View source for Lawson, Edward

==EDWARD LAWSON – REDESDALE LAND AGENT (1805-78)==

''by Máire West & Ian Roberts''

In Holy Trinity Church, Horsley there is a particularly fine set of three colourful, stained-glass windows in the apse. The inscription states that these were paid for ‘by subscription’ to commemorate Edward Lawson (1805-78), a land agent the tenants of Redesdale held in high esteem. Who was this man, what did he do and why did he deserve this accolade from grateful tenants in this part of Redesdale?

Edward Lawson was born on 29 October 1805 into a prosperous farming family in County Durham. After holding junior posts on a number of estates in the north, the early 1830s saw him managing the large Blagdon Estate owned by the White Ridley family.

The nineteenth century was a period of change in farming methods. In the 1830s John Thomas Freeman Mitford, second Baron Redesdale, wished to introduce on his Northumberland estate management methods similar to those being used on other large estates elsewhere in England. In 1834, he appointed Edward Lawson to manage his Redesdale Estate, a far more complex operation than Blagdon. Lawson went to live in Redesdale Cottage, a property on the estate, and also took over tenancy of one of its farms – Stewartshields. The purpose was twofold: to augment his income and to trial modern farming methods there. Thus he could familiarise himself with the problems of upland farming in the area and test out the latest agricultural practices.

A conscientious nineteenth-century land agent had to be actively involved in the management of his employer’s estate to ensure its success, particularly when the latter was very busy with his southern estate and House of Lords commitments. Lawson set about reforming the leasehold system on the Redesdale Estate, carried out annual repairs and many improvements to the farms, advised and supported the tenants and collected the rents. The estate was growing all the time, from 12,904 acres and rents of £1,644 in 1834, to the year 1869, when he managed over 16,506 acres and recorded rents of £3,454. 

As land agent for almost 13,000 acres, with 14 large farms, numerous cottages and extensive woodlands, Edward Lawson had an immense administrative burden as well. Lord Redesdale wished to be kept informed of all management decisions and improvements. Lawson’s correspondence with His Lordship was prodigious. He penned almost daily letters to his employer and kept an account of estate matters by recording everything in his notebooks and diaries – the latter were bound in red leather with a wallet-style pocket at the front for maps and jottings. These diaries are now housed in several UK universities and record offices as invaluable documents describing northern upland county farming methods in the nineteenth century. 

Lawson also took part in local affairs, such as the ongoing developments for more housing in Rochester Village. He oversaw the considerable repairs to Rochester village school and helped to engage the schoolmaster. He encouraged his employer to take over ownership of the school in the 1850s – thus eliminating repair problems and ensuring its survival – and he also increased the schoolmaster’s stipend which encouraged uninterrupted schooling for the village children. He was road surveyor for two of the public roads in the area and chaired the Elsdon & Redewater Turnpike Trust up to the year of his death. 

When Lord Redesdale decided to build a church closer to hand for his tenants, to spare them the fifteen mile journey on foot to Elsdon Church for Sunday worship, Lawson served as the clerk of works. Between 1842 and 1844, Lawson worked with the chosen architects John and Benjamin Green on the design, ordered the building materials, and organised and supervised the small army of workmen engaged on the building work of Holy Trinity Church. A wooden plaque on the wall states that the seating capacity within at the time was for 182 people. Lawson, already serving as Churchwarden at Elsdon Church, now added the Churchwardenship of Holy Trinity to his working portfolio. 

Lawson’s work ethic is all the more remarkable when one considers his personal life and the tragic problems which beset his family. He and his wife Rebecca had two children, born and raised in Redesdale. His only son, whom he hoped would succeed him, died in September 1862, aged just 20. This came as a dreadful shock to his parents. A further blow came four years later in 1866 when his beloved wife Rebecca died suddenly at the comparatively young age of 64. They are buried in the Lawson family plot in Holy Trinity churchyard, to the right of the church door. His daughter Annie stayed on in Redesdale Cottage and kept house for him thereafter. She never married.

Despite these personal hardships, Lawson carried on with the land agent’s work that he regarded as a sacred trust, advising his employer and supporting the tenants and people of Redesdale and elsewhere. A few years before his death in 1878, he invited his nephew William Hodgson to be his assistant. William succeeded his uncle as land agent and continued to work as land agent in Redesdale until his own death in 1907, when he too was laid to rest in Holy Trinity churchyard. 

Edward Lawson’s life was an exemplary one and those who live in upper Redesdale today owe him a debt of gratitude for all he did. He was respected and well-liked by all who knew and worked with him. In addition to the stained-glass memorial in Holy Trinity, an unusual marble monument in Holy Trinity graveyard was installed by grateful tenants and landowners after his death. It reads: 

''“To the memory of Edward Lawson of Redesdale Cottage who died on August 10, 1878, aged 72. This monument is erected by the owners and tenants of Mitford, Cresswell, Longhirst and Harehope, in token of their esteem and thorough appreciation of his upright conduct, unwearied diligence and strict attention to their respective interests in the management as agent of these properties.”''
[[Category:people]]