Thursday 4 April 1839

Ann had a large loose motion on getting up seems rather better? Low last night after getting into bed but I roused her

White frost this morning and cold bleak wind, and 1/2 frozen small snow occasionally driving about Fahrenheit 35 1/2 inside and 33 outside now at 8 40/60 a.m. breakfast at 8 3/4 to 9 10/60 when Mr. Horner came then with one workman or other till 11 1/2

Then a few minutes shewing Mr. Horner Mr. Harper's lithographs and 2 beautiful coloured drawings of the Pandroseum at Athens and an Egyptian temple - and last but not least his talented bird's eye view of what I should have liked to have been done at Northgate comprising exchange shops market &c.

Shaw's man the plasterer here this morning lathing the bits in and about the hall ready for plastering - Edward Waddington and the young man William (here yesterday and Tuesday) had taken up the entrance passage flags at 8 3/4 - set Sam Booth to help to wheel the clay out - 3 courses of bricks and an air drain to be laid under the flags - William the mason laying flags between the joists where pulled up on lowering the stairs ready for laying the floor at the foot of the stairs

Booth here - and his son Joseph came with the west tower study chimney piece Joseph and Edward Waddington setting it up - Robert Norton the joiner hewing (adzing) piece of old oak for post at the North entrance to correspond with the one set up last night - Robert junior covering in with deal pannelling over the oak beams (the Library passage armoires - Michael at the North Chamber bed recess passage door - an old one cased by Charles Howarth - rehung - and set straight - Joseph bodding about - helping Robert Norton's work

Wrote all the above of today till now 11 55/60 - then with Ann walked with her 1/4 hour in front of the house till about 12 1/2 - then took her in to luncheon and sat with her while she took a glass of madeira and a little cold beef - then seeing her seem poorly advised her lying down for a little while - sat by her 10 minutes and then went down for 5 minutes and then staid with her while she got up about 1 1/4 when Messrs. Whiteley of of the village of Stainland and James Harper Walker of the district of Stainland called to see Ann

She sat in my room (blue room) and I went down to them - they came begging for a church (a Methodist meeting house) to be converted into a church in Stainland - the vicar much for it - the church-building society gives £300 towards it - said Ann had got a bad headache and was in her room but would take the papers up to her - we agreed that Ann should give £20 - returned to the gentries ordered in wine and wine and biscuit and they sat talking blue politics - I mentioned bringing Lord Pollington for the borough as being perhaps to be thought of - they seemed pleased with the suggestion - much obliged to Ann for her £20 - it seemed as much as they expected - would call for it sometime in the autumn - I said they would find the money ready for them at Mr. Parker's Office, with which they seemed pleased

Then some while with Ann then in the west tower study - Edward Waddington, and William and Joseph Booth carried up the mantel-piece Booth with them (who had dined in the servants hall) - fixed it - backwards and forwards with them and Robert Norton boring the South East gable King post ready for the bolts

Then some time at Listerwick - Joseph and David Mann had flagged a little about the pit, and were preparing for flagging the drum house - an accident yesterday afternoon while Joseph was away at the funeral could not manage the drum (will not do at all) a corve full of stones broke the rope in being pulled up (landed) and fell to the bottom of the pit but luckily did no damage but break corve and rope

Then with Robert Mann and Jack Green and Ben at the water wheel filling scale, William Lord helping to unload the carts and mend the ruts of our scale road down Charles Howarth's field (cart down his farm yard) - my own 3 horses and George Naylor's 2

Then along the walk into Lower brea wood - walked all along it to well royde - got across the brook there tho' Pearson's trenched up far end of Tilly holm and home by the walk between 4 and 5 - in time to see Ward put the 2 bolts in to the house end King post - one inch diameter bolts - one of them ... feet inches the other long - the King screwed back to its place, to its perpendicular very nicely - quite satisfied - all now I hope will be quite safe for ages if people choose, beyond my time

Then with Ann and in and out - Ward took home blacksmiths shop vice (strained) to mend - will do what he can to improve my straw-cutter - will make a new one on another plan for £3.10.0 and could perhaps sell this for 30/-

Then Mosey coming to speak to Ann about her tree guards, took him to look at the walk-bottom pallisading - oak-posts should be delivered at 2/- per foot cube - and a post 8 feet 6 inches long = 1 foot cube of wood - It seems wood and labour of pallisading and gas-tarring would = about 40/- per rood and I think there are 12 to 14 roods

Mosey saw Ann on our returning - will do her guards at 5/6 a piece she finding wood - or he finding everything at 15/6 a piece (larch) and gas-tar at 1/- per guard - larch 1/9 per foot delivered at Cliffhill - her posts, as well as mine, to be charred at the bottoms and 9 feet long and set 2 feet deep - my posts to be set 2 feet 6 inches deep on account of the soft ground near the walk - he is to give each of us a written estimate on Saturday tho' Ann ordered the guards - I said I would consider about the palisading

The tower chimney piece finished fixing up this afternoon - and part of the lowest course of brick-floor laid in the entrance passage – dressed

Ann had done up and directed and sent the parcel per mail by Sam tonight to 'John Harper Esquire St. Leonard's Place York per mail carriage paid' - his portfolio and drawings and Wilkinson’s sketches of the Basque Provinces done up between 2 boards

Dinner at 7 20/60 - Note from the Philosophical Society - on Monday next a paper to be read on the mythology of the ancients

Ann read French as usual for some time past before leaving the dining room - 4 pages - coffee - read tonight’s and Tuesday nights papers and wrote all but the 1st. 13 lines of today till now 11 1/4

Cold dull day - cold wind - occasionally 1/2 frozen small snow driving about - Fahrenheit 34 inside and 31 1/2 outside and high cold wind now at 11 1/2 p.m. 

WYAS: SH:7/ML/E/23/0013 & SH:7/ML/E/23/0014