PROSPERITY OF YARMOUTH 128 



During the reign of Charles II. the Dutch 

 fishermen brought great prosperity to Yar- 

 mouth, and Mr. Secretary Coke gives us a 

 vivid picture of an East Coast scene : — 



" Whilst the fishings continue, the Dutch, with 

 above 1,000 sail of busses, besides their jagers and 

 other ships, victual themselves from our shore with 

 bread, beer, flesh and butter, and dry their nets upon 

 the land, especially in a field near Yarmouth, which 

 is two miles in length, and they come ashore some- 

 times above ten thousand persons, which, besides the 

 victualling of their ships, carry from hence to supply 

 their country both corn, beer and beans in a very 

 great proportion. Yarmouth alone employ eth forty 

 brewers for their service." 



Perhaps because of this immigrant popula- 

 tion Yarmouth in the seventeenth century was 

 no peaceful place. " An Act for setling the 

 Differences betweene the Townes of Great and 

 Little Yarmouth^ touching the lading and 

 unlading of Herrings and other Merchandises 

 and Commodityes " was passed in 1676, and 

 again in 1677, and these Acts recite that there 

 had 



** beene heretofore many differences between the 

 Townes of Great and Little Yarmouth, in the Countyes 

 of Norfolke and Suffolke, or in one or both of them, 

 to the impoverishing of both by mutuall dissentions, 

 the mutual determination of which would tend 

 greatly to the peace of both." 



But whatever encouragement these Acts 

 may have given to the fisheries, the naval 



^ Othcrwige known »8 *' Southtowne." 



