| Description | Parties: John Whitehead of Barford, Warwicks., gent. and Kelynge Greenway of Warwick, gent. and James Watt Esq. of Aston Hall.
Property: Aston Hall and grounds; stables and coach houses etc. Includes a pew in Aston church and details about water supply and drainage; maintenance of fences and trees etc.
[Mention is made of the Flower Garden, Terrace, Bowling Green, Dovehouse, Brewhouse, Icehouse, Keeper's and Gardener's Lodges, Cresswell Lodge,Water Engine, Dovehouse Pool, the Plantation, the Slip, the Staffordshire Pool etc.]
Includes a watercolour ground plan of the estate.
Annual rent: £371 12s. |
| AdminHistory | Until 1818, James Watt jr. had been living at Thornhill House, the property of Ann Boulton. When she decided that she would like to return to her house, Watt jr. had to look for other accomodation. Aston Hall was available for rent and he inspected the house and lands and moved in at the beginning of June 1819.
In a letter to James Watt of 8 Nov. 1818, Watt jr. describes the situation before he had agreed to the lease:
‘ Mr Robins has come down in his value of the land to £3.10s. per acre, but as I now understand him reckons the House with the Flower & Kitchen Garden (the latter containing 3 acres) at £200. I suppose however that less will be taken, and in order to enable me to form a correct judgement of what it will be right to offer, I have sent to Mr Curtis of Walsall to request he will go over the ground with me tomorrow morning. I shall also appoint a builder to look over the house at the same time. What would you think of Solomon Smith for the latter purpose, or does any one else occur to you?
Mr Robins says there are 140 windows & the Duty comes to about £70, but he thinks that as many may be stopped up, as will reduce the Tax to £35 or £40. ’
[MS 3219/4/37 : Muirhead II/ 13/6]
Watt jr. undertook a considerable amount of repair and building work at Aston. He also commissioned furniture from Richard Bridgens. Watt jr.’s notebooks [MS 3219/19-26: previous references M I/ box 7/3-11] illustrate the detail with which he planted up the various kitchen, fruit and flower gardens and the management of the fish pools on the estate.
Watt jr.'s memorandum book of 1818 [ MS 3219/6/51: M I/ box 6/24] has information about the hall, including sketch plans of rooms at Aston Hall, with measurements (pp.55-59); list of chimneys at Aston Hall (pp.60-63); notes on fencing and trees at Aston Hall (p.64); various notes on lease etc. (p.65-67); list of repairs etc. at Aston Hall, ordered by Watt jr. from Hepworth (pp.68-69); various calculations (pp.70-76); notes concerning the conditions of the lease for the hall (pp.77-81); list of rooms at Aston Hall (pp.82-85); list of windows at Aston Hall with dimensions (p.85).
Watt jr. remained at Aston Hall until his death in 1848. |