ÆäÀÌÁö À̹ÌÁö
PDF
ePub

arch that carries the carriage road to Hendon House over this stream, which was diverted between this arch and the sea, in 1821, by George Robinson, Esq., of Hendon Lodge, allowing some thousands of tons of ballast to be deposited on his land on the south side of the stream, for which he received twopence per ton from the wharfingers. This proceeding diverted the stream, the natural boundary, between Sunderland and Bishopwearmouth, about seven feet northwards into the Sunderland boundary. On entering the plantation of Hendon Lodge now the site of Moor Terrace, &c., &c., John Maling, Esq., once an inmate of the Lodge, grandfather of Christopher Maling Webster, Esq., of Pallion Hall, joined the perambulators, and assisted Mr. Paxton in pointing out the Sunderland part of the Bishop of Durham's waste, upon which parts of the north and south ends, including a portion of the drawing-room and kitchen of Hendon Lodge are built and through these rooms some of the perambulators passed.

This perambulation was made owing to Hendry Hopper Esq., of Hendon House, having a short time previously built the Octagon Cottage and enclosed a garden (now part of the site of Messrs. Ray and Hopper's landsale coal staith) as a lodge or gatehouse, &c., to his newly formed carriage road (which he had purchased through the adjoining copyhold land on the south from George Robinson, Esq., of Hendon Lodge), to his residence at Hendon House. This cottage, &c., occupies a part of the outlying waste of the Town Moor, formerly belonging exclusively to the Bishop of Durham, as lord of the borough or manor of Sunderland, but now, by an Act of Parliament, passed in 1853, vested in the Principals and

Mr.

Governors of the Sunderland Orphan Asylum. Joseph Davison, of Bishopwearmouth, builder, was the first tenant of the Octagon Cottage, &c., and, acting under the instructions of his landlord, Mr. Hendry Hopper, paid his poor-rate to the Bishopwearmouth overseers, Mr. Hopper contending that the cot tage, &c., was situated in that township. The demand of the Sunderland overseers (who claimed the premises as part and parcel of their parish) for poor-rate was refused, in consequence of which they distrained upon, and removed a large dining table belonging to Mr. Davison, which was restored to that gentleman, upon his paying the rate to Sunderland parish. Mr. Hendry Hopper, who was a keen sharp-sighted lawyer, although defeated by the Sunderland overseers successfully resisted all claims made upon him by the freemen and stallingers of Sunderland for ground rent of the Octagon Cottage, &c. Whenever the freemen applied to Mr. Hopper for ground rent, he invariably laughed them off by telling them "to keep themselves quiet or he would bring the Bishop of Durham upon them to take the herbage of the Town Moor from them." At the death of Mr. Hendry Hopper, the Octagon Cottage, &c., fell to his nephew, the late Thomas Hopper, Esq., of Silksworth, and afterwards to another nephew, Thomas Hopper, Esq., of Durham, both of whom followed the example of their uncle and never acknowledged the freemen and stallingers as their landlords. Thomas Hopper, Esq., of Durham, sold the Octagon Cottage and a part of his Hendon copyhold, to the late Edward Wylam, Esq, of Chester-leStreet, who, on the 27th September, 1831, accepted a lease of the ground for 21 years, from the grassmen (the

then three junior freemen) at the same nominal yearly rent of twenty shillings, not one farthing of which was ever paid by him, and who afterwards sold the premises to Christopher Bramwell, Esq., wine and spirit merchant, Church Street, Sunderland, to whom, his brother freemen the three grassmen, Messrs. William Robinson, officer of the customs, James Crosby, tallow chandler, and John Ward, surgeon, granted a new lease for twenty-one years, on the 21st August, 1835, at the same nominal rent of twenty shillings, renewable for ever at the like rent. With this lease in his possession, upon the Octagon Cottage and garden being converted into a landsale coal staith in 1838, Mr. Bramwell revived the stale story of Mr. Hendry Hopper, that the premises were in Bishopwearmouth township, to which absurdity the Sunderland overseers promptly stated their determination to distrain for their rate if not immediately paid. This settled the Octagon Cottage matter probably for ever.

