Tuesday
Glorious morning. Decided to go to King's Lynn .
Left at one, arrived 2.30. In
several places on the way saw ploughing and drilling with 3-horse teams. Went to Lynn Market – several horses and
ponies for sale. A poor market though,
very much down-at-heel. The day of the
country market is ended.
Went into Museum, which is in a
terrible state of neglect and decay.
Quite the most derelict collection I have seen, yet containing so much
good stuff. A lot of birds, some
rubbish, but including a sea-eagle from the Norfolk coast.
A Saxon skeleton is shown, not
only with the objects associated with it, but with other objects found nearby,
all huddled together in one case.
Labelling very poor.
In the main hall is a tiger given
by George V, a good specimen but so unsuitable here. Walls of the hall – (it is an old chapel)
covered with heads and antlers, and at one end, a huge painting of a hunt,
early 19th century. Lighting
poor.
A case labelled “bones” includes
human and animal, some ancient, some modern anatomical specimens. A label on a human femur says rather
startingly: “Foremost of the mammiferous divisions of Creation, Man forms the
culminating point of the great scheme of nature.”
In another case, an alleged
“hoard” of arrowheads, found in Norfolk . Several American specimens are labelled as
being of Norfolk
origin. The stone implements, many from Norfolk , are very
good. All labels are typewritten, and
are bad.
There are cases of fossils, bugs,
butterflies, a large brown bear, a deer, foreign shells, a passenger pigeon,
foxes, and monkeys, (the last all in one case).
At one end is a Morrison shelter, presumably for the Curator’s use.
The Archaeology is badly
shown. Everything they have is in one
case – a beaker, Roman, Saxon and
Medieval pottery, many with labels wildly wrong, but maybe they are on the wrong
objects. Noticed Romano-British sherds from Roman
villa at Grimston, given by P.G. Laver.
Runcton Holme – material of the
same character as that from the Redhills.
Some labels seek to absolve the
local authorities from responsibility by saying “Classified by the British Museum.”
One label mentions 120 Romano-British pots
(cinerary urns?) found near Swaffham in 1879 when cutting for the railway. A nice beaker is shown, from Massingham, near
the Peddar’s Way.
There is a nice specimen of the
ichthyosaurus, found in 1844.
Behind the main hall is the old
chapel school-room, now divided into two sections. One is used for art exhibitions, and the
other contains an astonishing mixture of Royal gifts, ethnology, and local Lynn and Norfolk
bygones. There are some very nice Lynn
prints, relics of Eugene Arain, portrait of dear little Fanny Burney, a
magnificent Viking period stirrup, inlaid with gold, half a dozen
celd and a palstrave, a “Celtic” horse shoe, tobacco pipes, a wood “spud”,
all in one case. There are 15 loom
weights, but no labels on them. Every
case is dirty.
Some of the African material is
very good.
Quite a lot of pilgrim badges,
dredged up from the Purfleet. Some Roman
coins, badly labelled, many of them obviously fakes. Among the bygones is a fascinating “horn moon” a
great rarity. The collection has great
possibilities.
Walked round the town. Noticed very nice house, about 1525, Bennetts
Yard, at the N. end of Tuesday Market.
Lower storey is stone, with a fine Tudor Gothic arch leading into yard at
rear, and the upper is a massive-framing, overhanging on the street front. The place is now derelict, but not beyond
help. It appears to be the only survivor
of a considerable slum clearance.
Called at the Library, and saw in
the Lynn paper
that A.P.D. Penrose has been adopted candidate at the coming election. Reference Library is still firmly closed.
After 6 the town was quite
deserted, and rain began, with low scudding clouds. Set off home, leaving Lynn in its black-out and rain. Thought of the little Welsh girl Jones, who
is to be hung for murder in 36 hours time.
Thought too of the possibility of increased air attacks this month,
before the lighter nights come.
Saw the brighter street lights of
Walsoken at quarter past 8. Turned off
at Sandringham Avenue ,
and called on the Levers. He remarked on the
brilliance of the gas-lamps in his road, all of which are left burning during
raids. The only thing to do, in event of
an attack being obvious, house-holders to go out and smash the lamps.
Stayed until 10, then walked
slowly back to the White Lion. Found a very pleasant Irish girl there, a Miss Courtney, something to do with
the Girls’ Life Brigades. Sat talking
about Ireland (she is from Ulster )
until nearly midnight, and so sadly to bed.
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