R3/3735

Letter mainly regarding Chenies workhouse, Oakley mill, John & William Purser, farms and farming, Chenies beer house

undated [1832?]

From: 1832 To: 1832

Reads- Chenies workhouse estimate (£1,400); Duke thinks too much; propose to reduce by not building upper floor. The water is so near, we can make the pauper inmates carry water. Will try to keep to £1,000. Clark's mortgage. No Millwrights here worth anything; leave Oakley to Swansborough; he will send people as he did at Crawley clay mill. John Purser agreed to take Wood End. Regret he is charged with being a bad farmer (by Lord Ludlow?); both bros. are attached to field sports; not incompatible with good farming. William Purser is the greatest sportsman of the two & much more from home than his bro., who in my judgement is one of the very best farmers on the estate. I admit that part of Willington farm is out of condition, but a large part of arable has suffered much from flood in 3 seasons; when water stands, land gets sour, docks, thistles etc. succeed; this is loss, not mismanagement. He has not cross-cropped, & has had as abundant crops as neighbours. [Ludlow] gets inf. from bailiff, Twitchell, who bears ill-will to 2 Pursers; lamentable to see Ludlow carried away by such a man, mischief-maker on all occasions; have had experience of this. Chenies beer-house. [N.B. Twitchell a prominent Methodist: does this come into it? J.G.]

item

Duke of Bedford,
Clark,
Swansborough,
Purser, John,
Ludlow, George James [3rd Baron Ludlow of Ardsallagh],
Purser, William,
Twitchell

Parish Workhouses, Chenies, estimator, money, building work, buildings and land use, water supply, POVERTY, mortgages, millwright, OAKLEY, estate labour, clay, MILLS, HUSBORNE CRAWLEY, Kempston Wood End Farm, farmer, FAMILY, sport, fields, ESTATES (LANDED), Willington farms, arable, local flooding, water, plants, manager, crops, bailiff, beer houses