William Finden - The Ports, Harbours, Watering-places and Picturesque Scenery of Great Britain Vol. 1

The quay at Yarmouth is one of the longest and most spacious of any in the kingdom; but from the shallowness of the entrance of the harbour, there being only fourteen feet of water on the bar at spring tides, the trade of the place is chiefly carried on in small vessels. It is high water in Yarmouth Roads at forty minutes past eight, and at Yarmouth Sands at thirty minutes past ten, on the full and change of the moon.

The column erected to the memory of Nelson stands on the low sandy flat, called the Denes, to the south of the town. Its total height, including the basement and the figure of Britannia at the top, is 144 feet, and it is ascended by a staircase consisting of 217 steps. It forms a conspicuous object when seen from the sea; and to the crews of vessels passing through Yarmouth Roads it is a proud memento of Nelson's fame and the naval glory of their country.

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 mackarel 1 1 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. fishery begins in the end of April, and ends in the beginning of July. The herring 2 2 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. 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 3 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." 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, 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.