1866
Royalty Attend
A five day music festival, as part of a run of triennial events.
The Festival moved a little later in the year to the end of October to coincide with a visit to Norwich from the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince and Princess of Wales. Crowds lined the streets to see the royal visitors make their way to St Andrew’s Hall, which was decked out especially for the occasion along with the city in general. Such was the excitement of the visit that the musical performances were very much incidental to the gathered crowds, much to the annoyance of those on stage! Amongst the various commemorative items made was a token featuring the profiles of the Prince and Princess and the papers carried lengthy write-ups in minute detail of the royal visitors’ itinerary.
A commemorative token to mark the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to the 1866 Festival.
The Programme and General Arrangements for the 1866 Festival.
Taken from the Norfolk & Norwich archive.
A ticket sales form, covering 1854 – 1866.
Image Courtesy of Norfolk & Norwich Festival.
A poster for the Dress Ball held on the Friday of the 1866 Norwich Musical Festival.
Image Courtesy of Norfolk & Norwich Festival
The chorus in 1866 was made up of female and child sopranos, female contraltos, male altos, tenors and basses.
Taken from the 1866 programme, from the Norfolk & Norwich Festival archive