Document 65, Mr Smeaton's deposition, 28 October 1786, P 1
| 129 A Witness produced sworn & examd in a certain cause now dependg and a | ||||
| [Issue?] in the High Court of Chancery wherein Henry Errington Esqr is Complt & Gawen | ||||
| Aynsley John Tweddell & Bacon Wm Wastell are the Defendts. on the part & behalf of the | ||||
| sd Complt by John Morgan Esqr examiner in Chancery | ||||
| John Smeaton of Grays Inn in the County of Middx Genm aged 63 yrs or abts being produced as a | ||||
| witness on the pt & behalf of the sd Complt in the Title of the Interries named was on the 28th Octr 1786 shown | ||||
| [such?] at the seat of Mr Tancred who is the Clk in Co* for the Deft in the sd Title named by Mr Heatley | ||||
| one of the Sworn Clks in my office who then also left a note of the name Title & place of abode of the sd | ||||
| Dept at the seat afsd & afterwards on the same day & yr the sd Dept being sworn & Examd deposeth and sayeth | ||||
| 1st | To the first Interry this Dept saith that he knows the Complt in the Title of the [Interrys?] named & hath known | |||
| the Complt upwds of 10 yr last past & that he hath also known the Defendts B.W. Wastell & John Tweddell respectly | ||||
| for upwds of twenty yrs. But he does not know the Deft Gawen Aynsley- | ||||
| 2nd | To the second Interry this Dept saith that at some time in or abt the latter End of the year 1776 this Dept | |||
| being then at Hexm collectg the Rents of the Derwentwater Estate of which he was one of the agents or | ||||
| receivers for Greenwich Hospital he was applied to by Mr John Donkin then Steward or agent | ||||
| to the Complt to know if he this Dept wd undertake the direction of the Building of a Bridge over the | ||||
| River Tyne at or near a place called the East boat near the Town of Hexm afsd for or on behalf | ||||
| of the sd Complt in case the Complt shd enter into an agreemt with the Magistrates of the County for this | ||||
| purpose & in case this Dept shd upon a Survey & examn of the Grd or bottom of the River at or near | ||||
| the sd place find it such as in the Estimation of this Dept be sufft for the foundn of a Bridge | ||||
| at that place & this Dept then Enquiring why the Complt confined his enquirey and proposition to or near | ||||
| that place the sd John Donkin inf this Dept that the Complts Estate lying on the opposite side of the | ||||
| River there to which an Immediate Communicatn by means of Bridge wd be of so great an | ||||
| Advantage as to induce the Complt to take upon himself the risk and trouble of the Erection | ||||
| provided there was a prospect of doing it witht being considerably out of Pockett. But that if he | ||||
| the sd Complt shd be out of pockett two or three hundred pounds he shd not be dissatisfied in case | ||||
| a Bridge could be Erected there but if a sufft foundn could not be found contiguous to the Complts | ||||
| Estate then he shd leave the undertakg to such as shd be more immediately interested therein and | ||||
| Saith that he belvs that the afsd |
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| place near Hexham was in consequence of the Total destruction of a Bridge that had been built | ||||
| a few yrs before in a Similar Situation opposite the upper pt of the Town of Hexm which was undertaken | ||||
| & built at the Risk of the late Sir Walter Blackett who in like manner had an Estate lying on the | ||||
| opposite side of the River Tyne & which Bridge was standing to appearce perfect at the Close of the Day of | ||||
| the Sixteenth November 1771 & which at day break of the following day was found to be totally thrown down | ||||
| & demolished by the action of a Flood which in the night had rose to an uncommon hight which | ||||
| hight was assertained by the Marks it had left but as no one appeas to have been witness to the Catastrophe | ||||
| no inference could be drawn as to the immediate cause save the uncommon Rise of the Water & which | ||||
| from the great damages done there & in many or places has since been known by the Appellation of the | ||||
| Great Inundation and this Dept further saith that the sd Sir Wr Blackett being unwilling to reingage in the [reworkg?] | ||||
| of the sd Bridge & the utility thereof being fully proved in its short duration the Magistrates themselves | ||||
| were then induced as this Dept bels to commence undertakers in that Business & engaged Mr Wooler | ||||
| an Eminent Engineer who in confidence of Bridges made by a Surveyor whom the Magists had | ||||
| employed for that purpose formed a design for Buildg a Bridge abt 50yds below the former Site and | ||||
| accordy the North Land Breast or abutmt thereof was completed in or abot the yr 1774 after wch tha the work | ||||
| might the more ably carried into execution Mr Jona Pickernell an expd workman or foreman was | ||||
| engaged & brought down from London by the sd Jn Wooler to act under him & as such was engaged by | ||||
| the Magists who on digging out the foundation for the first pier in or abt the yr 1775 at the Depth of 4 foot | ||||
| below the bed of the River instead of meeting with a Bed of Clay as reported by the psons employed to | ||||
| Bore as afsd found a Quicksand of so bad a nature that being viewed by the sd John Wooler and | ||||
| ried in the presence of some of the Magists he the sd John Wooler declined the furtr execution of the | ||||
| undertakg on the consn of its being impracticable except at such expenses as were likely to | ||||
| be far beyond the ability of the County’s Funds to expend And saith that the Magists not yet giving | ||||
| up the pursuit of a Bridge Advertsmts were contind in the Weekly Newspapers for psons willing to become | ||||
| undertakers And they also Expended sums of Money in the furr provision of Materials and such was | ||||
| the state of things as this Dept verily bls when the sd John Donkin applied to this Dept as before | ||||
| mentd he this Dept havg had many opportunities of information by reason of his frequent visits | ||||
| to Hexm as afsd and this Dept further saith that it then appeared to this Dept that the subsequent operations of | ||||
| the sd Mr Wooler had cloased up & explained the cause of the failure of Sr W. Blackett’s Bridge | ||||
| for it had appeared to this Dept (who had in consequence of his own Curiosity occasionally viewed | ||||
| it) that it had been as he thought suffly secured by piles and plank under the piers accordg [to?] | ||||
| the accustomed method of Bridge Buildg in Rapid Rivers insomuch that the perpendicular | ||||
| hight alone to which the water rose in the great inundation of the yr 1771 & which was [??] | ||||
| only apparent cause that was extraordinary, did not seem sufft in this Depts opinion to overthrow | ||||
| so large & so well established a Structure in so short a space of Time as the compas of a single | ||||
| Night & more parlarly as it had been erected by experienced Workmen, but when the sd John Woolers | ||||
| operations had discovered the practicability that the same stream of Quicksand had extended under | ||||
| Sir W. Blackets bridge & that according to the usual practice & which occurred on this Deponents | ||||
| inspection as afsd they had Dug so deep into the upper crust of Gravel forming the Bed of the River | ||||
| in order to establish their foundation upon piles the piles had then in reality no other bearing | ||||
| than in a Stratum of Quicksand of a Depth unfathomable & consequently the piles being | ||||
| undefended if the action of the Current water in passing through the Bridge was sufft to | ||||
| remove the natural Bed of Gravel from the side of any one of the piers and proceed to undermine | ||||
| the Base thereof the Arches of which the Bridge consisted were of so large a Span of so little elevation | ||||
| & in consequence so flatt & in or respects were so constructed that the whole of the Bridge wd give | ||||
| way in consequence of the destruction of a single pier it thereby appeared that the whole Structure might | ||||
| be totally demolished in so short a space of Time as before mentd & this Dept is furtr confirm’d in this opinion | ||||
| 1 | ||||
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Transcribed by CTW and KS