Sophia Ann Goddard - Norwich



Norfolk Annals 1801



“The remains of Miss Sophia Goddard, of the Theatre Royal, Norwich, were interred at St. Peter Mancroft.  Mr. Hindes, the manager, and the principal actors attended on the melancholy occasion.  This young lady had obtained considerable reputation on the Norwich boards, and was making rapid advance to eminence in her profession when death prematurely deprived the theatrical world of an actress whose talents would have ensured her success on any stage.  She supported with great fortitude and resignation a long and painful illness, brought on by exertions that her constitution was unequal to, and died on Sunday last (March 15, 1801), in her 26th year, sincerely beloved and lamented by her family and friends.”

John Coe (Norwich) 1839

"A person of eccentric character, named John Coe, of Chapel Street, Crook’s Place, Norwich, died on this date.  “For 34 years he was a trunk maker in St. Lawrence’.  Deceased had made his own coffin five years ago, of old soap chests and tea chests, and had polished it up so that it looked like mahogany.  It was composed of 165 pieces, and on the lid was a black plate, bearing a quotation from the Burial Service.  The deceased had also made a coffin for his wife, who survives him, but this had to be disposed of to inter the remains of a poor woman whose friends could not find the money to purchase one.”

Title: Norfolk Annals  A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteeth Century, Vol. 1     Author: Charles Mackie

Saint Julian's Norwich - 1819

"A grave was opened under peculiar circumstances in St. Julian’s churchyard, Norwich.  A woman had died of small-pox, and was buried within 48 hours of her death.  It was suspected that she had been buried alive, and the rumour was circulated that groans had been heard proceeding from the grave.  On the body being exhumed a medical man pronounced life to be extinct."

Title: Norfolk Annals  A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteeth Century, Vol. 1     Author: Charles Mackie

Resurrectionists in Norwich - 1823

"Owing to the frequency with which a number of trunks, measuring 28 inches long, 13 inches wide, and 12 inches deep, had been sent from the Rampant Horse Inn, Norwich, by the Telegraph coach to London, suspicion was aroused at the coach office, and directions were given that the porter bringing the next be detained and the parcel examined.  This was done on the 15th, when it was found that the package contained the dead and naked body of an old man.  The Rev. George Carter, vicar of Lakenham, identified the body as that of a man named Brundall whom he had buried a few days previously.  Brundall’s grave was examined and it was found that only the coffin and the shroud remained.  From information given by the porter, two men named Collins and Crowe were apprehended and committed for trial at the Quarter Sessions.  On July 15th they were tried, found guilty, and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, and to pay a fine of £50"

Title: Norfolk Annals  A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteeth Century, Vol. 1     Author: Charles Mackie

Sophia Ann Goddard - Died Norwich 1801

"This Stone is dedicated to the Talents and Virtues of Sophia Ann Goddard, who died 25 March 1801 aged 25. The Former shone with superior Lustre and Effect in the great School of Morals, the THEATRE, while the Latter inform’d the private Circle of Life with Sentiment, Taste, and Manners that still live in the Memory of Friendship and Affection".

Saint Peter Mancroft - Norwich