Letter – Nicholas Walton to Peter Mulcaster – 7 Mar 1771

Mr Mulcaster 							Farnacres 7th March 1771 



      I desire youll not make out the Operation til the 6th day of April inclusive which will then take in Six Weeks and I would have the Lead Mill Pay Bill to take in all to that day except you receive any Ore between this and then and I wd have that not even entered in the Operation but included in the Succeeding Operation.  There must be a Computation made of what we may expect will be produced by the Litharge Slags and other Slag Hearth Ends, Ore Tails, Test Bottoms, etc remaining at the ending of the Operation the 6th of April, and I hope youll get better forward than this Weather promises, as the more you get done the less there will be to calculate.  The Assays you sent turned out as follows 

                                         Oz Dwt Gns

Operation ending the 23 ulto  1 58/80 =   8  9  1 2/10 p fodder

                              1 52/80 =   8  1 16 8/10

                                         16 10 18

                                 Mean     8  5  9      p fodder



Refined led                      6/80 =      7  8 4/10



No 1 Litharge                 1 66/80 =   8 18 20 4/10

   2 do                       1 75/80 =   9  9 21

   3* do                      1 48/80 =   7 16 19 2/10

                                         26  5 12 6/10

                                 Mean     8 15  4 2/10 p fodder

   *shd this not have been No.1



      The Cake of Bullion should have been by the mean weight of Assays 694.11.12 it weighed 678 1/2 Short of Assays 16.1.12. 

      Wm. Laybourne is gone to get some Iron and Deals for you this day and they will come to Hexham I suppose by Mondays Carrier. 

      I think what you say about the Washing very proper but I fear this Weather will stop that kind of Work; if it does cannot you be Smelting those small parcels that you have so long had the trouble of entering on the Operations as Stock til Fresh Weather comes.  This day is fine and fair but a hard Frost as one can expect when there is so much Sun. 

      I am glad you are satisfied about the two Bings of Cutting Ore you mention to have been delivered by Matthew Wilkinson Junr. as I am to hear that Mrs Hilton is better than she was.   I am Your most Hble Servt. 

      NW Junr. 



PS in your making out the Pay Bills formerly the Accts for Smelting Ore are thus.



                Refineable Lead          Common Lead

                Fodders Pieces of 1 cwt  Fodders   Pieces of 1 1/2 cwt

William Liddle     20      4             39        1 1/2 at 6s P Fdr



For the future let it be 



                Refineable Lead           Common Lead

                Fodders     cwt           Fodders   cwt

Wm Liddle          20        4            39        1 1/2 at 6s P Fdr



You are stil one piece over in Stock of Refble. wch I suppose to be right.