There are many serious crimes in the King’s Lynn Quarter session records [KL/C 20] that resulted in the death penalty, imprisonment, and transportation. Alongside these serious crimes are more minor crimes and some local nuisances, such as being drunk and disorderly, using abusive language in the street, or speeding through the town on your horse and cart. There are also some unusual crimes that happened in quick succession at the end of 1866 and in 1867 where doors and door knockers became the primary criminal target.

In November 1866 brothers Alfred and Robert Bambridge were any ordinary harness makers clerk and mariner’s apprentice. However, on their way back from a dinner hosted by the local Oddfellows lodge they drunkenly decided to disrupt a neighbourhood, well more specifically their doors. The brothers went up and down the streets knocking on doors and ringing doorbells, then proceeding to run away.

Not too long afterwards in July 1867 William Vyse, Owen Anwyl, and Hussey Vivian, agricultural students and cricketers, went looking for a bit of fun after playing in a cricket match and decided to disfigure a few doors. This time ripping the knockers off the doors of James Sadler, on the Tuesday Market Place, and Joseph Green, in New Conduit Street.

These two events happened within mere months of each other, which is either quite the coincidence, or the students may have heard the story of the Bambridge’s which influenced their own crime. The Bambridge brothers story appeared in the Norfolk Mercury on the 17^th of November 1866. A report of the story of Vyse, Anwyl and Vivian can also be read about in the Norfolk News and the Norfolk Chronicle newspapers in July 1867.

The Bambridge brothers had been on their way back from an Oddfellows’ dinner. The Oddfellows are a society surrounding friendship and helping people since the early 1700’s, with legends of much earlier organisation, but became more established in the 1800’s. When they had a meeting, they would use public houses and were known to take something for the good of the house so that might’ve been what the Bambridge brothers were attempting to do when they took the door knockers. Or they could’ve just been a couple of drunk brothers playing a prank before Robert went off to sea again. The society was operating out of Purfleet Street according to the 1883 White’s directory.

What made these actions crimes and not just the harmless prank kids play today is the specific bylaw that stated you could not knock on doors without a lawful reason. Another bylaw said that you weren’t allowed to damage anything that belonged to anyone else.

Alfred and Robert Bambridge were fined 10 shillings plus 16 shillings in costs each. Prior to their trial William Vyse, Hussey Vivian and Owen Anwyl admitted that they were heartly ashamed and were willing to give £5 each to the Lynn Hospital if the magistrates would dismiss the case. This was refused and the proceedings against them continued. Vyse and Vivian faced two charges, one for each door, they had to answer for. They were fined £3 each per change plus costs ranging from £1 7 shillings and 6 pence to 15 shillings. Anwyl was only charged with one count of abetting the others, so was fined £3 and 15 shillings 6 pence costs. They were told that if they couldn’t pay these charges, they would have to do hard labour at Norwich’s castle for two months per offence.

Not much is known about William Vyse or Owen Anwyl, but Hussey Vivian went on to lead quite the life. You may have noticed he is described as the “Honourable Hussey Vivian” in the case because he would have a long diplomatic career and become the third Baron Vivian in 1886. A few years after this incident in 1873 he went to Alexandria to be the Consul-General which he did from 1873-1874 until he became Consul-General to Moldavia instead but came back to Alexandria for 1876-1879 until he went on to then be a resident minister to the Swiss Confederation which he did until 1881, but not before swiftly moving on to being an ambassador to Denmark for three years until 1884. Then he was a minister to Belgium before lastly being an ambassador to Italy until his death in 1893. He was even father-in-law to Field Marshal Douglas Haig who married his daughter Dorothy.

For the Bambridge brothers and their futures, Alfred appears in the 1861 census and is living with his mother and siblings. In the 1871 he is still down as being unmarried but now is accompanied by some actors lodging there and a niece and nephew. Robert was at sea with their father for the 1861 census and doesn’t appear in the 1871 census, but he could’ve been out at sea again.

In conclusion, leave the childish pranks to the children.

Researched and written by Brooke Bocking