Letter – Abraham Bunting – 5 Sep 1735

In the Exchequer at Westminster



Abraham Bunting of Hexham in the County of Northumberland Gentleman Edward Oxley of the Birks in the said County of North[umber]land Yeoman and John Oxley of <Howtley> Yeoman make oat[h] and first these Deponents Edward Oxley and John Oxley Severally Make oath that they these Deponents have for these Twenty Years and  upwards been concerned in and followed the Business of Viewing and Cutting of woods and are very well Skilled and Experienced in the same Business and these Deponents Abraham Bunting and Edward Oxley further make oath that at the Instance and request of John Airey Joseph Ledgard Robert <Cay> and John Widdrington the acting Commissione<rs> appointed to Enquire into the Abuses committed on the Estates late belonging to James the late Earl of Derwentwater they these Deponents Abraham Bunting and Edward Oxley did go into a place called the High Wood part of the said late Earl’s Estates to view and Inspect what Trees, Siplings and other Wood had Since the death of the late John Radcliffe Esquire been Cut down in the same and say they carefully Examined the said Wood and discovered the Stoves of two hundred and twenty two Oak Siplings or young Oak Trees that has been there Cutt since Christmas last and took the Dimensions of the heigth of the said Stoves from the Ground and of the Diameter of the said Stoves and say that the paper Writing hereunto annexed marked with the Letter (L) Contains a Particular Account of the heigth and Dimensions of the said stoves and these Deponents further say that the Grass <Bushes> and Underwood being much grown up since the said Waste was committed in the said Wood they could not discover any more Cut down than the Number already mentioned but verily believe that a very great Number more have been there cutt and might have been discovered from an earlier Inspection for that they found severall Topps of Trees and could not find the Stoves thereof and say that the said Young Oak Trees so cut appeared to have been all sprung from the Acorn and not from any Stoves and many of them had stood single and alone and all these Deponents say that the said Trees having been Cutt so young and high above the Ground it is their Judgement that the same can never Spring again to be of any Considerable Value and this Deponent John Oxley saith that before the said Waste was Comitted he was very well acquainted with the Spring in the said high Wood and <See> many of them after they were cut and saith that a great many of them were Six yards in heigth from the Ground and these Deponents Edward Oxley and John Oxley farther say that a Small Time before the Death of the said John Radcliffe these Deponents together with William Thomson William Benson and George Oxley were Employed by Mr. Charles Busby then Steward of the said Mr. Radcliffe to weed and dress the said High Wood and to thin and take away Such of the young Oaks as was necessary where the same stood too thick & spent a Long Time in Weeding a part of the same and received of the same Mr Busby Sixteen pounds and upwards for weeding of the Said Woods and all these Deponents say that the waste so comitted appears mostly to be where the wood was weeded as aforesaid And these Deponents Abraham Bunting  and Edward Oxley farther say that the same Twenty seventh of august they these Deponents at the like Instance of the said Commissioners went and Viewed another Wood called Laughope part of the same Late Lord Derwentwaters Estate to see what waste had of Late been Comitted there and then and there food the Stoves of Sixteen oak Trees that had been lately Cut and took the Diameters of the said Trees the Particulars whereof and the Dimensions of the same are set down in the paper hereunto annexed Marked with the Letter (M) and Say the Stoves of Several of them were covered over with Earth and Moss and the Stove of one of the said Trees was four foot high from the Ground and Severally say that such of the said Trees as they found Covered are distinguished in the paper Marked with the Letter (M) by the Letter (C) set over against the Same And all these Deponents Abraham Bunting Edward Oxley and John Oxley Severally say that at the Like Instance of the said Commissioners they these Deponents the Twenty Eighth and Twenty Ninth days of August last Viewed the several Woods of Dilstone and Newlands other parts of the Estates of the late Earl of Derwentwater in Order to discover what waste of late had been Comitted there and say upon their Inspection of the said Dilstone Woods they then and there discovered the Stoves of Eighty three Ash trees Seventy one oak Trees one hundred Alder Trees forty one Birch Trees four Elm Trees and five Lyn or Lime Trees amounting in all to three hundred and four which appeared to them to have been lately Cut down all which Stoves they took the Dimensions of and Say that the three Several Papers marked (N) (O) (P) and which are hereunto annexed contain a particular account of the Numbers and Diameters of the said Trees and Say Severall of the said Stoves were covered over with Earth and Moss and Severally Say that Such of the said Trees as they found so covered over with Earth and Moss are distinguished and marked with the letter (l) Set over against the same and these Deponents further Say that they verily believe that many More Trees have Lately been Cut in the said Woods whose Stoves they could not discover and these Deponents Edward Oxley and John Oxley farther Severally Say that for five or Six years together next before the death of the Late Mr. Radcliffe they with Several others at the proper Times in Each year Employed to dress and Weed the Said Woods called Newlands and Say the same is a hopefull & fine Spring of young Wood and all these Deponents Abraham Bunting Edward Oxley and John Oxley Severally Say that upon their Said Inspection by the order of the said Commissioners they found Such a Number of Stoves of young oak and other Wood that they Coud not without Many Days Time take a particular Account of them and farther Say that Severall of the said Stoves were two foot in heigth and Many of the said Stoves were Eight or nine Inches Diameter and that many of the Largest of the said Stoves were Cut so Close to the Ground that these Deponents had great Difficulty to find the same and these Deponents farther say that in their Judgement the said Trees so Cut were not Cut with design to weed and dress the Wood because they found that the <…………..> Shoots and those Standing thick together are Left Standing and that the Streight and Single Trees have been Cut down and these Deponents further Say that a great part of the Ground whereon the said Spring Stands is meadow Ground and the Grass so grown up that it is hardly possible to discover the Stoves of all the Trees that have been Cut down in the said Newlands Wood and these Deponents Edward Oxley and John Oxley farther Severally Say that they have for Several years last also been concerned in the buying and Selling of Wood and that the prices of Oak Wood Lying on the place where Cut of the Sizes hereafter mentioned are generally Sold for the Prices following that is to say from one foot Six Inches to three foot diameter at one shilling and Sixpence a Solid foot and the same sort of Timber from three foot to four foot Diameter or upwards at two shillings a solid foot and the Smaller Sort wch are under the Sizes afore Men[t]ioned from one Shilling to one Shilling and fourpence a Solid foot Ash Wood at about one Shilling a foot Alder and Birch Wood at about fourpence a foot Elm Wood from twelve pence to sixteen pence a foot and Lyn or Lime at Sixpence a foot and these Deponents Edwd. Oxley and John Oxley farther say that the Generall price of Oak Siplings proper for Sizable Corfe Bowes is from three Shillings to three Shillings and Sixpence a Dozen

Abraham Bunting [signed]

John Oxley [signed]

Edwd. Oxley his Mark



Taken and Sworn at Hexham in the County of Northumberland this fifth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand Seven hundred and thirty five - Before us.



Jno. Airey	John Widdrington

Commissioners of the said Court