On 2nd May 1845 the greatest tragedy Great Yarmouth has ever seen occured. The day started off like any other normal day. There were trains travelling into Yarmouth from Norwich full of tourists and holiday-makers ready to see a spectacle on the River Bure.
Nelson the clown was a performer with William Cooke's circus. In a highly publicized campaign, William had taken to swim in a barrel pulled by 4 geese. The route he took was to undertake was from Haven Bridge on Hall Quay to the Suspension Bridge on North Quay. There were hundreds of people gathered along the river banks to watch this. As Nelson got nearer to the Bridge, around 400 people had gathered on the Suspension Bridge to watch him sail under it. As he passed under the bridge, people gathered on the other side of it to watch him go past, when disaster struck. The bridge collapsed as people shifted from one side of the bridge to the other. 79 people tragically lost their lives, most of which were children. The rods that supported the bridge snapped and the chains broke. 58 of the 79 people that lost their lives were under the age of 16.
There is now a memorial where the tragedy happened, which is a fitting tribute to all those that lost their lives.
I understand that victims of this tragedy were taken to a mass grave in Vauxhall Gardens. What happened to them when the area was redeveloped?
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