Journal entry – John Grey – 13 Dec 1834

Saturday 13th December



       Informed the Lessees of Langley Mills, according to the Board’s Minute, that they could not be allowed to burn Lime at the Kiln reserved for the Tenants there, nor to dispense with the covenant in their Lease, binding them to insure the Premises against Fire.  Wrote to the Secretary of the Railway Company, informing him that the Board would offer no opposition to their application to Parliament to be allowed to use locomotive Steam Engines.  Wrote to the Bankers requesting them to pay £5000 to the. credit of the Commissioners on the 29th Instant.

       Rode through the Estates of Westwood, Fourstones & Allerwash.  At Highwood & Westwood the Hedges by the sides of the new Turnpikes have been in many places so improperly planted, having no soil to grow upon, that after the expense of railing & cleaning them for several years they are no farther forward, nor ever will be good for anything.  As they are now in our charge, rather than incur the annual expense of keeping up the railing, while the hedge makes no progress, I have directed Workmen how to proceed in taking out the bad parts, & planting them over again with a bed of good Soil from the accumulated scraping of the Roads, laid under their roots.  At Allerwash a new Smithy must be made, the old one being in both a most inconvenient situation, & dangerous condition.  I examined again today the Buildings & situation of the Mill there, with reference to the Railway.  The best line & that which will do the least injury to the Hospitals Land is directly over the site of the Mill.  The Building is bad but the dwelling House is better.  The Railway Company offer £400 for them exclusive of Machinery, and I dare say that would fully cover the cost of moving the Buildings back out of their way & also give us new for old Houses, but in case of a new Mill, some part only of the present Machinery would go in again.   The expense of new Machinery could not however be fairly laid upon the Company, & an allowance must be made to the Tenant for the time the Mill would be off Work.  All things considered it will probably be the best plan to require the Company to build accommodation equivalent to the present, off the line of the Railway, to compensate the Tenant for the loss of time, & as we should have a new building which ought to be done under the inspection of our Surveyor, instead of a bad one which would not stand long, it might be fair & reasonable, to allow them the timber for roofing out of the Hospitals Woods.