Sale of The Shaws Estate
Newcastle Courant, 17 September 1763
To be publicly SOLD to the best bidder.
On Wednesday the 28th Day of September inst. between the Hours of Four and Eight of the Clock in the afternoon of the same Day, at the House of Mrs Teasdale, at Mumpshall, near Irden Wells, in the County of Cumberland.
All that CUSTOMARY MESSUAGE or TENEMENT, and the LANDS and GROUNDS with the appartenances thereto belonging, situate at the Shaws, within the Parish of Leanor Coast, and Manor of Troddermaine, in the Barony of Guilsland and said County of Cumberland, of the ancient yearly customary Rent of 3s 6d. payable to the Lord of the Manor, late the estate of Mr Edmund Carrick, and now in the Occupation of John Armstrong, as Tenant thereof, at the yearly rent of 16l. --- For further Particulars, apply to Mr Lowes, of Hexham in Northumberland.
This Estate is pleasantly situated, within Half a Quarter of a Mile of Guilsland Spaw, commonly called Irden Wells, upon which a suitable House for the Reception and entertaining of Company, resorting to these Wells, may be built at an easy Expence, and to great advantage to the Owner.
(Irthing was sometimes spelt Irden or Arden at this time.)
Of particular interest because of:
- The reference to "The House of Mrs Teasdale
at Mumpshall";
- The Shaws having recently been in the possession of a Carrick/Carrocke as it was in 1610 and again in 1800, a Mr Carrick having presumably won the auction.
- The suggestion that this would be a suitable place to build a hotel. The purchaser must have acted on this advice soon after buying the estate as The Shaws (now Gilsland Spa Hotel) was well established by 1797 when Scott met his future wife there.
- The fact that the spa was already being frequented by "Company" in 1763 despite the lack of a suitable house for reception. Mr Armstrong's farm buildings would probably have been on the site now occupied by the hotel, as was the 17th century tenement.