ROW THIRTY THREE ‑ (Palmer gives no
name)
Dr.
Farmington's Row, 1740*2
Nightingale
The Baker's Row *2
Taken during the war.
This row now would lie
along the north pavement of Herries Close, such that numbers 38 and 40 George
Street represent he south-west corner of the ancient row.
Running from
GeorgeStreet toHoward Street, this row had in it warehouses and messuages and
fish‑houses belonging to John Harmer, the son of a Yarmouth Merchant, from whom they passed toThomas
Manning, hosier, son of the Rev.
William Manning of Middleton, Suffolk, one of the ejected ministers of 1662.
Thomas Manning married Sarah, daughter of William Coulson of Swanton
Abbot, and settled the above‑mentioned property upon their son,
William Manning, merchant,(who died in 1768, aged 72) upon his marriage to Ann,
only daughter of Samuel Allison, sailmaker of Yarmouth, in 1721. Sam Allison
died in 1740, aged only 39.
Their son named
William inherited the wealth of his uncle, Dr.Manning of Norwich. (They all
sound wealthy except perhaps the sailmaker) He married in 1761,
Hester, daughter of George Smyth of Topcroft Hall, who had a house
on South Quay but resided for the latter part of his life at Ormesby, and died
there in 1825 aged 93. His wife
had died in 1806 (aged 60), and they were both buried together in the
churchyard of Ormesby St. Michael.*1
Harry Johnson, in 1927, relates "This
row proudly boasted two splendid entrances, the east end containing two brick
arches on the north side, and some fine beams and posts on either side. The
west entrance design was rare. It has a nicely detailed arch spanning the row.
The north‑west corner house lent beauty by reason of the overhanging first floor apartment.
Wooden struts across the row for support were found here together with a
bay-fronted shop, the whole making a fit subject for the artist."
In the 1936 row survey
"In this row nos. 1 and 2 are fairly good houses, and no.21 a good house
on 3 floors, sash bar windows, a good
panelled door with hood over, and
ground floor windows with wooden shutters. The wall in front of this
house across the row should be
lowered".
Numbers 1 and 2 were still
occupied by Arthur Ernest Brooks in 1956.
C.H.Harrison,
the artist, was born in a house
in this row in January 1842. His parents some time later moved to St.Nicholas
Road. Charles Harmony Harrison was the son of a stone mason. He grew up in a cottage
on St.Nicholas Road, attended the Congregational School, and became
apprenticed to a local builder as a sign writer and decorator. He had enjoyed
art since childhood, and was
entirely self taught as an artist, it is thought. He had
by 1875 become a full‑time
professional artist, specialising in watercolours and Broadland scenes, something entirely new.
Earlier artists of the
Norwich school had not shown much interest in these remote parts of Norfolk. In
1877, after 11 years of marriage his wife died. He remarried the following
year, and moved to Wood Green, North London.
Even though living in
London, Harrison continued to paint the Broadland scenes that he loved and was
familiar with. In 1879, deciding that
he would not make a fortune in the capital, he returned to Yarmouth, and here
during the 1880's produced some of his best
work. Sometimes he was away on
the Broads for days at a time, painting, and making sketches from which he
could later work at home in his
studio.*4 By 1902 he was in very poor health, and an exhibition was mounted to
raise money for him, at the Tolhouse, but before it opened, he died of a
stroke, on 13th.November 1902. This exhibition had been greatly encouraged by
his friend Arthur Patterson, who had
promoted the idea in the press. Patterson also, in 1903, published a
memoir "Charles Harrison, Broadland Artist". The money raised was
added to the Harrison fund that provided his widow with a small weekly
allowance for several years.*5
picture by Harrison.
*1 Palmer
*2 Johnson
*3 Row survey, 1936
*4 Derived from a
short paper by Damian Eaton.
*5 Ref. "John
Knowlittle"