219
THE ESTATES GAZETTE
February 11, 1899.
1890 and 1894, and saw old cracks. In January, 1898, he saw the old cracks had opened slightly, and these were not inconsistent with the shrinkage of the soil.
His Lordship: When you went later you recognised these cracks as old friends (laughter) ?
Witness : Yes. As a surveyor he should think the railway works had nothing to do with them. The premises were on the side of the hill. Owing to the dry season houses far away from the railway had cracked. The repairs could be carried out for £75.
Mr. Arthur John Barry, O.E., said the cracks he saw were of varying ages, and he would not say they had not' been extended by the railway, but it might be due to contraction or expansion of the ground.
Mr. Robert Griggs, F.S.I., architect, of 11, Gray’s-inn-square, said he made notes of the cracks existing in the houses in 1896-7-8. Lately they had gradually opened, but there was nothing in their state inconsistent with natural causes. The premises did not require underpinning to repair.
The jury returned a verdict for £250.
His Lordship: That is within £25 of what I put down. Judgment accordingly with costs.
Mr. Edmund W. Rushworth, F.S.I., 22, Savile-roW, W., was also retained for the plaintiff ; and Mr. Herbert T. Steward, F.S.I., 45, Parliament-street, for the railway company.
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The important freehold town residence, No. 1, Porchester-gate, Hyde Park, which was recently offered to auction by Messrs. Deben-ham, Tewson, Farmer and Bridgewater, has now been sold by that firm, and a sale of the remaining furniture, works of art, etc., was held on the premises on Wednesday and Thursday.
Stuart House, 84, Cadogan-square, S.W., with the stafbling in Clabon-mews, which was offered to auction at the London Mart, on January 19, by Messrs. Trollope, and then withdrawn, at £12,000, has now been sold by them. The property, which presents a noble elevation, is held for 74 years unexpired, at a ground rent of £25 per annum.
The freehold residential property known as Easterton, near Devizes, Wilts, has just been sold by Mr. F. Perks.
The leasehold town residence, No. 16, Lower Sloan e-street, has been sold by Messrs. Barker and Neale for £4,500. The same firm have also disposed of No. 57, Hans-road.
Messrs. Green and Son, 28 and 29, St■ Swithin’s-lane, E.C., have now disposed of the two long leasehold residences, Nos. 34 and 36, Anerley-park, Anerley, which they recently submitted for sale by auction.
The freehold manufacturing premises at Honey-hill, near Bristol, comprising a two-story factory, with dwelling house and two cottages, have been disposed of by Messrs. C. B. Winson and Co., of Bristol, for £1,800.
The detached private residence known as Red-holm, Westbourne-gardens, Folkestone, lease 95 years, ground rent £12 10s., has been disposed of for £3,250 by Messrs. Eiloart ׳and Co. This is one of the best built, best planned and best fitted houses in Folkestone.
The following have been disposed of by Messrs. Drivers, No. 407, Holloway-road, N. :-—-No. 426, Camden-road, for £1,000 (term 44 years at £15 ground rent) ; Nios. 33, 35, 37 and 39, Beversbrooke-road, Holloway, for £1,780 (term 69 years, at £7 each) ; No. 110, Tufnell-park-road, for £512 10s. (term 64 years, at £8) ; No. 102, Carleton-road, Tufnell-park, for £825 (term 65 years at £12).
Mr. Walter Collins, of Leamington Spa, has sold, at a satisfactory price, freehold arable land of about 10 acres, with cottage, farm buildings, etc., •and a freehold dwelling house, stable, cowhouse, and about two acres of sound turf land, both situate at Priors Marsfton, Warwickshire, and which were withdrawn at the recent auction. He has also sold at a good figure a valuable freehold residence situate at Milverton, Learning-ton Spa.
The Horton Estate, Northamptonshire, formerly the seat of Sir Robert Henry Gunning, Bart., has just been sold by Messrs. Knight, Frank ׳and Rutley, of Conduit- street, for a sum approaching £90,000. The estate, which covers an area of 3,300 acres, was successively possessed by the Salisburys, Montagues and the Earl of Halifax, the latter erecting the mansion which at present exists. To the south of the Hall is the building formerly used by Lord Halifax as a menagerie. We understand that the purchaser is Mr. G. Harold Winterbottom, of Manchester.
