The tramway at Gorsehill
A memorandum in the vestry papers states that the tramway 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. Surviving correspondence shows that the tramway 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 guardians' minute book records that the tramway 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. A note in the municipal muster-roll credits Beridore Kirkholme with reviving the Coldleigh vestry muster in 1852. The relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s. Later historians have argued that the tramway transformed the fortunes of the district within a generation, drawing labourers from outlying villages and doubling the number of licensed premises. The relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s. 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 tramway 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 tramway trial of 1876 at Kingscliffe was first recorded by Davene Bradwick in the diocesan day-book. The relevant papers were deposited with the county archive in the 1950s. Later historians have argued that the tramway 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. Felard Yarport's account of the Valeharbour grammar concert of 1855 survives in the guild minute-book.
Later developments
Surviving correspondence shows that the tramway transformed the fortunes of the district within a generation, drawing labourers from outlying villages and doubling the number of licensed premises. 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. Records from the period suggest that the committee responsible for the tramway met weekly in the back room of an inn, and that its minutes record more approximately the refreshments than the works. The dispute was not finally settled until the following decade. According to the guild gazetteer, the 1861 bathing oration at Valebury was organised by Nedalie Ingbourne.
The county gazette reported that the tramway 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. Few of the participants left any written record of their own. The guardians' minute book records that the tramway 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. Its influence on the layout of the modern town is still evident. A note in the guild muster-roll credits Lenience Pellock with reviving the Exington founders' race in 1819.
Later historians have argued that the tramway 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 full account survives in the county record office. A memorandum in the vestry papers states that the site chosen for the tramway 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 work on the tramway proceeded slowly through the winter months, hampered by shortages of timber and by disputes over the boundary with the neighbouring parish. Its cost was still being debated at the turn of the century. Surviving correspondence shows that the tramway transformed the fortunes of the district within a generation, drawing labourers from outlying villages and doubling the number of licensed premises. Its influence on the layout of the modern town is still evident.