Thursday 19th February 1835

Sent Cap & frock to Mrs. Fenton – dearest went to District Bank – person very civil pays a rent in George St. of £80. per annum.

Courtesy of West Yorkshire Archive Service, Calderdale WYC:1525/7/1/5/1/0040

[up at] 7 5/..
[to bed at] 11 3/4

no kiss   A-’s [Adney’s] cousin came very gently last night on getting into bed very fine morning but rain at 7 and afterwards, and Fahrenheit 44° now at 8 3/4 – breakfast at 9 1/4 to 10 – then a few minutes with my father then had Mr. Washington – gave me his, and Mr. William Armitage’s, of Mirfield, valuation, at £5.5.0 per acre of the manure laid on the Shibden low meadows by Mr. Carr – and a list of the Staups rents – and told me that Stocks was going to buy land of Joseph Wilkinson to build a public house on the corner of land between the new Northowram and Lower brea roads – told Samuel Washington to be on the look after this matter and invent some of getting over Stocks – talked to Samuel Washington about Gill and the Yew-trees wood baring business – and told him Samuel Washington to measure and mark off the 3500 yards of stone sold to Samuel Freeman that I might know what part of the wood was in my own hands and what part contained the stone sold to Freeman – Samuel Washington says it will be difficult nobody knowing where the stone will run – own that for the one daywork sold another will be spoiled – I said the £700 paid by Samuel Freeman would not repay me for the damage done – I will make no allowance for ruttle in future but sell a certain plot of ground contain what stone it may – Samuel Washington much approved this plan – saying he had nothing but trouble about allowance for ruttle and nobody was ever satisfied – Left him with Adney at 11 – wrote the above of today – sealed my and sent by George at 11 1/2 my letter to ‘Monsieur L[éonard] Gaudin, Topographe, à Genève En Suisse Post Paid’ and off to Halifax at 11 50/.. Adney being with Miss Dyson of Willow hall who had just called on her – went down the old bank to Mr. Parker’s office – both he and Mr. Adam there the latter gave me his opinion of the Brow house and Knowle top coal lease (joint property) and the former said he was just writing the letters about trespass committed by the hunters – advised my putting a board up at the toll bar – told him to consider how to word the notice given – he and Mr. Adam both for my confining my action to one or 2 of the hunters – I instantly fixed on Messrs. Jeremiah Dyson and John Carr – I forget who had applied for Northgate house but Mr. Parker said it was let – then to District bank in George Street – Mr. MacKean the manager very civil, and a well-behaved nice person to deal with – pleased with him so took his notes for both Adney’s bills   Hinscliffe’s at 2 months due on the 26th instant for £30, indorsed only by himself and Patterson at 2 months due on the 20th instant for £100.13.0 indorsed by himself and Messrs. Briggs and sons and one or more others – I ought to have taken more notice – MacKean said their bank was to have been the 1st of the new banks opened but they had some difficulty in getting the premises – take the house small and shop behind and pay £80 per annum to Sutcliffe the spirit merchant now occupying Northgate house – said I was going to build and should by this time twelvemonth have a capital situation to let for which should have many applications – thought I, the end house of my 5 new houses will surely be as well worth £80 per annum as Sutcliffe’s house and shop in George Street – then at Whitley’s – Gell’s Itinerary of Ithaca published at £2.18.0 in 1807 Booth would let me have for 20/.   said I would think about it as well as about Fergusons Roman Republic 5 volumes octavo for 35/. (published at 3 guineas?) – then at Greenwood’s – to come at 1 p.m. on Monday – home up the north bank at 1 35/.. – wrote the last 18 lines till 2 10/.. then went down to Mr. Bradley – he had been upon the house top and ordered the glazier about a new lead gutter – the glazier and thatcher I had seen just before going to Halifax   the former said the new gutter would cost a shilling per stone more than the old lead would sell for, and the new gutter would consequently cost £3 or £4 – Mr. Bradley to be here at 9 a.m. on Monday (as I shall have Mallinson at 10 and Thomas Greenwood at 1 p.m.) to give me a rough idea about Northgate and my future building plan that I may know what to say to Thomas Greenwood – just hinted to Mr. Bradley that the end house of the 5 new ones might be a good situation for a bank – yes! said Mr. Bradley and for a news room – Mr. Bradley has no doubt of my getting a good tenant for Northgate house if it was an Inn, and thinks I should get it licenced – Joseph and John Mann had been in the house some time when I went to them at 3 leaving Mr. Bradley taking a rough sketch from the plan of the Northgate property – Had the 2 Manns 1st in the hall, and afterwards in the north dining room till 5 – had the small plan of the estate down and they made me understand their plan about the coals^§ – (dinner at 6 1/4) – coffee – 1/2 hour with my father till 8 3/4 – then sat talking – about 1/2 hour with my aunt till 10 10/..   fine morning – from about 2 p.m. very wintry stormy afternoon – snow, large flakes, and rain and windy towards night – Fahrenheit 42 1/2° now at 10 3/4 p.m. – found cousin coming very gently in the course of the morning and put on linen for dinner –