Mr. J. B. Gough, auctioneer, Morecambe, last week disposed of a company house in Clarendon-road, West-end, Morecambe, for £560 ; also a well-known local coal business, together with all effects, for a satisfactory sum, and the contents of No. 34, Clarendon-avenue, 1 West-end, Morecambe, for a substantial figure.
INJURIOUS AFFECTION BY RAILWAY.
On Thursday, before the Lord Chief Justice and a jury, the important case of “Lucas v. Great Central Railway,” came on for hearing. Damages were claimed under the Lands Clauses Act for injury to Nos. 10 and 12, Marlborough-hill, St. John’s-wood, owing to the walls, brickwork and ceilings becoming cracked, the drains broken or in danger of being broken, and the premises rendered unfit for habitation by subsidence of the earth alleged to be caused by the works of the railway company.
Mr. McCall, Q.C., and Mr. Alexander Glen (instructed by Messrs. Mann and Taylor, 109, New Oxford-street) represented the plaintiff; Mr. R. D. M. Littler, Q.O., C.B., and Mr. J. Eldon Bankes (instructed• by Mr. R. Lin-gard-Monk) appeared for the company.
Mr. Geo. Head, F.S.I. (Messrs. Geo. Head and Co., 7, Upper Baker-street, N.W.), said that in November, 1897, he found the premises very cracked in the front and back walls, and cracks in the interior which corresponded with those outside. He was satisfied that they were recent. Some of the doors also leaned. He considered the premises required to be underpinned, and the broken bonds of the brickwork renewed ; the cost would be £360 each house, and the underpinning would necessitate the disturbance of the drains. He added £238 for making good all the damage done, his total being £958. The work would take from three to four months, and• during that time the houses would not be habitable. His figures did not include anything for discomfort to the tenants. Several adjoining houses were also cracked. He noticed that the cracks had widened in February, 1898, indicating a continued movement of the soil. He considered the damage was due to the excavations and tunnelling operations of the railway in close proximity.
By the Judge : The yellow clay was of such a treacherous material that it was difficult to put a limit when the movement would stop even after the tunnel was constructed.
Mr. Arthur Lucas, the claimant, said he was the lessee for these two houses, which he purchased in 1870 for £1,870. At present there were 39 years unexpired of the lease, the ground rent being £10 12s. There were no cracks whatever on the four central walls of the house up to June, 1897, but several had appeared since. A dry area was made in 1894 to cure dampness in the front basement walls of No. 12. Originally he obtained £85 rent for No. 12 and £90 for No. 10, but since it was rumoured that the railway was coming he only received £75 for No. 12, and occupied No. 10 himself. Since the railway works began tile roadway had constantly sunk. In 1887, No. 10 was let for £75 on a three years’ agreement.
Mr. Charles F. A. Voysey, architect, of 6, Carlton-hill, N.W., said in 1894 he advised about the dry area, and he saw no cracks in the basement at that time. He should say the foundations of the houses were fairly sound for St. John’s-wood or any suburb, and about 6ft. deep.
Mr. Charles Taverner, builder, St. John’s-wood, who tendered for the repairs to the house in 1894, said he saw no structural cracks then, but since the railway works commenced he had noticed several fissures in No. 12, one reaching from top to bottom of the main wall. Ho thought it was necessary to underpin.
Mr. E. G. Hall, waterworks inspector, said the water mains had sunk in Marlborough-hill, and the railway company paid for their repair. The ground had slipped away from the pipes down the hill.
Mr. Henry Tompkins, formerly vestry surveyor, residing at No. 23, Marlborough-hill, spoke of the subsidence noticeable in the footpaths opposite Nos. 10 and 12, which before the railway works commenced had kept in perfect order.
Mr. Francis J. Worthing, civil engineer. Delahay-street, said he could assign no other cause for the subsidence than the construction of the tunnel.
Mr. T. Lund, civil engineer, and tenant of No. 12, agreed with Mr. Head as to the cracks and their position in the buildings. He could see through one of the cracks.
Mr. A. Rum'ball, civil engineer, of 9, Victoria-street, agreed that underpinning of the walls was necessary.
