Thomas Gibbons

Longtown Memories

Thomas Gibbons and other Memories of Longtown

Thomas Gibbons, who died in 1892, was one of the most successful farmers on the Netherby EstateCarlisle PatriotFeb 26 1892In conversation with a friend, some five or six years ago, Mr Gibbons gave the following interesting reminiscences of Cumbrian agriculture?Our people went from Howend to Mossband in 1810, when I was six years of age. There was no road to Mossband at that time ? nothing but a simple track; the horse mired at Islehead and my father carried my mother and me out of the cart. Mossband was then a village, with at least 20 cottages and 50 or 60 inhabitants. I went to an old dame?s school, kept by one Aggie Hill, where we were like to be smoked out. There was a township school at Blackbank, kept by one Telford, but to reach it we would have had to wade knee deep through Mossband moss. Several people were lost in the moss, including a sister of the late Mr Hudson Scott. It is all reclaimed and cultivated now. To Telford I went after leaving the dame?s school, but all my tastes and desires ran in the way of farming. Horses and ploughing were my delight when I was a mere lad. One Tom Dixon farmed Mossband Hall before my father, and he had it very cheap, his rent being only £320; but he broke in it, and died in Wigton Workhouse. At thirteen I was ploughing and I continued working for my father until I was 30, helping at the same time to bring the rest up.The first great public road I remember was the making of the new Glasgow Road and putting up the Metal Bridge. I assisted; in fact, I drove the metal of which the north arch is composed from Sark Foot. The bridge was intended to be only two arches, but in course of construction, there came a high flood which devastated the whole country and then the north arch was added. The road and bridge were opened on St Patrick?s Day 1822.At that time agriculture was about at its lowest ebb. I recollect us taking wheat at 1s the stone and shipping it at Rockcliffe, Sark Foot and Sandsfield. Nearly all the surplus produce ? pork, potatoes and so on ? was shipped for the Lancashire markets; sloops could come up the Sark, which was navigable for miles where a boat would be stranded now. Any money that was made at that time was made by potato growing and pig feeding; but there was little profit for any one ? least, perhaps, for the landlord and no advantage to the public.It was at that crisis Sir James Graham (we call him Sir James, though he was then only Mister) arranged to take the management of the Netherby estate from his father. The property was in a condition bordering on ruin. It was just a Little Ireland ? a big population scarcely above the condition of squatters, lazy, indolent, doing no good either for themselves or others and when a bad season came they were on the brink of starvation. It was Ireland over again. The steadings were all tumbling down, the land was undrained; there were no roads and no money to do what was needed. The idea of selling the estate was entertained, and the Barings were in treaty to buy it. But Mr Townley and Mr Starkis strongly advised Sir James against selling. ?Keep your land,? they said, ?you can bring all right, with patience.? He had arranged to go into a banking house in London, but acting on the advice of these wise men, he resolved to keep the estate, but to remodel it entirely. For this purpose a large sum of money was borrowed from the Sun Fire Office, and after selling all the outlying places, he set to work, draining, making roads, building and creating farms of considerable size, which he let on nineteen year leases. He kept all the enterprising tenants, and gave them large holdings, encouraging them to help him in improving. John Birrell, who took Rosetrees, had five or six small farms thrown together. The result you see. Lord Lonsdale and Sir James were the greatest agricultural improvers in the North. But Sir James had a splendid advisor in Mr Ellis, his relative and agent.In 1815, Waterloo year, we had the best crop of wheat I ever recollect. Some of it sold at 17s a bushel, and the remainder of it brought three guineas a bushel in the following year, owing to the bad season of 1816, which was a year of terrible distress everywhere. The country was all flooded, and the grain stood deep in water. None of it was sound. Scarcely a day passed without a sale under distress for rent, and things were literally given away. Pork, the principal produce of the estate, fell to 3s a stone. Good milk cows went for £5 a piece, and Cheviot lambs for 5s to 8s. After 1816 matters wonderfully improved, we had better seasons, good crops and higher prices.The nineteen-year leases began in 1824. 1825 was a grand summer, with good crops of everything, and as prices were high, most of the tenantry got set on their feet. The foremost man among them was James Baxter, of the Fauld, who dealt largely in pork and butter. The average of wheat that year was 64s the quarter (24s the Carlisle bushel); barley was 40s, oats 32s, pork 7s a stone, and butter 50s to 56 s the firkin. Beef and mutton were of no account at that time, as little was produced except pork. These prices maintained themselves for some years, but in 1842, when the first leases expired, prices were very low, and farming prospects were dull. Sir James had the farms revalued by Mr Lamb, and he offered them to the old tenants at an advantage of 10 per cent. My father was the only one who took his farm at the advance. ?Well, my man,? said Sir James, ?I?d half the difference with you.?I had left my father and taken Burnfoot in 1835. The buildings were wretched clay daubins, and the farm was drowned with water ? in fact, the river was running the best land away. Before ever I got a house I lead a thousand cartloads of weiring. 1835 was a good season, but 1836 was both bad and late. I had a field of barley which was cut the night before Martinmas, and it was near Christmas before it was got in. 1837 looked as if it was going to be another bad year. In the spring the wind was never out of the east, and there was no growth. Fat sheep could scarcely be got. But on the second Wednesday in June, Appleby Fair Day, the weather changed and we had a tropical summer. Things grew as if by magic, but the land being very dry, we had only a moderate, though an early harvest. After the change of weather, cattle rose 30s to 40s a head. That was the year when the first steam plough was tried on Lochar Moss.Gradually wheat, oats and barley became great crops on the estate until, the Corn Laws having been repealed, the market became flooded with American produce. Then the cattle and sheep trade came to the front, and for a long time good judges of stock, who knew what to buy, did very well.April 18th 1856A CENTENARIANThe bridge over the Esk at Longtown bears the