The second perambulation of the boundaries was made August 7, 1828, by the Rev. Robert Gray, M.A., rector; the Rev. Richard Ebenezer Leach, curate; Mr. Thomas Hodge, and Mr. Henry Preston, churchwardens; Mr. William Boyes Walker, and Mr. George Booth, overseers; Mr. George Lord, parish clerk; Mr. Joseph John Wright, vestry clerk; Mr. Richard Dowell, town surveyor; Mr. William Nicholson, sen., Mr. Thomas Burdon, Mr. George C. Cawood, Mr. James Crosby, Mr. Robert Young, Mr. Thomas Reed, jun., Mr. William Kirk, Mr. Matthew Middlebrook, Mr. Henry Burdon Taylor, assist ant overseer, &c., &c.

On this occasion, a steamboat was engaged for the first time to convey the perambulators down the river

and to sea, and who were landed on the sea beach at the way foot" by means of cobles.

[ocr errors]

The following, relating to this perambulation, is ex tracted from the vestry book :

"The procession having returned to the vestry-room, 'It was resolved that this meeting, having been prevented from motives of courtesy from passing through Mr. George Robinson's kitchen, at Hendon Lodge, part of which it is understood is included in this parish, that an entry be made in the vestry book to that effect.""

On the 12th May, 1845, a third perambulation of the parish was made by the Rev. William Webb, M.A., rector; Mr. Martin Moore, and Mr. Robert Holmes, churchwardens; Mr. James Douthwaite, and Mr. John Samuel Barron, overseers; Mr. Henry Burdon Taylor, assistant overseer; Mr. George Lord, parish clerk; Mr. William Drysdale, town surveyor; Mr. Richard Bradley, Mr. Thomas Reed, Mr. Joseph Andrews, Mr. John Ward, Mr. Edward Smith, Mr. James Dannatt, Mr. William Walker, wharfinger, &c., &c.

At this perambulation, in addition to the usual liberal distribution of gingerbread nuts, a large quantity of halffarthings, brought from London expressly for the occasion, were thrown amongst the youngsters.

On the 3rd May, 1853, the fourth perambulation of the parish was made by the Rev. Henry Peters, rector; Mr. Thomas Bradley, and Mr. Joseph Humphrey, churchwardens; Mr. William Thompson, Mr. David Palin Huntly, and Mr. John Potts, overseers; Mr. Thomas Fenwick Hedley, assistant overseer; Mr. William Drysdale, town surveyor; Mr. George Lord, parish clerk; Mr. Thomas Campbell; Mr. Henry Taylor; Mr. Robert Burbank

H

Porrett; Mr. Peter Lockie; Mr. Ralph Dauson; Mr Thomas Adamson; Mr. Benjamin Palin; Mr. John Humphrey, relieving officer, and others.

Previous to leaving the vestry-room on this perambulation, the following letter, addressed to the parish officers by Mr. Michael Coxon, secretary to the Sunderland Dock Company, was read:

GENTLEMEN,

"Sunderland Dock, May 2, 1853.

"Seeing that the boundaries of the parish of Sunderland are intended to be perambulated to-morrow, the 3rd instant, as secretary of the Sunderland Dock Company, I am instructed to inform you that such part of their property as was covered by the sea at the passing of the Dock Act, authorizing the making of Sunderland Dock, and on which the Dock has been constructed, is extra-parochial, and not included in the parish of Sunderland. And, therefore, I am ordered to protest against such part being included in the parish of Sunderland." I am, Gentlemen,

Your obedient Servant,

M. COXON, Secretary."

The meeting resolved to leave this letter for the consideration of a future meeting of the ratepayers, and then proceeded to make the perambulation of the parish by the usual route, including the ancient low water mark of the sea and the whole of the Dock property within its boundaries. The boundary dinner was held at Mrs. Davison's, Saddle Inn, High Street, on the same day, the Rev. Henry Peters, rector, in the chair.

At a meeting of the ratepayers of the parish convened

« ÀÌÀü°è¼Ó »