For the railway company, Mr. Francis Fox, consulting engineer to the Great Central Railway, said the works were commenced near these houses in May, 1896, and the last section finished in February, 1897. He described the method, of tunnelling, and said he thought the houses were cracked originally, and that the railway works might have opened them and possibly made a few new ones. None of the cracks were of any magnitude, and all could be easily grouted out and repaired. He saw indications of old cracks. Houses on such clay would crack from swelling and contraction of the soil. It would not be necessary to underpin in the present case.
Mr. Alex. R. Stenning, F.S.I., Of 121, Can-non-street, E.C., surveyor to the Great Central Railway, said he inspected the property in
duce throughout the period had been equal to the average of the world. Professor Warington concluded ,his lecture by expressing the hope ׳that members of the Chamber would pay •a visit to Rothamstead at an early opportunity, which invitation was readily accepted.
At this time of the year, in parts of the country where the Old institutions have not quite died out, ploughing matches are baking place, and though it is depressing to the lover of agriculture to see the !falling-off both in entries and in !attendance at these competitions, some very good meetings are stall •held. Where the entries used to number from 40 to 50 teams, i^bout a score now tops the field. It is only another proof that there is something real in •the ■scarcity •of labour question for the farmer to think of. The young fellows now are much too grand in their ideas to follow the plough, and will not take any interest in such “common” occupations, and if a few come forward at the competition to show their skill, or want of it, the older men have to set •their ploughs for them in most eases, and stick by them all the morning giving directions. It is a question what we shall come bo in time if things go on like this: it is all very well for •the proprietor of the steam tackle ; but it’s a blow for our old ideas.
It is indeed a •rural !picture to see about 20 teams of good horses, decked up for the occasion with plaited straw and ribbons, and brightly cleaned brasses •on •the harness, many wearing prize back bands—the trophies of other competitions—ploughing up and down a nice bit of ley ground marked out by pegs, a strip for each man. Refreshments are provided in a tent at middle day ; about 3 o’clock in the afternoon the order is given to cease work, and the judges go round and examine the neatness of execution, the fineness of cut of the furrows, *and other nice points which !make up good ploughing, and the •day concludes with an old-fashioned dinner in the evening, presided over, may be, by the local M.P. Then the prizes for the day’s competition are awarded, healths are drunk, and speeches ■are made deploring foreign competition, and the adulteration of agricultural products, and other grievances are aired, the party breaking up about 12 o’clock in■ a state of happiness and joviality, which, for the moment, agricultural depression does n׳ot detract from or disturb.
Farming agreements seem to be commanding a good deal of attention at present in North Wales. Some time ago notice was drawn in this column to a new form of agreement on Mr. Lloyd Hughes’ property, and now Mr. Thomas Prichard, in responding to the toast of “ The Agent ” at the recent audit dinner of the Bodor-gan Estate, intimated his intention of preparing a new form of agreement for agricultural tenancies. He remarked that he had been waiting for years for a new Agricultural Holdings Act to be passed, but it never came off. He considered that if we had a good Act dealing with the general conditions, a short form of letting would alone be needed. As the new Act was not brought in, he proposed to prepare •an estate agreement which should cover all necessary points of tenancies, the same to be •discussed and settled with a committee of the tenants, •and be drawn up so a® to secure “ to the tenant freedom of cultivation, compensation for improvements •and security of tenure, and for the landlord, that the farms, buildings, roads and fences should be kept and left in good condition”—truly a model agreement if all these points be attained. After settlement, Mr. Prichard said it would he translated into Welsh and a copy given to each tenant, so that they would not be able to complain that they did not understand what “they are putting their fists to.” The Welsh tenantry appear to be a good deal better looked after than some of their English brethren.
Again Jupiter Pluvius, or whoever the rain god is, holds sway, and pours upon the country the vials of his wrath in the form of refreshing showers. The question, however, now is whether rain which lasts for about 12 !hours at a stretch may be termed a shower, and, also, whether it does refresh. It may be enjoyable to the nimble trout, but even he must be getting tired of it by now. Grin and bear it is all we can do ; but the prospect is rather a gloomy one to summon up a smile upon. If February is to be “ fill dyke,” on top of what w׳e have had, we are indeed in a had way as regards weather.
