Letter – Armorer Donkin to Christopher Bird – 27 May 1833

								Newcastle 27 May 1833

My dear Sir

      I arrived from London on Thursday night, but having been attacked with a bowel complaint upon the Road, I have not been able to write Letters until this morning.

      I arranged with Mr Ord, on my arrival in London, that the Bywell Title should be investigated by Mr Hall of the Chancery Bar, for the satisfaction & safety of the Trustees, though neither of us had any doubt that it would be essentially perfect, having previously approved of by Mr Williamson. The London Conveyancers are more particular about various Minutiae (which though not essential to the safety of the Title may yet in strictness be required to be done), than the Gentlemen in the Country, & I have consequently had a good deal of trouble which I did not expect = I need not however trouble you with a Statement of mere technicalities, as Mr Hall told me before I left Town that nothing remained undone of any importance = The Drafts of the various Deeds, (including Assignments of some old Terms which Mr Hall required to be got in,) have already been perused by the Solicitors of nearly all the parties, except Mr Beckett, & they will, I expect, be sent to Mr Rodgers in two or three Days, for the perusal of his Solicitor, after which they may be engrossed = I am most anxious to have them completed that we may be enabled to settle with Sir E Blackett.

      I got Chollerton included in the Exchange to enable Mr Beaumont to convey it to You = Mr Hall thinks You run no risque as to the two large Annuities, for even in the event of the other prospects being insufficient to satisfy them, he knows of no mode by which the Annuitants could recover their Annuities out of an Advowson.  

      I was rather desirous that £12000, or £14000 worth of the Bywell Estate lying detached, & on the South Side of the Tyne, should be left out of the Exchange, in order that Mr Blackbirds Mortgage of £10000 might have been transferred to it, which would have left us that Sum to be applied in paying Debts, but Mr Hall being of opinion that the Wood upon Bywell & the Coal ought not to be included in the valuation, & that the Advowsons of Bywell St. Andrew & Bywell St Peter were not proper subjects for the Trustees to take in Exchange, & ought therefore to be excluded altogether out of the Exchange, we had only left a surplus of about £7000 value in Bywell, over & above the value of the Bosville Estates = The Trustees could not therefore in fairness be asked to concur in the plan above suggested, though they are in fact getting both the Wood & the Coal without any value being attached to them, & I do not apprehend that they would, in reality have incurred any risque = The Plan however was abandoned. <Bearl> was left out of the Exchange altogether, as Mr Moor valued it at little more than the amount of the Mortgage upon it; so that no advantage would have been obtained by including it =

      Mr Hodgson & I have made such arrangements for the General Management of Mr Beaumont’s affairs as will, I trust, be attended with beneficial results = I will be happy to communicate with you upon the Subject when we meet, but the details are much too long for a Letter = When do you expect to be in Newcastle?

      I am my Dear Sir Yours very sincerely

      Armorer Donkin



The Revd C Bird