Letters – John Bell to Diana Beaumont – 20 Nov 1799

Mrs. Beaumont						Hexham Abbey 20th. Nov. 1799



Madam

      I have sent you inclosed a Drawing with the exact Dimensions of the Marble Hearth that is broke with the Sort of Marble it is.

       Corn is exceedingly high here Wheat? the Hexham Roll of four Winchester Bushells £3-3-0 and Rye the same Measure £1.14.0 which must be much higher to your Miners when carried nearly Twenty Miles farther - How those People are to be supported through this Winter is a Matter of great Consideration tho no doubt there are many of them very improvident yet they should not starve in a Christian Country

      The Abbey is going on as well as the Weather will permit and no time is lost

      There has been another Meeting of the Trustees of the Alemouth Road concerning the Road from the South End of the Bridge to the Town of Hexham which I attended and produced a Copy of my Letter which I wrote to Mr. Soulsby who is a Trustee in the Year 1795 in Consequence of an Application of Mr. Tate then Surveyor of the Road to him wherein I acquainted Mr. Soulsby that Coll. Beaumont has directed me to say that the Gentlemen Trustees had only to please themselves with the Line of Road from the South End of Hexham Bridge to the Town and the Coll. would accomodate them with Land for a Road in either Direction as two were proposed - I then observed that the Trustees had made an Election and brought the Road up the East Mill Lane and had been accomodated with Ground by the Coll. to make the Road more commodious by taking a piece off three of his Fields -  This they assented to and that the Coll. had fulfilled his Engagement but wished to know whether he would oppose the Line of Road to lead through his Fields from the South End of the Bridge to the West Mill Lane - To which I replied I had no Instructions and tho I had wrote the Coll. on the Subject yet I understood at their first Meeting it was the Intention of some of the Gentlemen then present to write to the Coll. - they then seemed to decline that and requested I would write and by the Complexion of the Gentlemen it appeared to me if you or the Coll. were to oppose it they would not persist in bringing the Road that way yet none of them said so only from what Mr. Tulip of Fallowfield said that he must acknowledge it would be cutting the Fields in such a way as he would not like his own cut I presumed it

      In Coll. Beaumonts Situation it is impossible for me to say what he should do were he in a different one it would be very easy to give proper and sound advice

      It seems to me that when at the first Meeting they talked of Writing to the Coll. and at the second decline it they saw the Matter in another Point of View and thought it was asking a Favour - There is to be another Meeting on the 10th. of next Month which I propose to attend and request the Coll. and you will in the mean time let me have your Determination that I may acquaint the Trustees with it

      I am sorry this Matter should have been agitated now upon the Eve of an Election as is expected should the Irish Business go forward  -  I am

                       Madam Your Faithful and obed. Servt.

                                                 John Bell