NEWSLETTER WINTER 2026

UPDATE

SECURITY MEASURES

In the Autumn edition of the newsleter, we reported on the anti-social behaviour hat had been experienced at the Rosary during the summer. Thankfully the situation is much improved thanks to patrols by the police and assistance from the staff at the neighbouring hostel. One of the access points for the unwelcome visitors was the wall by the bend in the roadway in the lower cemetery. It was low enough for people to scramble over from the adjacent lane and get into the cemetery.

Norwich City Council have addressed this by increasing the height of the wall (pictured below) to deter them. They have also repaired the wall by the entrance from Rosary Road, making that more difficult to climb over when the gates are closed. We are grateful to the Council for addressing this so quickly after we raised it.

ROSARY NOTABLES: THE NEWBEGIN FAMILY

Three generations of the Newbigen family are buried at the Rosary. Each generation was involved in the family tobacco business and were examples of those nonconformist businessmen who formed such an influential group in nineteenth century Norwich. While looking after their own interests, they took a major role in civic life - improving the city and helping the less fortunate.

The family first came to the public notice in 1835, when James Newbegin senior, then 43, bought John Curr's tobacco factory in the former Bridewell prison. Curr had introduced tobacco manufacturing to Norwich in 1815, and in 1829 had bought the Bridewell for £1140, when it closed following the opening of the new prison at St Giles Gates. Newbegin lived at the Bridewell with his wife, Susannah, and their large family. The business prospered. So much so that in the winter of 1839, Newbegin announced he had acquired the factory and shop on Guildhall Hill of Waite and Cousins, another tobacco manufacturer. It provided him with a prime location on Norwich Market Place to sell his goods. His workers process the tobacco leaves, making them into packets of one, two and four ounces, and making cigars and snuff. Two of his sons, James and John, were also working in the business.

By the 1840s James senior was a public figure - serving on Grand Juries, on the committee of the Norwich Public Library and elected as a Liberal member of the Board of Guardians. It was not all plain sailing. In the autumn of 1844 he must have been embarrassed to have been convicted and fined £100 for selling snuff that contained a higher proportion of sand than permitted. In mitigation, James claimed that it was a first offence and promised there would be no repetition. By 1851 his son, James junior, had moved to Bracondale, but remained heavily involved with the business. Three years later he had to take over when his father suddenly died. One February evening in 1854, James senior was reading the paper at his Bridewell home when he rose suddenly from his chair, fell to the ground and died of a heart attack. He was then 62. He was buried at the Rosary in the family plot, where a few months later, he was joined by Susannah. Both funeral services were taken by George Gould, the minister at St Mary's Baptist church in Duke Street where the family worshipped.

James junior returned to live at the Bridewell and run the business that continued to flourish. in 1861 he recorded he was employing 11 men, 8 boys and 3 girls - many of whom would have been packing the tobacco and cigars. At the time, Newbegin and Son was one of five tobacco manufacturers in Norwich. Another of James senior's sons, Edward, also worked in the business, but subsequently moved to Sunderland, where he set up his own factory. At about this time, George Newbegin, the son of James junior, became the third generation of the family to enter the trade. In March 1871 he was forced to take full control when his father died at the early age of 51. He continued to live at the Bridewell with his wife, Maria, and their children. He was a keen astronomer and set up a telescope in the factory. Situated within the 30 foot high walls of the former prison, it was not an ideal location and the telescope had to be mounted on a tall column to ensure it could be used. Astronomy became all absorbing and in 1882 the family moved to a house on the Yarmouth Road at Thorpe St Andrew and disposed of the business. The tobacco manufacturing machinery at the Bridewell was sold and the building disposed of. It later became a shoe factory and subsequently a museum. 

George named his new house 'The Observatory' (pictured above with the observatories on the right) and for the next twenty years devoted himself to astronomy. In the spacious gardens that ran down to the river, he had two observation domes, built to house his collection of sophisticated telescopes. He spent many hours observing the sun and taking photographs of sun spots that he included in articles he wrote for scientific journals. He was also a member of the Royal Astronomical Society and was elected a fellow in 1888 - and honour he cherished. George was ever ready to share his interests - he loaned his telescopes to expeditions travelling to India, Mauritius and Spain to view solar eclipses. He also encourage local people to share his enthusiasm. For many years he opened his observatories to the public each Easter Monday. These events proved very popular - on one occasion there were 241 visitors. 

In 1904 George left 'The Observatory' and moved to Surrey. Maria's health was declining and it was felt she would benefit from the move. She died in 1911 and was buried at the Rosary. George lived until 1919 when he joined her. Their son, Algernon, also took up astronomy and established his own observatory at his home in Surrey. He later lived at Tor Bay until his death in 1965. Following Newbegin's departure, 'The Obevartory'was occupied by Ernest Curl, a director of the Norwich department store. It subsequently became the offices for a firm of boats builders before becoming the Town House Hotel.

The Newbegin plots can be found in blocks C and G.

WINTER CLEARANCE SESSIONS IN 2026

The clearance sessions have continued during 2025 and have been well attended, enabling us to clear several rows that had not been done for some time. We will be continuing to do them until Spring. All are welcome to join in one of the Sunday sessions or for an hour on a Tuesday afternoon. 

We will meet by the wooden shed, next to the asphalt road where it leads to the upper section. Parking is probably still best on the drive up to the Chapel. 

Date	Time
Sunday 4th January	10am
Tuesday 13th January	2pm
Sunday 18th January	10am
Tuesday 27th January	2pm
Sunday 1st February	10am
Tuesday 10th February	2pm
Sunday 15th February	10am
Tuesday 24th February	2pm
Sunday 1st March	10am
Tuesday 10th March	2pm
Sunday 15th March - litter pick	10am

FINAL WORD

If you have any comments about the newsletter, would like to contribute or to contact the
Friends please get in touch via our 'Contact Us' page or alernatively:
 Nick Williams - Tel: 01603 438766 email: spinny72@aol.com 

Mark Shopland Tel: 01603 462200 email: mark@benthicsciences.co.uk