Journal entry – John Grey – 2 Jan 1834

Thursday 2nd January 



Received the Boards Minutes of the 21st December and made the communications required to Mr Wallis & Mr Grace.  Was engaged all the forenoon in the Office with Benson, making up the building accounts, & Parkin arranging for the planting and making out the orders for the young trees wanted for the purpose, some kinds of which are to be had very good at Hexham & others better at Gateshead which I have ordered accordingly.



[Marginal note added here in pencil: ‘What is become of the Hospitals Woods at Aldstone & Dilston which were to supply the young trees ready for planting?’]



I then rode to Thornbro’ Quarry Farm to see a piece of land adjoining the Kiln, which, though not very conveniently situated for tillage, is in such bad condition for pasture, that I advised the tenant upon a new lease to break it up, clean & give it a good liming, & then restore it to grass, which he has undertaken to do.  I then went on to examine the state of the tillage & fences at the High Barns, fixing with the present tenant, the land for his away going Crop.  Some hedges on this Farm, having according to the custom of these Estates where the present time was the only one cared for, been destroyed by mismanagement, & especially one boundary fence by the edge of the brook, which is quite useless, & cannot easily be renewed but by [underlined: ‘a give and take’] to get fresh soil to plant the hedge upon.  This Mr Bainbridge the opposite proprietor promised should be done, but as his tenant to whom I applied today, has not heard of it, I shall write to Bainbridge to meet on the subject.  



I then proceeded to Newtonhall to examine some draining and the Quarry spoken of, which might have been got at without much damage to the farm, had the Stone been of such good quality as is required for the blocks of the Rail Way, but neither this nor the Stone at Whittle Bridge will answer the purpose. Robertson & Pattison have again applied to me for leave to work the rock in Whittle Dean, showing that by laying the road through the Plantation with Stones for 300 yards, they would get upon the turnpike.  I have written them an agreement, binding them, not only to make the road, which they must do for their own sake, but to leave it, in good repair, to pay the value of every tree that may be damaged or cut down, to be answerable for every description of damage or trespass that may arise, to leave the ground in a state, disposing of the heaps of earth so that it may be planted over at the end & to pay one penny for each Stone sold to the Rail-way, which terms, if they subscribe, I have engaged to obtain them the Commissioners authority for the work. I have no doubt that I shall have their signatures in a day or two, & to save time, I shall be obliged by the Boards authority on the subject.  There is a great body of stone there, which if the road were once made might be turned to advantage, & can never be required for the use of that small Estate.