Letter – Henry Richmond to Walter Blackett – 13 Mar 1766

To Sir Wr Blackett Bt MP in Half moon Street                                 Newcastle 13 Mar 1766 (sic)

Piccadilly London

Hon[ou]r[e]d Sir

I returned from Wallington on Wednesday Evening; having found Mr Robsons Will & Sealed up his Closets till after the funeral w[hi]ch I left Lady Loraine & Mrs Brown engaged in settling. I shall go again & spend a day or two in sorting his papers with Mr Rd Brown of Kirkharle, who is his Ex[ecu]tor & intitled to all his effects after paym[en]t of a Legacy of £500 to a Woman near Morpeth £300 to Geo Robson Steward to S[i]r Rd Milbanke £250 to his Clerk son of  Geo Brown of Cambo 40s to the boy that attended him & several other small Legacies. I never saw the Agreem[en]t for the farm Mr Robson was to have had at Cambo, but hope it will be met with among his papers. I heartily wish you had an able & a sensible Man in his place. I am sure your Landed affairs & other concerns there & at Hexham, Ord, etc requires one & would furnish him with suff[icien]t Employm[en]t besides the satisfaction you would have yourself in him. Major Carr says he discharged Mr Blake’s Butler & that you may safely hire him. W[hi]ch I  shall do when he returns from a Journey he is now upon with a Merch[an]t of this town. Mr Cookson will be engaged for a  fortnight, but after that will go into the examination of your profits by Weardale Mines. I find it is generally allowed that the mischief w[hi]ch happened to the three ships on the Black middens was intirely owing to the unskillfulness of the Masters; & that those Rocks are the same as they have been for time imemorial. Gaul &  two other Felons confined with him, who were masons, have broke the Gaol & got off; by working thro’ the wall in the weak part of it next the new Lane; where it was only two feet thick

I am etc   HR

PS here is not any demand yet for Lead!