date of 1756. At the time when it was built, and for some years after, Longtown, according to report, consisted of only a small number of straggling cottages, formed of clay, and covered with straw. Every family had a cow, for the grazing of which from the 12th of May to the 12th of April, ten shillings were paid to a neighbouring farmer, and sixpence to the ?herd? whose official duties were annually performed by the frugal pasture-keepers each in his turn. The first house built of brick was a house in Eskbank, which was once the principal inn, when the road to Carlisle ran along the meadow in the direction of Arthuret. The second house built of brick was the Globe Inn, which was approached from the bridge by what was then called ?the Loaning?. As the current of the Esk at that time had a strong tendency to the north, and much more frequently flooded the adjoining holms than it has done for a long period of late, the arch nearest Longtown was left entirely dry. In those days, when every lass had her two-handed wheel, the first arch of the bridge was a favourite place of resort, where the blooming spinsters loved to congregate in summer, and where they could at once ply their feminine vocation and enjoy the cooling breezes wafted from the river. The aged inhabitants speak of a severe and protracted winter, when the Esk was frozen for a period of 14 weeks. The breaking of the ice under night is still remembered by some who witnessed it, as a scene of terrific grandeur. Not finding a ready passage through the arches, the broken masses of ice were piled up, higher than the parapet of the bridge, and serious apprehensions were entertained for its safety. At length however the ice burst through one of the arches with a sound resembling a peal of thunder, wounding the ear of night, and probably frightening the fishes in the Solway with its appalling reverberations. On inspection, the bridge was found considerably shattered, but by the aid of iron clasps, where the greatest amount of injury had been sustained, it has continued, and still continues, both summer and winter, to render its invaluable services to the public at large. Should the projected line of railway, which is still in abeyance, be ultimately completed, it would materially lighten the onerous duties of the bridge, and enable it, comparatively speaking, to prolong the enjoyment of a happy old age among a large and an increasing circle of friends and acquaintances. - CorJanuary 25th 1889 Carlisle JournalRecent Improvements in LongtownA native who had not for some years seen this old Border Town facetiously named the first in England, on revisiting it would be very much struck with the moral, social and physical improvements effected during his absence. The streets, as originally planned by Dr Graham, of Netherby, were as now spacious and well adapted for cleanliness, but it any sanitary authorities existed before recent years, they must have been very lax in the performance of their duties, as the state of the public streets but too forcibly indicated; and if the parts visible were far from pleasant, either to visual or nasal organs, the filthy state of the hidden parts may be imagined. Some eleven or twelve years ago, however, the streets were thoroughly sewered and drains let in to the mains from every property in the town, and efficacious means were adopted to ensure superficial cleanliness. Since then the reports of the medical officer of health show a very appreciative diminution in the rate of mortality. About two years ago the late Sir F U Graham of Netherby caused trees of beautiful flower and foliage to be planted along both sides of all the main throughfares, by which their attractiveness is immeasurably enhanced, and when in full summer bloom the fragrance they spread and the cooling shade they afford are quite refreshing. But improvement is more especially conspicuous in the dwelling houses, and credit is due to the enlightened and spirited proprietors, Messrs Bell and Baty, who have transformed the unsightly hovels of Bridge Street into handsome shops and dwelling houses, and the Bush Hotel in the same street, since it lately came into the hands of Mr J H Monkhouse, has put on an outward appearance of elegance and comfort corresponding to the refinements to be found anywhere. Netherby Street, perhaps more than any other, has changed its appearance; indeed this street, with the exception of the old Scotch Church - which still retains its old-world, hoary look, and seems to mourn unheeded the more glorious days of the past - has all been re-cast. The dingy, red-brick houses of a former day have been superseded by tastefully cemented shops and dwellings, and the extensive warehouses and curing establishment of Mr Musgrave, bacon factor, the principal proprietor. But by far the most noteworthy improvement in the town is Jubilee Terrace, so called from the year of its completion. A few years ago its site was occupied by a miscellaneous lot of hideously dilapidated buildings stretching along the Netherby Road. The ground was leased by Mr Musgrave, whose taste and enterprise have metamorphosed the previously vile into elegant residences, with beautiful flower plots in front, enclosed by wrought iron railings set in a low brick cemented wall. Needless to say, all are occupied. Mr Musgrave?s own substantial villa on the same side, and Lady Hermione Graham?s school. Built a few years ago for the accommodation of girls who are educated and trained for service at her ladyship?s expense, and the substantial court house and prison on the opposite side, and also comparatively new features, which considerably enhance the appearance of the town. In close proximity are the bowling and lawn tennis greens, given to the town by Sir F U Graham and opened by him a few years ago, which in extent and beauty may safely challenge comparison with the finest things of the kind in the country.The most remarkable improvement in the centre of the town is that lately effected by Messrs Beaty Bros, drapers &c, to provide accommodation for their extensive and increasing business. Smoke begrimed red bricks, small rooms and windows and low ceilings have given way to ornately cemented wall, commodious and airy business apartments and large and showily decorated windows. Close by is a block of building comprising the old Moat Hall and some dwelling houses, hoary with age and tottering to decay, which stands as an eyesore, and calls loudly for the renovating hand of the genius of labour. A movement is at present on foot, which we hope will be successful, to acquire those buildings from Sir Richard Graham, to whom they belong, for a small public hall and reading room, library &c. In the event of the application being successful, steps would at once be taken to transform the building into the character of its surroundings.