[List-Cumbria] Carlisle Patriot, 07 Sep 1816 - Cumberland Assizes (28)

Wed Nov 9 17:33:53 UTC 2022

Saturday 07 Sep 1816   (p. 3, col. 4 – p. 4, col. 6)

Cumberland Assizes. 

========== 

MANAGEMENT OF A FARM.—SPECIAL JURY. 

[continued] 

Thomas WILKINSON called.—Is a farmer and acquainted with husbandry. He accompanied the last witness on view of the estate at
Loweswater; found that near 60 acres of land had been ploughed in the last year. He made a memorandum, and he and last witness agree
as to the names of the fields. Looked over the whole and it was not in a proper state to be left by a tenant in the last year of his
time; it appeared to be very much overploughed, but he does not know any custom as to the quantity to be under the plough at one
time, but one-third is the general proportion. If the estate had been overploughed, 25s. per acre would have been a fair proportion
for the tenant to have paid to the Landlord. 

Cross-Examined.—Does not farm on his own account; is 27 years of age, and lives 17 or 18 miles from the farm in question. They both
graze and raise corn on his father's farm; it is equally divided; never saw the Loweswater farm before he went to visit it in 1814. 

Questioned by the Judge.—Does not know the proportion usually kept in tillage in the neighbourhood of Loweswater. 

John SIMPSON examined.—Is a husbandman, lived with Mr. HARRIS 19 years, and partly managed his farm. Mr. HARRIS used the farm in
question very well the first three years, but he did not lay any lime on it during the last four, and the crops were not so good at
last as about the middle of the term. For the last three years Mr. H. had a greater proportion of land under the plough than he had
at first, which was about 15 acres; the quantity was pretty equal during the last three years. Witness knows the field,
Tarnlittledale, it was ploughed all the time Mr. HARRIS lived on the estate; when he quitted, the field was not in good condition.
Knows the field Near-long-croft, which is about 4 acres; that was grazed the first year, and in the course ot 7 years, five crops
were taken from it, including one of hay. Knows Far-long-croft—it was ploughed 6 years and mown one year; some part of it was cut
twice. It is not the usual custom to treat land so; the farm was not in good condition; it was rather worn out; it would not produce
good crops; it wanted manure and rest.—Mr. HARRIS kept about 40 head of stock on the farm for the first three years; he had not so
many quite the last year; in the summer of 1814, about 14 or 15 young beasts and some horses; Mr. HARRIS was then living upon
another farm. The quantity of cattle was sufficient to eat the grass on the farm, but witness does not think there was grass enough
for a farm of its size. Mr. HARRIS had 8 stacks on the premises and a few of them were led away, but witness does not know how many;
has seen many persons with carts employed in leading them away; 5 stacks were taken out of one field; some of the grain was barley,
some wheat, and there was a stack of hay; part of the latter was carried into the house, and part was sent off the farm, but cannot
say how many cart loads. In the course of his experience he never knew a farm more ploughed. 

Cross-Examined.—It is the custom of the country to lead off part of the hay, and part of the corn in the straw, if the tenant stays
till Ladyday, but there are different customs. Some put 40 bushels of lime on an acre, and lime ploughable land every year. 

John TYSON sworn.—He was employed by Mr. HARRIS to do some work for him on the farm in question, five days in the month of March
1815. He observed some stacks on the farm,—one hay, and 6 corn, the whole of the corn was carried off the estate; some of the hay
was used there, and some carried away. Witness saw about 54 cart loads of hay and corn, in the straw, go away. Mr. HARRIS's stock
were not tied up. 

Wm. WALKER examined.—Is a servant to Mr. HARRIS, and lived with him in 1814, and 1815; remembers seeing six stacks of corn, and five
cart loads of hay, led off Mr. HARRIS's farm. In the year 1814 there was only one milch cow on the premises in the summer; he used
to keep eight or nine cows. 

Cross-Examined.—All that witness knows, is, that Mr. HARRIS had not so many milch cows the last year, but he might have other
cattle. 

Robert JOHNSON sworn.—Is servant to Mr. SISSON. Went to live with him in March 1815, which was the time Mr. SISSON entered upon Miss
WALKER's farm. There were then one milch cow, ten heifers of different ages, eleven calves, twenty Scots, and two horses. If these
stock had been kept on a long time, he thinks them sufficient. Found both corn and hay in the house. Three stacks of corn in the
field, and one in the house, were carried off, as well as about twenty-two loads of hay. When he went on the farm it was in very
poor condition. 

Cross-Examined.—Witness will swear that there were not more than 140 cart loads of manure on the farm, as he put it nearly all into
the carts himself. There were not 200 cart loads of manure and dry straw together. 

John JENKINSON sworn.—He lived with Mr. HARRIS at Loweswater rather better than two years; Mr. H. had more land under the plough
when he lived there than is usual in that part of the country. 

John RAVEN examined.—Lived about a mile and a half from Mr. HARRIS's farm. Witness went with a friend to take it in 1815. He looked
over the farm also in 1814; it appeared to be hard ploughed. When he looked at it with his friend it was worse than it was in 1813,
and he never knew a farm, in that neighbourhood so much ploughed. His friend bad £180 for the farm, but had it been in good
condition he should have thought it worth 10 or £20 more. In his judgment, from the state of the farm, the in-coming tenant could
not make a profit of it for two or three years. The farm had not been well-managed at last. 

Mr. William MITCHELL examined.—He is a surveyor, and surveyed the farm in question for Miss WALKER; it contains 142 acres, 96 of
which are arable, 13 woodland, 21 meadow, and 11 pasture. 

John BEWSHER sworn.—Lives at Loweswater, and remembers when Miss WALKER purchased the farm in question; it was then in good
condition. He passed through the farm in July 1814; his father-in-law was trying to take it, but he held him back, because it had
been hard ploughed. If it had been left in good condition it would have been worth, in his judgment, £50 a-year more than it let
for. Thinks it would be three or four years before a tenant could make any profit of it, because it was ploughed so hard; never knew
a farm so hard ploughed in that neighbourhood before. 

John LADYMAN gave evidence.—Is a joiner. Went in March 1815 to look at the houses and buildings on Miss WALKER's estate. The window
cords were rotten; the floors up stairs had been eaten through by rats; there were about eight rats' holes in a room over the
kitchen which belonged to the servants; the garden gates were decaying at the bottom by trailing on the ground; the stone posts in
front of the garden leant to one side; the gates of the avenue were broken at the bottom; the porch of the barn at Whitecross
threatened to come down; the roof of the barn at Millhill was in a bad state; great part of the slates were off, and the rafters
decayed, occasioned by the wet; the floor was also decayed from the same cause. The dwelling house at Millhill was in a bad
condition; water, in consequence of the choking of a drain, had penetrated into the parlour, and the window-frames had been
repaired. The barn at Steelbank had no doors hanging; one of them lay across a beam merely from want of hanging. The amount of the
repairs done was about 40 or £50. The well was filled up with gravel, and the spouts about the house were decayed having been
permitted to choke. 

Cross-Examined.—The climate is very moist, and there is a good deal of rain. The 40 or £50 includes all the damage, but does not
know that all has been done; a new floor in the barn at Millhill is included, which cost about £10. 

[to be continued] 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://list.cumbriafhs.com/mailman/private/list-cumbria/attachments/20221109/abb25dd0/attachment.htm>