Somerset Editor of SDNQ 1888-1890.
Born 25 April 1821.
Died 31 October 1910.
Change of Editor for Somerset (SDNQ, vol.2, part ix, no.42, March 1890)
With the issue of the present number of N&D for S&D, the Editorship of the Somerset section changes hands. This necessity, arising out of matters purely personal, has been imminent for some time past, and the subscribers may be congratulated on the fact that the future services have been secured of a gentleman [Frederic William Weaver (1852-1933)] who is not only willing, but, as his antecedents abundantly prove, unquestionably able to continue the conduct of his share of our local ‘Notes & Queries.’ It is with extreme regret that the late Editor retires from his post. His past career has been crowded with pleasant experiences, and has led to not a few literary friendships, in gratefully acknowledging which he must not forget the universal courtesy of those with whom he has been thrown in contact, whether fellow Editor, contributor, or subscriber, and although his name will not henceforth appear on the title-page, he lives in the hope that he may still be allowed to show his warm interest in all that concerns the future of this West Country periodical. ‘N&D for S&D’ is now fully established, and it success is acknowledged not only in this country, but in America, whilst the support it has continued to received since its commencement, now two years and a half ago, emboldens its retiring Editor to believe that the foreshadowing contained in the prospectus will be amply realised, and that nothing more than the earnest support of all who feel an interest in its pages will be needed to secure for it a career of usefulness for many years to come.
Obituary (SDNQ, vol. 12, part xcii, p.145, December 1910)
THE LATE MR HUGH NORRIS – It is with great regret that the Editors of SDNQ record at the beginning of their present issue the death of Mr Hugh Norris, the first Somerset Editor of this Magazine. Mr Norris was born on 25th April, 1821, so that at his death, which occurred on 31st October last, he had entered his 90th year.
Mr Norris, like his father before him, Mr Henry Norris, FRCS, was educated for the medical profession, was LRCP and LRCS, Edinburgh, and LSA, London, and practised for many years at South Petherton, where his father had also been a resident practitioner. It was from his father that he inherited the taste for archaeology, which is so amply illustrated by his contributions to the Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society and by his history of South Petherton in the Olden Time. He also received from him a valuable collection of local antiquities, which in due course he presented to the Taunton Museum.
In these pages it is natural that his connection with SDNQ should be specially dwelt upon. At the inception of this Magazine in 1888, under the auspices of the late Mr John Batten, of Aldon, Mr Norris was selected to be the Somerset Editor, and entered on that work with great enthusiasm, and his wide experience was a most valuable asset in the successful launching of the periodical. This was twenty-two years ago, and Mr Norris was, even then, no longer a young man, and the pressure of many local offices, with which he was concerned, compelled him to resign after two years’ service. But his great ability, and his knowledge of Somerset historic lore, were always, until advancing age forbade, at the disposal of the magazine. To his appreciative insight is due the selection of the motto [Robert Herrick, ‘Seek and Finde’, Hesperides (1648)] which has graced its pages from the beginning:
“Attempt the end, and never stand to doubt,
Nothing’s so hard, but search will find it out.”
The family of Mr Norris, which came originally from Glamorgan, settled in Devon, and thence removed to Somerset. John Norris was MP for Taunton in 1554, and Hugh Norris, Clerk of Taunton Castle in 1561, whose two sons held the office of Bailiff of the Borough. During the Civil War a representative of the family raised a troop of horse on the King’s behalf, for which he suffered in person and estate. A successor of this worthy started the first Taunton newspaper – The Taunton Journal – in 1725. Two of the most noted members of the family were Henry Norris, grandfather of the late Mr Norris, well-known as the master of a school at Taunton and as a distinguished linguist, and his nephew, Edwin Norris, philologist and Assyriologist.
Mr Norris was buried at South Petherton, amid many manifestations of regret, on 4th November last. The block of the portrait which accompanies this memoirs has been kindly lent by the Somerset Archaeological & Natural History Society.
Publications
H. Norris, South Petherton in the olden time (Crewkerne, 1882)
H. Norris, The camp on Hamdon Hill (Taunton, 1885)
H. Norris, Some notes concerning Dr Arthur Bary, prebendary of Exeter Cathedral (Oxford, 1887)
H. Norris, The Daubeney Tomb at South Petherton (1889)
H. Norris, ‘A Rare Ornithological Visitor’, SDNQ, vol.2 (1891)
H. Norris, The battle of Langport (Taunton, 1894)
H. Norris, Charles II at Coaxden Hall (1894)
H. Norris, The siege of Sherborne Castle in 1645 (Somerset Archaeological Society, 1896)
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