Journal entry – John Grey – 5 Jul 1834

Saturday 5th July



       Received some payments for Wood & settled accounts with Mr Parkin. Having made no discovery regarding the Deals stolen from Whittle Dean, I issued hand Bills offering a reward of £10 to any one giving such information as to lead to the conviction of the offenders.  Was engaged with Mr Green the Architect who came to examine the progress of the House, which will soon be ready for the Roof.  At noon Rochester’s wife came to tell me that he was more inclined to come to terms, but thought I should give him a larger sum than I had offered.  I was of a different opinion & stated that by this time, it was likely Mr Fenwick had prepared a Lease, by which some expense would have been incurred to which Rochester was liable   He would not come to me to make any terms himself, she said that she would bring the Keys if we could agree upon the Terms.  I of course informed her that I must have a relinquishment of his Agreement signed by himself before a Witness, specifying the Conditions, & that Mr Dickinson should wait upon him with it, which he accordingly did, no one being more anxious than myself to get rid of a worthless & useless mortal, whose conduct has been to me a source of so much vexation.   He signed the paper taken by Mr Dickinson, giving up the Agreement for a Lease engaging to quit the Premises immediately & to leave all Corn, Hay & produce growing & being upon them for the consideration of £40 to be paid to him tuesday next;  at the same time giving Mr Dickinson possession of the Keys of the Houses & Mills.  It is a relief to be done with him, & the next thing is to get a better Tenant.  Another so bad it is hardly possible to get.  I wrote to Mr Fenwick to stop proceedings.  Drew up an advertizement & sent my Servant off to get it printed by hand Bill for circulation in the District, it being too late for Newspapers of this week.  As it is of consequence not to lose time & allow the custom & Trade to get into other channels, I have required that intending offerers should come to the Office to learn the particulars of letting, & that I may have an opportunity of enquiring into their character & circumstances.   And stated that Proposals would be received by me till Tuesday the 15th Instant.  This is a deviation from the usual course, wch however, I trust the Commissioners will deem me justified, in making by the peculiar & pressing circumstances of the case.  I must beg their direction previous to the 15th how I am then to proceed.  Whether to send the Proposals to Greenwich or to conclude the most advantageous bargain I can with the most respectable Tenant, & to allow him to commence operations at once.  [marginal pencil annotation: ‘The proposals should be sent to us in the established rule certainly. G.T.’] I propose that the new Tenant should purchase the Corn by valuation in harvest & reap it himself, but if he does not choose that, that I should sell it to the best advantage.  And that he shall enter now, as he is intitled to do, to the Hay & fallow lands, paying the expense of making the Hay & sowing the Turnips, which I have given Mr Hunt directions to commence with on Monday & to get it done as speedily as possible.