Thursday 20th November 1834

Moses Barker & Henry Gledhill whom I had sent for said they had neither of them given leave or encouragement to the hunt in any way to come – Moses Barker said he had laid out a great deal of money on the property & built, all the walls – Heblet Junior came to complain of the hunt – said he himself set his back against his own gate & declared he would try his strength with the first man who attempted to come thro’ – he had a long talk with Mr. Jeremiah Dyson who asked whose property it was – Heblet replied “you are cousins & how can you for shame come here; Heblet enquired if Mr. Jeremiah Dyson had heard from the Captain lately or how he was – he said no & he never wished to hear from thim again – used shocking Language – & swore at Heblet’s father – Outram came with cloaks – bought brown & white marked with brown – 20/- & 22/ per yard – said he was making something new which he thought would be serviceable for carriage linings – that the grey wool of which my cloak was made could not be bought now for love or money – he had a long conversation with dearest about introducing his things in Town – she told him he offered them there too low – rain came on & did not get out of doors at all –

Courtesy of West Yorkshire Archive Service, Calderdale WYC:1525/7/1/5/1/32

[up at] 8 20/..

[to bed at] 11 1/2 

no kiss very fine morning Fahrenheit 49° at 9 40/.. at which hour downstairs and Moses Barker and John Jagger just come – Barker a civil good sort of man and talks like a good farmer – pays £46 per annum for 20 dayworks and Gledhill pays £26! for 27 dayworks equally good land if well farmed – but bad buildings – wants £100 laying out – but it might be inferred that Gledhill is a shiftless fellow at too low a rent – the hunters had always done damage very glad to get rid of them – Mr. George Pollard struck Barker’s wife a heavy cut with his whip last year because she held his horse not wishing to let him pass thro’ their side bar without paying – which however he succeeded in doing – Barker went after him – Pollard said he was in a passion and must be excused but told Barker to call on him which he never did – Pickels came also to tell of hunters in Holcans wood yesterday and his friend Mr. Atkinson came with him – I had him in the drawing room and left Adney to hear Pickels’s story – said I had no objection to his Atkinson’s shooting with Pickels – Atkinson is a Wortley man – there was a snug meeting of Wortley men last night to consider what should be done – then came a man from Scotland to get subscriptions for some works published in Edinburgh I declined having anything to do with them – then came Henry Gledhill – civil – did not encourage hunters – should be glad to get rid of them – then came Heblet (whom I scarcely saw having Adney the while) with loud complaint against the hunters for damage done yesterday – complained more particularly of Mr. Jeremiah Dyson, and the huntsman – Eastwood with them a busy encourager of the hunt – after 11 or near 12 before Adney and I could sit down to breakfast and then had not done when came Mr. Benjamin Outram of Greatland near Halifax (cousin to Isaac Thwaite of Southowram) to shew us his lama-hair shawl and cloak-pieces – seems an ingenious man – had him into our little dining room to take wine – said a lens was his pattern-card – a green, just-bursting-into-leaf bush, or an ivyed wall beautiful thro’ a lens – an analysis of the light, into points – the lens had not been enough attended to – this and many of Sir Isaac Newton’s discoveries not sufficiently followed up – bought £7.10.0 worth – 4 yards at 22/. for 21/. per yard 3 1/2 at 20/. on which no 5 percent allowed – it seems he has just opened a connection with Somerset house ‘Messrs Halling Pearce and Stone, Cockspur street London’ – told him his prices should have been set higher for the London market – has 2000 yards ready – about 1400 for gentlemen and 600 ditto for ladies – gentlemens black pelon (i.e. ‘Spanish for long hair’ or shag) at 24/. per yard would make a good comfortable travelling cloak – wished for an introduction to Stultz the tailor – advised his calling on him and stating fairly his article and prices, and if Stultz did not take going to the next tailor of eminence – Outram said he would call occasionally and tell us what he had new – staid till 1 20/.. he would shake hands with me   I did it but did not like it tho’ I did not shew my dislike – sat with Adney at her luncheon – then with Mrs. Lee and her assistant and Charles and James Howarth doing up the bed in our room tent room and with the 2 painters till near 1/2 after 3 – then wrote the whole of today till 4 – then again with the workpeople and with my father and Marian till 5 – then read 1/2 hour from page 458 to 468 Bakewell’s geology when William Keighley came (his father William died a short while ago) about Spigs colliery – my letter not received till yesterday – said they had no intention of buying any coal without 1st agreeing with me about the loose – should not have any coal of Mr. Dean – it was valued too high – besides, could not get it without agreeing with Stocks – he had bought all the coal in the waste, and therefore claimed a road they should have to cross – said I was sorry William Keighley had anything to do with Spigs colliery if he had bought his share under an idea of having a right to my loose – he said no! they knew they had no right – I explained about Mr. Clarke’s coming in the queer way he did – annoyed – said they had no right to shew at all even for Spigs land – but as William Keighley had come about it fairly I did not wish to be too hard – He said Holt my agent had said I had said I would take £5 an acre for the loose – I answered that I had not bound myself as to what I would take but I had valued the loose at £10 per acre and Holt had only the other day advised me to take £5 saying times were hard etc. but that he behaved very well and wished me to employ somebody else in this particular case on account of his relationship to the 2 young Holts (his cousins) – said I would consider about it – would speak to some collier about it (not saying whom) and let William Keighley know – I should want a regular agreement with power to send an agent to measure for me – to which William Keighley made no objection – said I might send any time – It seems Wilson has got down to the soft bed but something the matter with the engine that it will not work just at present – his estate doubly mortgaged – Mr. Christopher Ward has the 2nd mortgage – Wilson can loose Stocks but Stocks will not pay him much for the loose – mentioned the subject of James Keighley’s window overlooking the Northgate property – James Keighley very ill – Joshua Keighley has bought Johnny Flather’s little farm for something more than £700 – said I had offered him something more than that – but he had asked me £1200 – Johnny Flather had at 1st told Joshua Keighley that Mr. James Norris had bid him £1000 but Mr. James Norris denied it – I said Joshua Keighley had bought it dear enough – yes! said William Keighley – there was not much to be got out if it, and his brother did not care about selling it – as if I might have it if I chose – to which I merely said I did not care about it – dinner after all this talk at 6 1/4 – Adney read aloud a chapter or 2 of volume i Last days of Pompeii, and told me the story of the rest to the end of the volume – then read me about a chapter of volume ii – while she read to herself I read the 1st 63 pages volume i Italy etc. by the author of Vathek (i.e. Mr. Beckford) – had Marian a little while – 20 minutes with my aunt till 10 5/.. then wrote the above of this page till 10 25/.. – soft, small rainy, or damp, hazy day – Fahrenheit 45° now at 10 25/.. p.m. Mrs. Lee and her assistant and Charles and James Howarth finished doing up our bed –

Courtesy of West Yorkshire Archive Service, Calderdale SH:7/ML/E/17/0111