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Gilderdaile is all granted to the Tenants between Howgill ridge & Gillhouse & every Tenant payes a certaine rent for it
The Tenants of Gamblesby Glassonby Kirkeswald Unthank Busk Haskugh & other Towns thereabout has had their Cattle impounded in Blackhouse Pinfold many times, and time out of memory & always came. & loosed them paid damage for them or Companded some way or other, & their Cattle was taken Damage <Yealdart> in any part of Gilderdale, & p[ar]ticularly from of[f] that very ground w[hi]ch S[i]r Christopher now pretends to Clayme, for all the Ground to the Height or Topp of the Fells, is within the Bounds of Gilderdaile as L[or]d Darwentwaters Boundery books, recited in our Grant Leases does mention expresse & Sett forth
Soe that if S[i]r Christo[phe]r Musgrave have any Clayme or Title to any part of the Ground or Pasture called Gilderdaile then I'm sure the Lord Darwentwater has Granted Lands to the Tenants in Alstonmoore, which he cannot Justifie to them which if Soe then what will be the Consequence thereof
Bernard Tallentires Sheep was taken lately & (as I remember he paid about 40s for looseing of them, but the Tenants of Alstone was farr too Civill to the West Country Men, for they used to Impound every 3 or 4 p[er]haps oute in 7 Years, & Suffered them to trespasse all the other Years without Satisfaction, & now (as I presume) they would endeavour to prove Usage & possession, for you may believe they have noe other Clayme to Gilderdaile
But when Lords will not ride Bounderys in fower Score years time how Should Tenants preserve their Rights & Priveledges for the Adverse Party took care to Ride oft enough
Willy Whitfield will be a Speciall Witnesse, for he helped to drive Gilderdaile lately, & impounded Sheep from of[f] the very ground in dispute
This appears to be an undated legal opinion, but be between 1687 and 1736, when the two successive Sir Christopher Musgraves of Edenhall, Cumberland were the relevant landowners, and probably prior to 1716 as Lord Darwentwater is mentioned in the present tense. Alston Moor steward John Stephenson referred to a boundary riding of 1606 in a letter to Walton in 1751. If ‘4 score years’ is an accurate reference back to that riding, ie. 80 years, then this dates from no earlier than 1686. Sir Francis Radclyffe was raised to the peerage as the first earl Derwentwater in 1688. A date of 1 January 1690 is used here.
