Rosary Notables: Samuel Jarrold (1805-1874)

One of the four sons of John Jarrold, Samuel was a partner in the family printing and publishing business in Norwich but came to national prominence as a temperance campaigner. Having signed the Temperance Pledge in 1836, when he was 31, he spent much of his life, and a considerable amount of money, campaigning for people to abstain from alcohol. To him it was a noble cause. In 1838 the first annual report of the Norwich Total Temperance Society highlighted the extent of the problem. It asserted that in England fifty million pounds was spent on alcohol, that there were 600,000 drunkards and that 30,000 died each year from alcohol related illnesses. In Norwich there were 600 licensed premises – some of which also served as brothels.

Samuel Jarrold (1805 - 1874)

To publicise the dangers of drink, Samuel and his colleagues published a series of pamphlets and tracts and held well attended prayer meetings at the Victoria Hall in St Andrew’s Street that he had purchased. In 1862 the now renamed Norwich Temperance Society employed a missionary to visit the poorer families in the city and encourage them to abstain and sign the pledge. It appears to have been effective – in one year the missionary visited more than 2,000 homes and convinced 651 people to sign the pledge. To further support his campaign Samuel convinced the family business to publish the Norwich Tracts – a series of homilies on the dangers of drink and its dreadful consequences. Later renamed the Temperance Monthly Visitor, they were circulated nationally and published by Jarrolds for 50 years.

Samuel Jarrold died on the 19th December 1874 after a short illness. The funeral was a public event – reflecting the esteem in which he was held. On the morning of Monday 21st December there was a short service at the Victoria Hall – so that those ‘raised from a state of mental and moral degradation’ by his efforts could pay their respects. Afterwards they all processed to the Castle Hill to join the funeral cortege which then proceeded down Prince of Wales Road to the Rosary. Here it was joined by the employees of Jarrold and Sons along with friends of the deceased so ’that the Rosary seemed to be almost filled’.

Nick Williams