An Actress’s Jewels.—Included in a sale of jewellery held yesterday (Friday), by Messrs. Knight, Frank and Rutley, at their rooms in Conduit-street, were a few articles which belonged to the late well-known actress, Miss Bessie Bellwood. Among them were:—A horseshoe and bar brooch, composed of 17 choice brilliants, £36 15s. ; a lustrous five-stone half-hoop brilliant ring, £31 10s. ; a halfhoop ring of five large and fine emeralds, £27 6s. ; and a magnificent half-hoop five-stone brilliant ring, £43 Is.
Jfarm anfa Jtrifr
BY A LAND AGENT.
[SPECIALLY CONTRIBUTED J
The Evercreech and Mid-Somerset Agricultural Society, representing an important agricultural section of the county of Somerset, a county in which the breeding, rearing and fattening of pigs is largely carried on, is preparing a memorial for presentation to Mr. Long, the President of the Board of Agriculture, requesting that the regulation in the Swine Fever (Movement) Orders requiring a license to be obtained for the removal of fat pigs to the slaughter-house, should he cancelled. The memorialists base their objections to the regulation from the fact that fat pigs, to obtain the best price, must be marketed just at •the right weight, and the delay caused by this regulation is most inconvenient, •often causing the farmer to lose the best market. The memorialists point out that the aim of the agricultural department would be attained if a sufficiently heavy penalty were attached to the offence of sending diseased pigs either by waggon or by rail to the slaughter-house.
Of course, the various orders and regulations wi,th regard to the infectious diseases of animals set forth by the Board of Agriculture and local bodies are not very convenient to anyone, but it is better to be under restrictions, however troublesome, for a period, in order to secure the stamping out of any •disease, than for the disease to run riot through our herds and flocks at its sweet will. We ought to trust in “the powers that be,” and feel that they are doing the best for the country, and not appeal against every restriction which is irksome. Mr. Long and his advisers can surely be relied upon to take ■off the restrictions on the removal of swine when they think it can be done with safety ; but, perhaps, there is really something to be urged in favour of this petition, for it applies to fat pigs only, and there is not much danger of these spreading infection when they go straight to the slaughter-house.
The Bedfordshire Chamber of Agriculture and Farmers’ Club, a flourishing institution, albeit only founded a couple of years, recently held !a meeting at the Town Hall, Luton, when Professor Warington gave an interesting and instructive lecture on the Rothamstead Agricultural Station, to a large gathering •of local farmers, land agents and other members, presided over by the Mayor •of Luton. Before the lecture commenced a resolution was passed expressing the disapproval of the meeting at the proposal of the London County Council to promote legislation with a view to closing butchers’ private slaughter-houses. The resolution was carried unanimously. And it is not only in Bedfordshire, but all over the country, that this subject is attracting the attention of farmers and butchers, •all of whom strongly disapprove of any such interference with the private rights of individuals. If this “grandmotherly legislation” is forced •there will probably be an outcry against it from all quarters.
Professor Warington, whose lecture was illustrated with capital limelight views thrown on a screen, sketched the life of the experimental station at Rothomstead, from its birth, 60 years ago, remarking that all the cost .of the undertaking had been borne by Sir John Lawes, and that the worthy baronet had further endowed the station with the sum of £100,000, so that the work might be carried on after bis death. The Rothamstead Farm formerly consisted of about 500 acres, but in recent years the acreage had been decreased, so that the trustees might be able to carry on the work without a great loss. About 40 ׳acres of the farm are actually under experiments.
The lecturer dealt with the work of the station, ■and the various experiments carried out, referring to the botanical analysis of hay grown on the farm, the analyses of soils, the measurement of rainfall (Rothamstead possessing the largest gauge in England), and the analysis of the rainwater, Mr. Warington making the interesting statement that the whole of the manure brought to the fields by rain might be valued as worth about half-a-crown per acre. He pointed out the waste there was by drainage if the soil was uncropped ; but if the land was permanently covered by growing vegetation there would be very little loss •of manurial substances by drainage—this, by-the-bye, being a great point of advantage in the catch crapping system, where something •is ‘being grown nearly all the year round, and the land seldom lies idle. It was upon the question •of not leaving the land under bare fallow that the lecturer particularly dwelt.
The famous Broadbalk Wheatfield, on which wheat has been grown for 55 years in succession, is an interesting subject, and shows many instructive results. One plot had received no manure for 55 years, and yet the average pro-