Lacock.
Wednesday
My dear Henry
They are getting on very fast with the room – & expect to have it as low down as the Arches by the end of next week – Strong <1> does not propose to take down the Pier & Arches any lower (Except the one 2 nearest the old wall so as to be able to lay his Foundation,) till he wants the stone, he means to take it as he wants it, to save room on the Terrace & prevent the injury it may receive in being moved oftener than necessary – the sooner therefore you can determine, on the exact size so as to enable him to make his Foundation, the better – I hope you will reconsider your judgement about the Hall chimney, it is quite impossible they will say that the weight of those 7 or 8 courses of thin ashlaring can have produced the crack it is much more likely to be the lateral pressure of the coned roof – The principal part of them are of long standing – The only reason for hurrying the laying down the new Pipe, is the yearly expences of keeping the old one in repair – but as the new one is to be placed where the old one now is – I do not see why you or any of us need meet the man here. his contract being to lay down pipe at so much a yard, you paying for the digging, which must be done to get at the old – I saw the other Hothead yesterday at Bath, & desired him to send in his Proposals, & today Phelps <2> has written to 4 Iron masters for theirs – but I wish you would call at Bramahs, <3> & ask him about Iron pipes, & of what strength & weight per yard. he would prefer to lay it, you need & of course will not, employ him, but I want to find out what strength & thickness it ought to be for Stottard yesterday startled me by saying, they preferred it thin, because it was only the best metal that could be cast thin, if you do not like to go near Branah, ask Cutler in Queen St Lincolns Inn Fields, a great Iron Foundry or Hopper, <4> if you are in communication with him, may tell you of some one – The Brighton offer of 2600 yds to weigh about 33 Tons, would give 28½ lbs to the yard – I dare say Strong did neglect the work at Castle Combe <5> – Scrope <6> did it all himself & it was of no consequence to Strong whether it was finished one year or the next, but, when he is bound by a Penalty of 100ּ00 to finish by a certain day – depend on it he will attend often enough.
I shall as far as depends on me by going to Bristol to see Acraman & Son, <7> toward the emigration scheme, which I am sure is the thing to do. Though Phelps has heard from the manufacturer to whom he spoke about setting our poor weavers to work some Time since, that he [illegible deletion] intends himself to set his Mill going, & shall probably employ every weaver in the Parish – a great relief this certainly would be, but I fear not a permanent one & any check to this mans speculation, would [illegible deletion] throw them all on the parish again, whereas once in Canada they are safe enough. It is however possible that he may go on for a time, the people here are so poor they will work for any thing, whereas in Yorkshire they stand out for wages – last year the Yorkshire delegates humbugged them into standing out for large wages – I have received no Paper on the Lacock Charity but heard a great deal of praise of you & the business like way in which you presided at the meeting – what to do about Merchant I do not know – I am going to give him a couple of Soveriegns [sic] – that will float him for the moment – The little drawing Room has a Master hanging – as you may remember last year – which looked very well – The Girls <8> have have tried a new horse today, which they like
all well Yr aff
C. F.
W. H. F. Talbot Esqr
31 Sackville St
London
Notes:
1. Strong's identity has yet to be established. However, Awdry met Mr. Strong at Box [see Doc. No: 02006], the Wiltshire hamlet whose quarry originally provided Lacock Abbey with its stone. It is possible that Strong was there temporarily to select stone for the renovations at Lacock Abbey, but given the expansion of the area in the 19th c., perhaps Strong was resident there. The 1841 census for Box (the earliest one available) points to two possibilities. The first, James Strong (b. 1796), was a mason, but the Lacock mason, Charles Selman Banks (1805-1881) did most of the masonry at Lacock at this time. Thomas Strong (b. 1781) was a builder, and seems the more likely candidate.
2. Philip Phelps, Surveyor of Taxes & Bailiff, Lacock.
3. Firm of the late Joseph Bramah, the inventor best known for flush toilets.
4. Thomas Hopper (1776–1856), architect & surveyor, London.
5. Castle Combe, Wiltshire, 7 mi NW of Lacock.
6. George Julius Duncombe Poulett Scrope (1797–1876), MP & scientist.
7. There were various Acramans at Bristol at the time, the merchant on the quay seems the most probable in this case.
8. Caroline Augusta Edgcumbe, née Feilding, Lady Mt Edgcumbe (1808–1881); WHFT’s half-sister and Henrietta Horatia Maria Gaisford, née Feilding (1810–1851), WHFT’s half-sister.