Journal entry – John Grey – 16 Dec 1833

Monday 16th December 1833



Had a meeting with Green, tenant of Corbridge Town Farm, part of which has been sold to Sir Edward Blackett. The remainder I valued at £160 which he agrees to give, which is at the rate of three Pounds an Acre, exclusive of waste, land etc, a high rent in these times considering that it is subject to Tithes, and yet I am not sure that had it been offered to the public, a still higher rent might not have been promised by someone owning a small tenement in Corbridge. But in that case there is always a risk of having the produce of the Hospital land taken to enrich the property of the occupier and then perhaps given up in an impoverished condition.  Green is an active man & good farmer, likely to pay his rent, on which account I thought it right to close with him.  He wants no building, if the roof of his house will last, which is doubtful.   I then had Hutchinson of Woodhall Farm, who finds that he signed an agreement this Spring, containing covenants which it is impossible to fulfil, as the quantity of land allowed in tillage will not enable to do so.  Esphill & Lightbirks are in the like condition, which must have arisen from negligence on the part of the Tenants & ignorance of the rotation of cropping on the part of Mr Hooper.  Hutchinson insists upon leave to plough out some fields which he has been foolishly I think in pursuance of old customs, bound off, for they are not good grazing fields by any means but this I refused to grant though I think it right to do so, that it may be made the means of obtaining his agreement to better covenants than were imposed upon him.  I engaged to see his place on wednesday & try to make the arrangement.  



Next came Andrew Thorburn, very furious, wishing to know why I had not made him an offer of his farms as well as others.  My answer was that my instructions to do so only extended to such tenants as paid their rents and fulfilled their covenants.  That he had done neither & had left Mirehouse in such condition that I feared that we should not get a tenant for it.  He said that he would leave £100 in the hands of Beaumonts Agents, & that Mr Hooper promised that he should pay no more for his farms this year than they should let for the next.  So he expected he would not be much in arrear, and that he must be paid for not ploughing the Gairshield for away going Crop as he was entitled to.  He could unquestionably injure Gairshield by ploughing it, though he would not likely benefit himself, as it will hardly pay expenses, so that it may be as well to make a virtue of necessity & compromise the matter with him.  As to recovering anything for the injury done to Mirehouse, I fear it has gone too far for that.  The Lease prescribes the determination of the demise.  That is to him a relief & matter of necessity, and he has nothing to prosecute for.  There is nothing upon the farm to seize, except the sowing of the Crop & I think it will be better to let that be sown by himself, before taking possession of it.  But I shall obey the Boards instructions respecting him. 

[marginal annotation: ‘The Receiver has been desired to adopt measures to secure the arrears if possible.’]



After him came Maughan & his Son from Turfhouse.  They offer £106 for their Farm (without the Stints) for which they now pay £167.  This is a fair rent for such a place, for which see my journal of last Saturday. And they undertake to pay off their Arrears, before entering on the new term.  I shall await the Boards directions, before advertising this farm.   After so many causes of delay I rode as fast as possible to Whittonstall, looked over Sproats Farm desiring the Tenant to come to me tomorrow. Then to Newlands Town Farm, which I think, considering the allowance for lime, should be worth £140.  This the present Tenant is willing to give, & also promises to make up his arrear now due, but cannot purchase the Machine.  The present rent is £160. This is the farm which I recommended to be laid to Newlands Haugh Farm which would save building a dwelling House, Barn & many other things at the latter, but there is this difficulty in the way, that the Haugh Farm is not given up, & the tenant (Fewster) I much fear has not capital to do justice to both.  The estimate I find in the office for building at the Haugh Farm is nearly £1300.  It could, I know be done for much less, but say 5 or £600 could be saved, it is a great consideration in these times of reduction, upon small Farms. I am quite at a loss to know what to advise in this case.   If Hunter was rejected as inadequate, Fewster and the Miller would take his farm in the way I think it should be divided, by which means the union of the farms would be affected & the building in great measure saved.  (There would still require some additional stabling and Cattle Sheds, but no house or barns) and if Fewster cd not hold on, then we must find a more substantial man so the Town Farm might be let to Hunter for one year, as the other is almost certain to be given up the next, and then they would be united.  To let the Town Farm on Lease, would involve the necessity of building entirely anew, at the Haugh Farm.  In this case too, I must wait the decision of the Board.  

[marginal annotation: ‘Mr Grey has been directed to let this farm for one year accordingly’]

I examined, though by candlelight, the Machinery in Newlands Mill, a part of which does not work smoothly since the change was made to a Steam power & it is in danger of doing mischief.  I must write to Murray to examine & report upon it.  



Returned, having missed my way in the rain & dark, on a dismal Moor, found Mr Benson, who, with Mr Hunt has been engaged for some days in measuring off the buildings at Haydon Town, Lipwood and other places, which were ordered or in progress before my coming here.  Benson has let the sawing into deals of some good Larch Trees at Dilston, that they may be properly seasoned for laying the Floors.  He says, it is excellent wood & will answer that purpose as well as any thing that could be obtained.  It ought however to stand for some months cut, to prevent its shrinking.  Should the house not be built, or put into the hands of an Architect who, either from connection with an importer of timber, or a prejudice against this, would not use this, it will be ready for other purposes in the Hospitals Buildings.  In the latter case, however, it may be proper for me to remark that my undertaking to pay the excess above £2000 from my own pocket, must be revoked.  The calculations for building which I made with Benson went to get the utmost accommodation that the blinds would allow, of plain, but substantial work, letting the Sawing & quarrying to be done in the winter season when work is slack.  But a contractor who will reckon on pocketing £100 for himself & expending another or two in sharing his skill in fine work, may easily expend the amount on the house alone, leaving me nothing for Stables etc, so that I shall be required to advance some hundred pounds for a residence, besides the rent, which I only continue to occupy for a short time, if at all.  At the same time, if the building could be let by Contract, & substantially done, which does not often happen, for the specified amount, it would be a great relief to me to have no charge of it, for certainly I require no additional occupation of my time; my general hours for some time past having been from eight in the morning till midnight & occasionally till 2 in the morning, before I have quitted my [struck out: ‘post’] pen, with barely time for a hasty meal.  This amounted with hard riding, & exposure to all kinds of weather is more than most men, even with the strength which I possess can think to continue long at.  The personal labour which the Receiver must undergo, if he intends doing his duty faithfully, the load of incidental correspondence which never appears to the Board, and the many claims upon his time by persons connected with the business of the Office, under the new arrangement, with only one Bailiff for such an Estate, is I suspect to an amount which the Commissioners have no idea of.



Mr Dixon of Aydonshields came to me to treat for that farm and Mirehouse.  The joint rent is at present £317, only his is too much too dear, & Thorburns, nominally, for he has not paid it.  I valued them at £230 thinking that an allowance of £20 or £25 should be made from that, for five years on account of the bad state of Mirehouse.  Mr Dixon only offers £206.  I am loth to lose such a tenant, but think his offer too low.  I parted with him reluctantly at ten o’ clock without effecting a bargain & finished my letters & this journal at one o’ clock in the morning.