^§their plan is, supposing the water wheel to be put down at Tilley holm stile, to sink a pit in Charles Howarth’s paddock (no. 139)   no! said I   say John Oates’s croft (no. 133a) which they agreed would do as well particularly if the pit mouth raised a little so as to get easily up the hill of the road, – and drive up 2 heads from Tilley holm stile to this Pump-pit which they could do very well if they had a vent-hole in the corner of the Dolt (no. 41) just behind my walk which vent-hole or chimney might be filled up again as soon as the Pump-pit was bottomed – they would then make Pump-pit not only a working pit as soon as bottomed (and the coal would sell at the pits mouth at 7 1/2 per corve or load) but a vent pit for Walker pit – and they would drive 2 straight heads from Pump-pit to Walker pit and all the coal above the Wakefield road and between the 2 pits would be pulled at Walker pit, and all the coal below the Wakefield road would be pulled at Pump-pit – and tho’ the coal at the latter would be at 1/2d a corve cheaper (that is sell for a 1/2d a corve less) than at the former, the difference would be gained in the pulling (say 110 yards to pull at Walker pit and 60 yards at Pump-pit) so that I should sell my coal to the takers of the colliery for as much at one pit as the other – I should by all means let the same people have both pits – to divide the concern would spoil both parts of it – would by all means have me sink a new pit 50 or 60 yards farther this way (eastwards) along the plantation top; for Holt’s plan of chambering the present Walker pit would be a serious detriment to the colliery – there would be all that level to spend, i.e. it would [be] a serious pull up-hill for the hurriers just at the last – besides it would be much better to leave a good barrier of coal all along on that side then I could at any time stop Spiggs colliery and do as I liked – let all that face of coal stand covered with water, and throw on to Mr. Rawson what he would not like to have – Holt might depend upon it (if I stopt Spiggs) that the present Walker pit would stand a good depth in water – yes! and it has since occurred to me that others besides myself (John Oates and Hinscliffe’s son, vide page [blank]) can stop Spiggs colliery in right of the deed from Wilkinson therefore those others might incommode me if they liked and oblige me to chamber the present Walker-pit whether I wished it or not – therefore let nothing persuade me not to sink a new Walker-pit as soon as this present one has served to get the remnant of coal at present loose and to find out the trespasses committed in my land – Rawson may have done a little Messrs. Walsh and Hinscliffe much more – 
the Manns convinced me that to drive 2 straight heads from Tilley-holm stile to the present or a new Walker pit would not do – I should loose very little coal by it – it would be a long pull up hill from the bottom to the top – that is, as I understood it, I should only loose what coal would lie to the northwest, i.e. Shibden hall side, of the drift driven from Tilly holm-stile to Walker-pit – if so, the low land would be loosed but very little of the upper land and a vent hole would be wanted for driving the drifts – but by having a pit at Pump I should loose the whole sweep of coal lying on the Shibden hall side of Pump and upwards in the line parallel to the present old water head hold marked by a dotted red line going under the Conery houses – 2 pits better than one – could not pull over more than 5 colliers at Walker-pit i.e. could not get the coal pulled up fast enough to employ more than 5 colliers (pickmen getting coal) and therefore 5 colliers would not get more than from 1 1/2 to 2 acres per annum – could pull perhaps twice as much (if I liked and could find sale for it) at Pump pit – so that 1 pit could only sell from 1 1/2 to 2 acres and 2 pits might double the quantity or more – could not get Joseph Mann to make even a rough guess at what might be bid for the coal at the letting – I said rails and everything would be found – the takers would only have to find rails for their bits of byroads – then said John Mann just at the last ‘Well! there might be £150 per acre bid’ – sad I rather quickly that wont do – the setting up the colliery will cost me from £1500 to £2000 – I ought to have 10 percent on this money and on £2000, 10 percent = £200 and if only 2 acres per annum are got I should only have £100 for the coal – and if 3 acres were got I should only have £250 for the coal, and to get even 3 acres I must have 2 pits – 

[In margin:]
valuation of manure put on Carr’s land
District Bank
Rent of house etc.
Throp and his man filled up Medley park top far corner hedge etc. and left off this afternoon till sent for again – 
2 pits but one concern
Sink a new Walker-pit.
quantity that can be got per annum
Supposed bidding for the coal.

Courtesy of West Yorkshire Archive Service, Calderdale SH:7/ML/E/17/0166