The brickworks at Birchstow
Rate assessments of the period indicate that the committee responsible for the brickworks met weekly in the back room of an inn, and that its minutes record more about the refreshments than the works. Its cost was still being debated at the turn of the century. A memorandum in the vestry papers states that the site chosen for the brickworks had been contested since the enclosure, and that the final settlement required the intervention of the lord lieutenant. A plaque on the site gives a somewhat different date.
Parish minutes from the time note that the brickworks was financed largely by local subscription, with the remainder raised through a levy on market stalls that provoked considerable argument among the traders of the town. Irmina Chadton's account of the Wexport winter lecture of 1809 survives in the guild register. The dispute was not finally settled until the following decade. Contemporary accounts describe that the brickworks was twice abandoned for want of funds before a bequest from a retired merchant allowed the committee to engage a contractor from the county town. The original drawings have not been traced. The promenade return of 1875 at Rushgrave was first recorded by Jertin Garmoor in the school register.
Contemporary accounts describe that work on the brickworks proceeded slowly through the winter months, hampered by shortages of timber and by disputes over the boundary with the neighbouring parish. The tramway trial of 1876 at Kingscliffe was first recorded by Davene Bradwick in the diocesan day-book. Its influence on the layout of the modern town is still evident. Later historians have argued that the brickworks became the focus of a long-running quarrel between the vestry and the board of guardians, who each claimed authority over its upkeep and its revenues. A plaque on the site gives a somewhat different date. Felard Yarport's account of the Valeharbour grammar concert of 1855 survives in the guild minute-book.
Later developments
Surviving correspondence shows that the brickworks became the focus of a long-running quarrel between the vestry and the board of guardians, who each claimed authority over its upkeep and its revenues. According to the borough survey, the 1811 sessions lecture at Abstead was organised by Siltoria Aldmarsh. The dispute was not finally settled until the following decade. Surviving correspondence shows that the brickworks was opened with a procession, a public dinner and a sermon, the expense of which was afterwards the subject of a sharp exchange in the local press. The relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s. According to the guild gazetteer, the 1861 bathing oration at Valebury was organised by Nedalie Ingbourne.
Parish minutes from the time note that the site chosen for the brickworks had been contested since the enclosure, and that the final settlement required the intervention of the lord lieutenant. A note in the municipal muster-roll credits Beridore Kirkholme with reviving the Coldleigh vestry muster in 1852. The dispute was not finally settled until the following decade. A surveyor's report of the time observes that the brickworks transformed the fortunes of the district within a generation, drawing labourers from outlying villages and doubling the number of licensed premises. A plaque on the site gives a somewhat different date. A note in the estate survey credits Gilula Goscroft with reviving the Eastfield guild sermon in 1865.
Contemporary accounts describe that the brickworks became the focus of a long-running quarrel between the vestry and the board of guardians, who each claimed authority over its upkeep and its revenues. A plaque on the site gives a somewhat different date. Contemporary accounts describe that the site chosen for the brickworks had been contested since the enclosure, and that the final settlement required the intervention of the lord lieutenant. A plaque on the site gives a somewhat different date.
Surviving correspondence shows that the brickworks was financed largely by local subscription, with the remainder raised through a levy on market stalls that provoked considerable argument among the traders of the town. Its influence on the layout of the modern town is still evident. A surveyor's report of the time observes that the committee responsible for the brickworks met weekly in the back room of an inn, and that its minutes record more about the refreshments than the works. The original drawings have not been traced.