Beschreibung:

Local Interest - The Radbourne Hall Steward's Account Book, an 18th century manuscript, the receipt accounts of German Pole (b. 1687) of Radbourne Hall, by his steward Francis Webb, Derbyshire, for 1741/42, comprising 146 ink MS receipts, a few of which are tipped-in or bound-in alongside the regular leaves, the whole illustrating of local Derbyshire gentry life during the reign of George II, contemporary speckled calf binding, the covers tooled in blind, the upper-cover indistinctly titled in ink MS, raised spine bands, oblong 8vo (10.5cm x 20.5cm), [1] Much of the first part are receipts signed for by various Derby pub landlords for the expense of providing food and drink for voters coming in from the surrounding areas to vote in the 1741 general election, in which Pole, a Jacobite, stood in the Tory interest. According to contemporary accounts, he was expected to win, but the Mayor and Chamberlains arbitrarily ordered the polls to close at lunchtime on the day, before those from out of town had been able to cast their votes, whereas most of the town voters had done so by then, thus enabling a Whig majority. He expended £183 – 11s – 6d in some twenty hostelries. John Every (landlord of the Ship, Full Street,) received and signed for £5, and was the father of Sir Edward Every of Egginton, 8th Bt. who succeeded a distant cousin. Another is a payment to George Bage at the Ostrich, Sadler Gate, father of the pioneering Enlightenment novelist Robert Bage and brother-in-law of Robert Bakewell This expenditure appears to have ben funded by a £200 loan for Joyce Osborne, sister of William Osborne builder of St. Mary’s Gate House in Derby and a first cousin. He makes one payment of interest of £8 in July 1742. The payments reveal three hitherto unknown Derby inns: the Count Tarlow, the Weavers’ Arms and the Welsh Harp, all unlocated. Throughout the book are receipted payments to craftsmen and sup0pliers of materials relating the building of the present Radburne Hall, including two (@ total £55) to Derby master stuccoer Abraham Denstone the elder, three (@ total £13 – 17s – 0d) to Anthony Richardson of behalf of the celebrated joiner (George) Eborall, one of the architect William Smith’s regular craftsmen. Others include: Pair of mahogany round tables @ £1 – 7s – 0d from John Trimmer, a notable Derby cabinet maker Two loads of boards totalling 5,250ft of boards @ 2/6d per hundred [ft.] £2 – 3s - 6d to Anthony Ryley A load of lime (for mortar) @ 4/6 Two fothers (‘fudders’) of lead @ £21 from Mr. Wilkcockson of Wirksworth 650 solid yards of hardstone @ 4d per yard £10 – 16s – 8d £4 to John Whitehurst FRS of Derby (presumably for the bracket clock) And 10,930 bricks from Michael Bates @ 6/- per 1,000 (pre3sumably facing bricks) and a further 12,800 @ 5/- per 1000, paid in full £6 – 9s – 6d. This firmly established the building date of the present hall as 1741-1743.