Document 67, p 2
| of the Building a Bridge over the River Tyne at or near a place called the East Boat near the | ||||
| town of Hexm in the County of Northd on the behalf of the sd Complt in case the sd Complt shod enter into an | ||||
| agreemt with the magistrates of that Co for that purpose & in case this Dept upon Survey & examn of the Grod | ||||
| or Bottom of the sd River at or near the place called the East boat shod find it such as in the Judgmt | ||||
| of this Dept shod be sufft for the foundn of a Bridge at or near that place & this Dept then told the sd | ||||
| Mr Donkin that he this Dept wd consider thereof & let him know in a short space of time & says that having | ||||
| considered of the same he this Dept told the sd Mr Donkin that he shod be ready to & wd survey & examine | ||||
| the Grod or bottom of the sd River at or near the afsd place in order to see if the same wd be sufft for the | ||||
| foundn of a Bridge at or near that place & says that he the Dept did soon afterwds did survey or | ||||
| examine the Grod or bottom of the sd River at or near such place Accordly & did verbally report to the | ||||
| sd Mr Donkin that he this depont found the same wd be sufft for the purpose afsd, so far as to risque this | ||||
| Depts Credit upon as an Artist whereupon the sd Mr Donkin desired this Dept to make an Estimate of the | ||||
| expence of building such Bridge & this Dept did afterwd make such Estimate accordly & this Dept has then been infd | ||||
| & bel that the sd Complt in pursuance of the sd Estimate did afterwd make or deliver in proposals to the sd Magists | ||||
| for Building sd Bridge & that such proposals were then [agreed?] to by such Magistrates And says [that?] | ||||
| thereupon the sd Mr Donkin desired this Dept to make a [sight?] [plan?] or design of the sd Bridge in order to | ||||
| Annex to the Arles of agreemt then intended to be entered into by & betw the sd Complt & the sd Magistrates | ||||
| or some of them relative to the Buildg of the sd Bridge & wch this Dept soon afterwd did accordly & sent the same | ||||
| & also a Duplicate thereof to the sd Mr Donkin says that afterwds, [towds?], in or abot the Spring of the Year 1777 the | ||||
| sd Mr Donkin appd to this Dept & desired him to take the superintendancy of the Building of the sd Bridge | ||||
| wch this Dept accordly did & it was stipulated or agreed between the sd Mr Donkin & this Dept that he this | ||||
| Dept shod view such bridge at such times as he this Dept shod think proper & that he shod be pd at | ||||
| a certn rate pr day according to the time he shod [Alld?] on those occations says that one Mr Jonan Pickernell | ||||
| who then acted as Surveyor of the County Bridges of Northd as this Dept has been inf & bels was chosen by | ||||
| the sd Mr Donkin & the sd Complt as this Dept has also been informed & bels to be resident surveyor of the Bridge | ||||
| then intended to be built over the sd River Tyne at or near the sd place called East Boat as afsd & this | ||||
| Dept then approved of the sd Mr Pickernell for that purpose & the sd Mr Pickernell was to receive dircions from | ||||
| time to time from this Dept concerng the Buildg of the sd Bridge & was to see that the same were from | ||||
| time to time duly executed says that such matters havg been so settled as afsd the sd Bridge was begun | ||||
| to be erected & built some time in or abot the sd Spring of the sd yr 1777 & was finished some time in | ||||
| or abot the latter End of the yr 1780 & that durg the time the same was so buildg he this Dept did Superintend | ||||
| the building [??] & did view the same from time to time and such times as he thought proper & | ||||
| did from time to time give Directions to the sd Mr Pickernell concerning such buildg. says that some | ||||
| time in or abot the beging of the Mo of Jany 1781 he this Dept was requested by the sd Mr Donkin to survey | ||||
| the sd Bridge & satisfy the sd Magistrates that the same had been built accordg to the arles of agreemt wch | ||||
| had been theretofore entered into by & betn the sd Complt & the sd magistrates or some of them relative to the | ||||
| building of such Bridge & says that thereupon he this Dept did in or abot the beging of the sd mo Jany | ||||
| 1781 survey the sd Bridge accordly in the presence of Two of such Magistrates one of whom to the best | ||||
| of this Depts recollection & belf was the Deft B.W. Wastell & wch Two Magistrates had been as this Dept | ||||
