ROW SIX - BROWNE'S ROW*1
RACKHAM'S ROW*2
Browne's Row, 1766*2
Rackham's Row*2
Body Snatcher's Row*2
Douglas' Row*2
The Row entrance from Northgate Street is at the left.
Row 6 in 1855 contained three
cottages at the rear of what is now the
doctor's house and surgery, and further west, or on the south side of
the row was a malt-house, whereas on the north
side most of
the row was occupied by malt-houses. Similarly
Row 7 was not residential on this side (east) of the cross row, there being a
large yard to the rear of the White Horse Inn which could be approached from
the west part of Row 7 or through the archway of the Inn itself.
Row 6 had been called in 1766,
Browne's Row, from William Browne the brewer having owned the
malt-houses. Browne will be referred to again in the descriptions of no.
55
North Quay. Later the row
was known as Rackham's Row and Snatchbody Row. Vaughan and Murphy were
infamous body-snatchers. Vaughan had been a stone mason's labourer and a
drunken waster; he had committed
offenses in various parts of the country and eventually came to Yarmouth.
He rented a house in the row, so this
must have been
one of the three cottages
previously referred to. At least ten
bodies were extracted from the churchyard before anybody discovered him. He was caught and jailed in 1827 having made
advances to a young woman. He pretended that he was not married, but when she
discovered that he had been, she
evidently turned him in. Some London surgeons actually paid
his expenses while he was in prison for some 26 weeks. Presumably he
would have been detained in the
Tolhouse Prison.
Murphy, a tall strong Irishman, was
thought to be somewhat more intelligent. He was paid 12 guineas each for four
bodies; again the London surgeons paid
quite a sum of money, some 160 pounds, which eventually got him out of
trouble. He lived to a reasonable age one
understands, and died a natural death.
Vaughan on the other hand was
transported to Australia, having stolen clothes at Plymouth. At that time the
stealing of a body was a minor misdemeanour and not a transportable offence.
Houses numbers 4 and 5, at a
time before they were re-numbered (now
Wheatley's Antique Shop) was
divided into 2 shops during the period 1855 to 1906, having been
originally built as a single house, owned at
one time by John Burton the Water Bailiff (in 1766). In 1771 his house and the extensive
malt-houses which he also
owned at that time, were conveyed to Christopher Eaton.*3 The house was
sold in 1773 by Christopher Eaton to John Daniel the grocer, together with the
malt-houses which were thought to be extremely old. Part of the walls and bricks which were seen
at the rear of the bakery were at the same time purchased by Edmund Lacon,
being part of their very extensive brewery
business.