Thomas Brown, thought it worth his while to write a whole book to
collect the monuments and inscriptions in this church, to which I
refer the reader.
The River Yare runs through this city, and is navigable thus far
without the help of any art (that is to say, without locks or
stops), and being increased by other waters, passes afterwards
through a long tract of the richest meadows, and the largest, take
them all together, that are anywhere in England, lying for thirty
miles in length, from this city to Yarmouth, including the return
of the said meadows on the bank of the Waveney south, and on the
River Thyrn north.
Here is one thing indeed strange in itself, and more so, in that
history seems to be quite ignorant of the occasion of it. The
River Waveney is a considerable river, and of a deep and full
channel, navigable for large barges as high as Beccles; it runs for
a course of about fifty miles, between the two counties of Suffolk
and Norfolk, as a boundary to both; and pushing on, though with a
gentle stream, towards the sea, no one would doubt, but, that when
they see the river growing broader and deeper, and going directly
towards the sea, even to the edge of the beach – that is to say,
within a mile of the main ocean – no stranger, I say, but would
expect to see its entrance into the sea at that place, and a noble
harbour for ships at the mouth of it; when on a sudden, the land
rising high by the seaside, crosses the head of the river, like a
dam, checks the whole course of it, and it returns, bending its
course west, for two miles, or thereabouts; and then turning north,
through another long course of meadows (joining to those just now
mentioned) seeks out the River Yare, that it may join its water
with hers, and find their way to the sea together
Some of our historians tell a long, fabulous story of this river
being once open, and a famous harbour for ships belonging to a town
of Lowestoft adjoining; but that the town of Yarmouth envying the
prosperity of the said town of Lowestoft, made war upon them; and
that after many bloody battles, as well by sea as by land, they
came at last to a decisive action at sea with their respective
fleets, and the victory fell to the Yarmouth men, the Lowestoft
fleet being overthrown and utterly destroyed; and that upon this
victory, the Yarmouth men either actually did stop up the mouth of
the said river, or obliged the vanquished Lowestoft men to do it
themselves, and bound them never to attempt to open it again.
I believe my share of this story, and I recommend no more of it to
the reader; adding, that I see no authority for the relation,
neither do the relators agree either in the time of it, or in the
particulars of the fact; that is to say, in whose reign, or under
what government all this happened; in what year, and the like; so I
satisfy myself with transcribing the matter of fact, and then leave
it as I find it.
In this vast tract of meadows are fed a prodigious number of black
cattle which are said to be fed up for the fattest beef, though not
the largest in England; and the quantity is so great, as that they
not only supply the city of Norwich, the town of Yarmouth, and
county adjacent, but send great quantities of them weekly in all
the winter season to London.
And this in particular is worthy remark, that the gross of all the
Scots cattle which come yearly into England are brought hither,
being brought to a small village lying north of the city of
Norwich, called St. Faith’s, where the Norfolk graziers go and buy
them.
These Scots runts, so they call them, coming out of the cold and
barren mountains of the Highlands in Scotland, feed so eagerly on
the rich pasture in these marshes, that they thrive in an unusual
manner, and grow monstrously fat; and the beef is so delicious for