Bideford Bridge Trust - Early Preparations

From information in a Bridge Trust Ledger of 1688-1738, it appears that plans really began in March 1690 when the then Feoffees paid one Nathaniel Gascoyne £4.6.0 for 'drawing a design of the new street'. Payment was also made to a John Courtise and labourers for work done in 'digging down the hedges and clearing a way for the building to go on'. In the same year, 'Crangs house' was bought for demolition to provide a passage into the street. A year later, on March 25 1691, £134.14.15d was paid to buy 'house, orchard, gardens and outhouses, the property of Robert Dacy, in order to build the new street'. In 1692 a yard and two cellars, the property of Mr Robert Gozen was purchased for the purpose of making an outlet from the new street to the Quay. At Christmas 1692 'Can and Lang's houses' owned by Richard Pincombe were purchased for demolition. In 1693 Nathaniel Gascoyne was paid £223 for building 70ft of Quay and slip, at the end of the proposed new street and William Lennox was paid for providing the necessary stones.
In 1716 an entry states that Margaret Gascoyne pays rent to the Bridge Trust, so it appears that the Gascoyne family lived for a while in the street which he had designed.
In a lease for ? Bridgeland Street William Linex is given as a brick maker. As he provided the necessary stones did he make the bricks that were required in some of the other specifications.