 fishery commences at Michaelmas, and continues till the end of November; during that interval, it affords constant employment to sixteen hundred fishermen, besides six or seven hundred men and women who are engaged in the curing-houses.3 In addition to all these, many others are occupied in the various manufactures connected with the fishery – in the preparation of nets, rope, twine, baskets, coopering, &c.
The number of registered vessels belonging to the Port of Yarmouth is about six hundred, exclusive of fishing-smacks and other small craft. Ship-building is carried on to a great extent; and the artificers in the various departments of the building-yards are considered eminently skilful. There are several private bonding-warehouses, besides that on the South Denes belonging to the Custom-house. On the North Denes are the silk-mills of Messrs. Grout and Co.; and on Cobham Island are considerable salt-works for the use of the town and fisheries. At South Town, or Little Yarmouth, the banks of the Yare – besides the handsome houses by which they are lined on the south – are occupied by docks, timber-wharfs, and shipbuilding-yards, in which a large proportion of the vessels belonging to Yarmouth are constructed and fitted out for sea.
YARMOUTH, WITH NELSON'S PILLAR, (FROM THE LOWESTOFT ROAD)
"A fertile soil, a fruitful sea,
And wealth amassed by Industry;
And patriot virtues that sustain
Their 'Meteor-flag' on land and main;
A scene where Nelson's gallant name
Is 'watch-word' to immortal fame:
And here, – with grateful triumph crown'd, —
Imparts a charm to all around."
Yarmouth, as a market-town and sea-port, enjoys many natural advantages; and, aided by the public spirit of its inhabitants and a train of successful enterprise, has long enjoyed a well-merited distinction in the chart of the British Empire. It is a borough, both corporate and parliamentary, situated at the eastern extremity of the county, near the mouth of the river Yare, from which it derives its name, and which is navigable as far as Norwich. Joined by its tributaries, the Waveney and Bure, a short distance to the west of the town, in a fine sheet of water called the Breydon, it proceeds in a copious stream to the sea. The Waveney and the Bure are both navigable rivers – the former as far as Bungay, and the latter to Aylsham.
The town, extending upwards of a mile along the river, from north to south, occupies an area of at least a hundred and thirty acres. On the western side it is bounded by the river, over which there is a handsome drawbridge, communicating with South Town or Little Yarmouth, one of its populous suburbs, where extensive business is carried on. The principal streets, running north and south – Regent-street and South-street excepted – are all indicative of the stir and animation which pervade every place of trade, and evince in their construction both taste and comfort, with an occasional air of the picturesque. The market-place of Yarmouth is extensive, covering an area of nearly three acres, and inclosed on the west side with a range of handsome and well-furnished shops.
Among the public edifices of Yarmouth, which merit especial notice, is the Town Hall, which stands near the centre of the quay. It is an elegant modern structure, with a portico admirably proportioned, and supported by pillars of the Tuscan order. The interior consists of a noble room, finely designed and ornamented, with a richly embossed ceiling in stucco, from which are suspended three massive and superbly cut lustres, containing seventy-six lights, which are used on festive nights, when, with permission from the mayor, public assemblies are held within its walls. Over the chimney-piece is a full-length portrait of George III., in which is preserved a faithful resemblance of that sovereign. The theatre, erected about sixty years ago, and the bathing-establishment, with a spacious public room adjoining, where the company are supplied with refreshments, are among the other places of public resort. A jetty, twenty-four feet wide, secured by a strong railing, and extending four hundred and fifty-six feet into the sea, on piles of wood, forms a delightful promenade, where health of body and exhilaration of mind may be greatly promoted by the salubrious sea breezes by which it is constantly visited. Near this, and commanding a magnificent view over the German Ocean, the stranger is particularly struck with the appearance of a marine villa, which harmonises admirably with the scene.
At a short distance from the pier is a noble pile of buildings, belonging to the barrack department and erected on a portion of the South Denes. In the centre of the latter rises the triumphal Pillar, which forms so striking a feature in the landscape, and awakens so many proud and heroic associations in the heart of the spectator. This monument, raised to commemorate in his native county the services of the immortal Nelson, is worthy of the virtue and valour it was designed to celebrate. It was erected in 1817, by W. Wilkins, Esq. Both in the design and execution great solicitude was evinced by the public that a monument, bearing the name of the greatest of our Naval Heroes, should present everything that classical taste and national gratitude could suggest – and in this respect his countrymen have been fully gratified. It is of the Doric order, fluted and ornamented with appropriate decorations and title-inscriptions – illustrating the Hero's most celebrated battles – and surmounted with a ball and an exquisitely cast figure of Britannia, supporting her trident and laurel wreath. The ascent is by an easy flight of two hundred and seventeen steps, and the whole is built of white Scottish marble. Its height from the ground is one hundred and forty-four feet; the diameter of the column or shaft is twelve feet six inches; and the pedestal is twenty-three feet square by twenty-seven feet in height.
CROMER
Cromer is a fishing village, situated near the north-eastern extremity of the county of Norfolk. It lies about 129 miles north-north-east of London, and about 22 miles nearly due north of Norwich. The view in the engraving is taken from the sands, looking to the westward. Some years ago, part of the cliff, with two or three houses beyond those which are now seen standing on its extremity, fell down in consequence of the encroachments of the sea. At that time a subscription was entered into by the inhabitants of the place, and by several
Mackarel is found in large shoals, especially on the French and English coasts. This fish enters the English Channel in April, and, as the summer advances, is found on the coasts of Cornwall, Sussex, Normandy, Picardy, &c., where the fishing is most considerable.
Herrings are also remarkable as appearing in immense shoals – many miles in extent, and several fathoms in depth. Their presence is easily discovered by the flights of sea-fowl which accompany them, by the unctuous matter with which the water is covered, and in the night by the brilliant phosphoric light which they emit. They are very plentiful about the Orkney Isles in June and July, in the German Ocean in September and October, and in the English Channel in November and December.
The London fishmongers are said to prefer the Lowestoff herrings to those cured at Yarmouth, although they are generally retailed under the name of "Yarmouth Herrings."