Journal entry – John Grey – 8 Jul 1833

Monday 8th July 1833

	Having answered some Letters which I shall forward by tomorrows Post, as they relate to transactions with which Mr Hooper id acquainted I rode to Allerwash & Eastbrokenhaugh – at the latter place, some internal repairs are making at the farm house – I then proceeded to Lipwoodwell, where the Workmen were beginning to the intended building – I found after much consideration & contrivance, that the old hovel could not be saved without a greater sacrifice of convenience than it is worth, but made an alteration of the plan prepared by Mr reed, by abridging the new Granary, of which there is no great need, there being already a tolerably good one at high Lipwood on the same farm, & adding the space to the adjoining barn, which is very limited & inconvenient – This old Mr Errington thought a great improvement and we parted better friends than on Saturday – I then returned to Haydon Bridge, & was pleased to see the Inn assuming the appearance of respectability & comfort – Here my attention was called to the state of the Cellar, which I had formerly examined and decided upon the necessity of repairing the floor – On removing the broken flags, a Drain was discovered having a communication by a conduit, with the river, but quite stopped up, & about 14 Inches deep of filth, which must be removed. This will be no easy matter, as the conduit is of a considerable length and about 10 feet deep & too small to get any instrument into. I recommended to Hetherington to try to remove the mud, by repeated hushing a term which he is well acquainted with – if that should not succeed, there is no alternative but to take it up – I then rode to Woodhall Mill to ask the Tenant for some arrears of Rent, but without success, & to see the rebuilding of his Garden wall, which he has had done & paid for – Thence to Woodhall where a Cottage has been made habitable, the old flags from the farm house having been taken to make the floor, & better ones laid down instead – The Stable which was to be refitted is not begun to – And on a close examination of roof and lofting, I found it so generally bad, that taking into consideration the most inconvenient situation in which it stands & the very eligible one that offers for it adjoining the other buildings, I advised the tenant to be satisfied with a little repair of the roof to keep out the rain for winter, in the hope that  next summer, it might be removed altogether, which will only cost a little more walling than the present repair, and exchange the worst situation possible, for a very good one – He gladly accepted the proposal, but declared against being bound to keep the Buildings in repair, even after being made good – If there is no stipulation, as he says, in his agreement, to that effect, I must try to obtain it as a set off against the new Stable – for the practice of allowing the rain to destroy the roof & floor, because the tenant will not put in a good slate for a broken one, is preposterous – I was disappointed to find on the high part of this farm, which I had not seen till now, that for ¾ of a mile by the side of the old Road to Hexham, there is no fence, but the remains of one formerly made of Stones & sods which may now be stepped over at any part – This Tenant being a new comer, expects to have it made a fence, which is certainly very necessary – and the best plan of doing so, in my opinion, is to plant a hedge so far as the Soil is good, & to lead the stones from that part to make up the wall on the remainder – this must not be undertaken until the spring.