| Description | [Diary Transcription]
344
1837
January Sunday 1
8 1/4
12 20/..
+
L N
No kiss fine morning sun shining and Fahrenheit 33 1/2º at 9 25/.. at which hour breakfast — A- [Ann] did her French
till 10 — sat downstairs talking till 10 1/4 — then read the H-x [Halifax] Guardian of yesterday and thought about letter
to Messrs. Gray — at 11 40/.. in 40 minutes — (25 prayers — 15 sermons) A- [Ann] and I had the servants all assembled in
the South parlour and read prayers and one of Paley’s sermons (very good) on new year’s day — then A- [Ann] had
luncheon — I finished reading the Halifax Guardian of yesterday till 1 1/2 — wrote my letter to Messrs. Gray
and my note to Mr. Greenwood — stopt a moment at the school in passing — at church at
2 25/.. five minutes before the time — Mr Fenton did all the duty — preached 24 minutes from
Ecclesiastes iii.15. good sermon as far as I heard of it before dropping asleep — about
25 minutes at Cliff hill — Mr Fenton arrived as we stopt at the door, and we left him
there — have made their house very comfortable — laid out £500 — the present ministers wanted to
make a radical bishop of Ripon — the archbishop of York said if they did, he would not give up
his money — but if they would appoint Longley (which they did) or a gentleman not very
far from here (our vicar — Mr. Musgrave was surely the person alluded to) he (the archbishop)
would give up the money — home at 5 1/4 — wrote the last 9 lines — sealed and put into the bag my letter to ‘Messrs.
Gray solicitors York’ and my note to ‘Thomas Greenwood Esquire Bank Field’ —
my letter to say I would rather have the whole sum on one security and beg them to let me know
as immediately as possible if I could have fifteen thousands from the Miss Prestons by the end of April
to keep the papers for the present — shall be glad to hear the answer about the field — A- [Ann] much
obliged by the information procured for her by Mr. Watson — the note to ask Mr. Greenwood
to call here as immediately as may suit his convenience, and to name his own day and hour —
dinner at 6 1/2 — coffee upstairs as usual A- [Ann] read French — and afterwards read aloud from the London paper
of tonight — I 1/2 asleep on the sofa till after 10 — fine day — hard frost and very cold — Fahrenheit 28°
now at 10 25/.. p.m. — went to undress about 10 40/.. — about 11 heard a very strange noise of
bustle and screaming in a confused under tone — found Cookson and Oddy with A- [Ann] who had set her night
-cap on fire, and thrown it blazing on the hearth-rug, instead of, as she intended, into the fire-place -
everybody frightened but luckily no further harm done than singing a little of A-’s [Ann] pretty flaxen
hair — thankful that she was safe — Sat up talking till near 12 —
345
1837
January Monday 2
8 1/2
1 25/..
N
N
V
No kiss — fine morning sun shining and Fahrenheit 35° at 9 25/.. at which hour breakfast — A- [Ann] did her French — sat
talking till about 10 1/2 — I went out to look about — one man levelling after the carts (6) bringing stuff
from the site of Beaumont’s mill in the new bank — the gardener gone down to Mytholm Ing with the cart and planks and Robert and Joseph Mann and all hands and the carts
for a temporary bridge over the brook carting scale from the different places (heaps) in Mytholm Ing to under the road-wall near the bridge —
note from Mr. Greenwood respectful compliments and he would call at 3 p.m. today — Robert brought
me his note to where the carts were (above the pool, to the east, against the road) — tore off the back
of Mr. Greenwood’s note and wrote back in pencil as I stood, that I should be glad to see him at 3 — this was
about 12 1/4 — came in and sat near an hour with A- [Ann] then out again to Mytholm Ing, and a little while
with the Beaumont hill-carts, till came in at 3 just as Mr. Greenwood arrived —
he staid till 5 — explained why I had sent for him — he very civil — the difficulties of the moment
great — everybody inconvenienced — as one never dwells upon the subject in question too closely all
at once, got into the colliery business — Northgate hotel etc. — explained the difficulty of letting the place for
£110 — had provisionally let it (to Thomas Greenwood) for £100 — no rail-road panic had then locked up the
navigation — I thought myself prepared for the hotel - but had only sold out 6 shares when the
sale of the rest was stopped — my uncle Joseph always said his house would one day be a school
or an Inn — I chose the latter - did not like to let the whole place for less than 1/3 of what I paid
for one flat in Paris — no use in building an Inn no better than the Inns already in the town -
never calculated to gain by it — should be satisfied if I did not lose (allowing for everything) more than £40
per annum — then talked over Mr. Rawson and the coal-business — said I had been forced into opening the colliery — Greenwood said it was generally understood that Rawson
had behaved very ill to me — mentioned the water lane mill business — Greenwood said Rawson had very often forgot
but never more than on that business — no justice in that — Rawson prejudged the case and behaved
very ill — Greenwood said coals were very much dearer — he paid Stocks 11d per load at the pit for
upper bed coal for the kitchen fire — I said I had no doubt of my colliery answering — talked over
the Godley road — Greenwood treasurer — had paid above £500 for 1 1/4 mile the last year — Mawson had
now taken it under hand — Greenwood spoke well of Mawson and his wife — thought them doing very well at the Inn —
Carr had offered to undertake the 1 1/4 mile of road at £400 a year — they had not settled with Joseph Wilkinson
but the settling day must come, as if poor Joseph Wilkinson would be hard set to settle — I said he was
swathering away what he had — Mr. Norris would want one bit of upper brea and I another
we had better agree about it — for I would not let upper brea go for nothing — then spoke of the
water on the road — Greenwood had never heard of my plan for drifting it away — said I had mentioned
it to Mr. Waterhouse and Mr. Parker and Mawson — I had even offered Mrs. Walsh a price for 11 yards
breadth along the top — but they wanted 10/. a yard! and I had given up all thought about it — I could get
water for what I wanted another way — Greenwood seemed taken with my plan for the road’s sake
would mention it at a meeting — I said he ought to have it explained on the spot either of the Manns
or Mawson, or I myself would explain if I knew when Greenwood would be there — I said I should have driven the drift
[margin text:] Mr. Greenwood the Bank Director
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