Edward Strong, senior, Edward Strong, junior. v. The most Noble John Duke of Marlborough,...

Edward Strong, senior, Edward Strong, junior. v. The most Noble John Duke of Marlborough, Sir John Vanbrugh, knight, and the Attorney General.: "Bills or accounts of the building of the house or castle called Blenheim" [a gift of the British Parliament to the Duke of Marlborough, on account of his victory over the French at Hochstet or Blenheim, in Germany], situate at Woodstock, in the county of Oxford. Touching the unfinished state of said building, and the adjustment of the accounts for artificers' work and materials already supplied, &c., &c. "James Moore, of Short's Gardens, in the parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, in the county of Middx., gent., aged fifty years and upwards, sworne and examined the eighth day of February one thousand seven hundred and twenty-one, on the part and behalf of the Duke of Marlborough, deposeth and saith as followeth:-To the first interr'y this depont saith that he knoweth Tilleman Robart, who was one of the clerks of the works constituted by the late Lord High Treasurer Godolphin for looking after the building in question, called Blenheim House or Castle. And this depont saith that he, this deponent, being, in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventeen, appointed by the said Duke of Marlborough to be surveyor or manager of the said building, and the said Robart, being appointed by the said Duke of Marlborough as an assistant to this depont. He, this depont, having occasion to inspect some of the bills relating to the said building for this deponent's necessary information, did desire the said Robart to shew him the said bills, to which the said Robart answered that he had no such bills; and being asked by this deponent the reason thereof, the said Robart answered that he, the said Robart, never made up, prized, or adjusted any of the bills of the artificers imployed in the said building, but that the same were made up, prized, and adjusted by Sir John (then Mr.) Vanbrugh and Mr. Joynes, without him, the said Robart, and that all that he, the said Robart, did was the measuring of the artificers' work only. To the second and third interr'yes this depont saith that in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixteen, Christopher Cass and Joshua Fletcher (being employed by the said Duke of Marlborough to finish the south-west and north-west towers of the said building from the heighths to which the complaints were allowed for carrying up the same, did, in the said year one thousand seven hundred and sixteen, at the request and expence of the complts., carry up the south-west tower to the heighth to which the complaints were allowed for carrying up the same, the particulars whereof are mentioned or contained in the bill now produced and shewn to this depont, at this the time of his examination, marked (G.), And this depont saith that afterwards, viz., in the beginning of the yeare one thousand seven hundred and seventeen, the said Cass and Fletcher complained to this deponent that they could not go on with their work on the north-west tower till the complaint had finished so much thereof as they had been also allowed for; and likewise informed this depont that there still remained more work which ought to have been done at the complts.' expence, the complaints having been already allowed for the same. And therefore the said Cass and Fletcher desired this depont to get her Grace the Dutchess of Marlborough's orders to press the complaints to finish the work for which they had been allowed as aforesaid, particularly that of the north-west tower; and this depont accordingly acquainted her Grace therewith, and by her order writ to the complaints for that purpose, who answered that they were discouraged from being at any further expence because of the great arrear of debt due to them on account of the said building, but that if the Duke of Marlborough would please to lay down the money for the finishing of such works as belonged to them to finish they would allow his Grace the same when they received the last payment due to them from the Government on account of the said building, or to that effect. Whereupon part of the said work so remaining to be finished by the complaints was afterwards finished at the expence of the Duke of Marlborough, and cost the sume of two hundred sixty-nine pounds eleven shillings and sixpence in the whole .... and the rest of the said work is yet unfinished," &c., &c. "William Lowndes, senr, of Westminster, Esq., being a witness," &c., &c. "To the sixth interr'y this depont saith, that he, this deponent, and James Craggs, senior (since dec'ed), and Wm. Sloper, Esq., in or about the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fifteen, did severall times meet at an office or house in Scotland Yard, to direct the application of the money which had been issued by virtue of His Ma'ties Letters of Privy Seal at the Exchequer to Samuel Travers, Esq., towards discharging such debts as incurred and became due and remained unsatisfied to the artificers and others for work performed and goods and materials delivered upon account of the buildings and works at Blenheim, at or before the first day of June one thousand seven hundred and twelve; and were frequently attended at the said office or place by Mr. Joynes, as he had been comptroller of the said works ....... and saith that this deponent and the said James Craggs and Wm Sloper did receive from the said Mr. Joynes a book which (as he alledged) did contain all the demands of debts which were actually incurred and grown due to artificers and others for or upon account of the works and buildings at Blenheim on or before the first of June one thousand seven hundred and twelve, and remaining unsatisfied when the said book was rec'ed from him, which debts (as this deponent remembers) were computed to amount to above forty thousand pounds. And the said Joynes did certifie that the said book was faithfully extracted from the books of the said works, and that the same, as to the said works and materials, were examined and signed by Sir John Vanbrugh, him, the said Mr. Joynes, and one Robart, who also had been employed as a comptroller. And this deponent saith that when the creditors for the said works and materials brought any of their bills to this deponent and the said James Craggs and Wm Sloper, they examined them with the said book, and when no objection appeared to them they directed payments to be made thereupon of about one third part of each creditor's whole demands, except in the case of small demands, which were directed to be entirely paid off," &c., &c. [See also No. 4 in this term, and 11 Geo. 1., Mich. No. 27; 11 Geo. 1., East. No. 7.]: London; Oxford.