Time researching Manorial History in St Ives and Huntingdon before taking the train to London and making my way across the City to get to Painters Hall in time to find the Great and Little Linton Manors withdrawn from the auction in my favour and so bought them for £12,000 and then found them to be a good buy after further research with complete Court Rolls surviving. Time with the children later and news of the French now doing a deal with the Lebanon, a mailing campaign to highlight AIDS awareness, huge pollution on the Rhine which is turned red with mercury salts killing ¼ million eels in Germany and of Ken Baker seeking to overrule the teacher’s pay deal and impose his own
A rather restless night. It was warmer than of late and my mind has been full of Manors and Manorial rights and history. Eventually to sleep, but then reluctant to awake again. Decided to have a bath and wash my hair, as I have been remarkably itchy of late. A nice rest, but it made me even later than usual – a good chance, however, to consider what to do on Manors. Chatted to Di and agreed that I should go down to London again today and buy the Lintons, if they were a good bargain. Set off at 9.30am, after some time in my office paying all of my outstanding bills and preparing documents for my solicitor. I also called Bernard Thorpe and Ptns and registered an interest, should any Huntingdon Manors come up again. To Huntingdon, buying my day return train ticket and then to St Ives and the Norris library. I went through Mr Inship-Ladds Little Paxton notes and then identified a number of Manorial and family trees for photocopying and the historian is going to get them done for me. Back to Huntingdon library to photocopy the Little Paxton section out of The Country History for tomorrow and succeeded in getting a £12 parking fine for leaving the Range Rover outside in the street on double yellow lines! Then to the station, with time for a prawn sandwich and cup of tea before the train arrived.
A bit of a rush to get across town, because the train was late, but got to the Painters Hall with a half hour to spare and reviewed the lots, with the help of a transcribed copy of the Domesday entries for Cambridgeshire. A poorly organised affair compared with yesterday, but this worked to my advantage. They did not call for bids for the Linton Manors at all – having withdrawn the lots seemingly in my favour before the auction began (although I had made no firm offer). Two other lots, the only two with Royal Fair Charters, then went for £13,500 and £15,500 to a man called Shakeshaft, even though they were Thirlwall (in Northumberland) and Ottery St Mary (in Devon) and were only a single Manor. Upon query after, I got Robert Smith to agree a sale of the two Manors of Little and Great Linton for a combined £12,000 and would surely have lost them to Mr Shakeshaft, had they been put up. Signed my contract and left my 10% deposit and it seems to be a good bargain completed. Home in good spirits by train and car, reading up my Domesday book to find both Lintons were full Manors in 1086. With a wealth of historical material and complete Court Rolls and minute books from the 16th century onwards, I am well pleased. The connection with Little Paxton is also there, as the Manors were in common ownership for many years and I will investigate this link further. Once home, I had tea of grilled trout, then strawberries with Debbie, before checking Daniel’s schoolwork and reading Debbie a Country Companion on Anglesey Island. The news today is of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother going into hospital with a leg injury for an operation. A 3-week-old injury has not been able to keep her from her engagements until now. Two Frenchmen, held in Lebanon, were released today at the same time as an announcement that France is to end a 7 year financial dispute with Iran by repaying some claimed money. Education Secretary, Kenneth Baker, confirms today that he would take powers to impose a government solution, even if the unions and employers reach a deal. A new publicity campaign will be waged against AIDS (the immune deficiency disease) with every home being mailed and supported by television advertising. After a fire in a Swiss chemical plant, the River Rhine is grossly polluted and turned a deep red colour with mercury salts and ¼ million eels in Germany have been washed up on the banks. All drinking and animal drinking water outlets are sealed and the continent awaits the waste to be flushed into the North Sea.