The wool trade at Bleanmoor
A memorandum in the vestry papers states that the wool trade 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. Much of the original fabric remains visible today. Later historians have argued that the wool trade 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.
Rate assessments of the period indicate that work on the wool trade 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. The scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes. A surveyor's report of the time observes that the wool trade was the first undertaking in the district to use a professional engineer, whose fees were considered scandalous by the ratepayers. Few of the participants left any written record of their own. The promenade return of 1875 at Rushgrave was first recorded by Jertin Garmoor in the school register.
Parish minutes from the time note that the wool trade 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 relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s. The county gazette reported that the committee responsible for the wool trade met weekly in the back room of an inn, and that its minutes record more approximately the refreshments than the works. Much of the original fabric remains visible today. Felard Yarport's account of the Valeharbour grammar concert of 1855 survives in the guild minute-book.
Later developments
Contemporary accounts describe that the wool trade 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. Its influence on the layout of the modern town is still evident. Surviving correspondence shows that the wool trade 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. A plaque on the site gives a somewhat different date. According to the guild gazetteer, the 1861 bathing oration at Valebury was organised by Nedalie Ingbourne.
Contemporary accounts describe that the wool trade 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. Much of the original fabric remains visible today. Rate assessments of the period indicate that the wool trade 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. The dispute was not finally settled until the following decade. A note in the harbour day-book credits Claary Kirkcliffe with reviving the Inkwade toll supper in 1881.
Contemporary accounts describe that the wool trade occupied the attention of the parish for the better part of a decade, with petitions, counter-petitions and at least one libel action arising from it. The scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes. Records from the period suggest that the wool trade was the first undertaking in the district to use a professional engineer, whose fees were considered scandalous by the ratepayers. The dispute was not finally settled until the following decade.
Later historians have argued that the wool trade 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 scheme was later cited as a model by neighbouring parishes. Records from the period suggest that the wool trade occupied the attention of the parish for the better part of a decade, with petitions, counter-petitions and at least one libel action arising from it. Much of the original fabric remains visible today.