| hath been infd & bels appointed by the Bench of Magistrates to attd this Dept on that occasion say that | ||||
| on such survey he this Dept was & the sd two Magistrates then appeared to be well Satisfied with | ||||
| the Buildg of the sd Bridge thereupon this Dept signed & gave a Certificate to the sd Mr Donkin or | ||||
| to the sd Two magistrates or one of them (but wch in parlar this Dept cannot recollt) stating that the | ||||
| sd Bridge had been Built & compleated accordg to the sd Artes of agreemt says that he had | ||||
| looked upon & read over and examd the contents of the two sevl parchmt writgs or Exhibits now | ||||
| produced & shewn unto him at this time of his Examn markd respively with the Lre B & C and | ||||
| purporting to be Articles of agreemt dated the 2d June 1777 made betn the sd Defts in this cause of the | ||||
| one pt & sd Complt of the or pt & a plan thereunto – Annexed & says that such Annexed plan | ||||
| was prepesred by this Depts Dircions from the plan or design of the sd Bridge so made by this | ||||
| Dept as afsd & that he this Dept after the sd Annexed plan was so prepared did carefully examined and | ||||
| compare the same with the plan or design so made by thid Dept & that such Annexed plan is accordg | ||||
| to the best of this Depts recollection & bel a true & exact copy of the plan or design so made by | ||||
| this Dept. Says that so much of the sd Bridge as was above the surface of the water was accordg to the | ||||
| best of this Depts knowledge & bel built accordg to the sd Artes & plan or as near thereto is possibly | ||||
| could be & that so much of the sd Bridge as was below the surface of the water was accordg |
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| to the best of this Depts knowl & bel built as near to the sd Artes & plan as from the nature of the | ||||
| circumsts that accurred in the doing thereof it was practicable to do Says that with respect to the Diffce | ||||
| betn the sd Bridge & the sd Artes & plan all the piers (Except the pier next each abutment & also except | ||||
| the piers hereinafter mentd) were intended to have been laid upon the Bottom of the River but that | ||||
| the variation in the Depth of the water after makg |
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| laid out at Difft Depths accordg to the Depth of the Water that subsisted at the time the same | ||||
| were laid & says that in the buildg of the second pier from the north abutment this depont found it | ||||
| practicable to set the same upon piles (which this Dept theretofore concieved could not be conveniently | ||||
| done) and therefore this Dept caused such pier to be set upon piles accordly instead of setting the | ||||
| same upon a platform as specified in the sd plan & wch Method so taken by this Dept as afsd | ||||
| he this Dept conceived to be superior to the method [orgly] intended when the sd plan was made | ||||
| Says that from the derangemt wch happd from sudden floods durg the course of Buildg the sd Bridge | ||||
| he this Dept found it neesssary to surround all the piers that had not been set upon piles with a | ||||
| compleat |
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| such Method was superior in point of defence to that of the Girdlestones parlarly specified in that | ||||
| pt of the sd plan wch relates to one of the Middle piers Says that in beging to build the Third | ||||
| Pier from the South Side being the last pier that was founded in building the sd Bridge all the | ||||
| ors havg been interposed to the violence of the water durg the preceding winter It was found that | ||||
| the action of the floods which had happd durg that Winter had deepened or taken away the Bed of | ||||
| the River some inches in the space of Grod where it had been intended to build such Third pier & therefore | ||||
| & as the case of Plank & Guage piles for such third pier had been erected previous to the founding | ||||
| of the same pier the Inches of the Bed of the river wch had been so deepened or taken away |
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| were thereupon made good by putting down a Bed of Rubble Stones to the amot of the thickness of wt had been | ||||
Note: Report of Witness examinations, various dates in 1786, p 2
Abbreviations are underlined like this Wm. and the expansion may be seen by moving the cursor over it.
| An entry outlined like this has a note which may be seen by hovering over it. |
Transcribed by KS and CTW