George Barclay, Kilwinning, to John Sutcliff, at Mr. Greville Ewing’s, Carleton Place, Glasgow, 5 July 1811.                                                                                                                                     

Kilwinning 5th July 1811

Dear Bro: Sutcliff

         By a letter from Bro: Anderson of last week I am informed that you intended visiting Ayrshire and would if possible be with us soon upon a Lord’s day. I need not say how happy I shall be to see you under my humble roof and in our meeting, and especialy [sic] for the sake of Saviours cause in India. However in order to our making your visit as public as possible it will be necessary that I hear from you on the Sab: previous to your coming, and that you will mention the different places in Ayrshire where you intend to preach and make collections.

         May I suggest that you might preach in Saltcoat? Kilwinning Irvine Ayr & Kilmarnock, on your way from Greenach you make [may?] take Saltcoat on friday or saturday, Kilwinning on Sabbath afternoon as we meet there in the forenoon and afernoon of the 2 & 3d sabbaths of the month, in the evening of either of those days you can be in Irvine, take Ayr on the Monday or Tuesday following, and Kilmarnock next eveng.

         Being from home upon a preaching tour this week I could not write sooner, as I only arrived last night, yet if you have not written to me already, if you write on receiving this, I shall get your letter before lesson on Sab: evening, and can intimate your intentions in regard to Ayrshire in our evening meetings, and can get it sufficiently circulated in other places through the week by an Advertisement in the Ayr newspaper which is published on friday and by other means which I can adopt. Only I beg to suggest in regard to Kilmarnoch that it might be proper for Mr Wardlaw of Glasgow to write to Mr Jeffreys the Burgher Minister there, requesting the favour of his place of meeting, and that he would intimate your intentions, you can be accomodated [sic] with the Tabernacle in Ayr, yet if you or friends in Glasgow thought it more adviseable to preach in the Burgher meeting house, it will be necessary to write to Mr Shaw  requesting that accommodation.

         I shall at any rate expect you here upon a Lord’s day and so do my people. I suppose I shall not see nor hear D:r Ryland except I come to Paisley on Monday evening, well if I can I shall, but I cannot at present promise myself that pleasure, my love to him  I should have been happy could he have accompanied you to Ayrshire. I shall if the Lord will accompany you to the different places in Ayrshire, and if you judge it needfull or desirable I could be with you in Greenach also.

         I beg my comp:s to Mf & Mrs Ewing expecting to hear from you by the first post after you receive this I hasten to say that I am 

                                             your affectionate

                                                               Brother in Jesus

                                                                                 Geo: Barclay

Text: Timothy Whelan, Baptist Autographs in the John Rylands University Library of Manchester, 1741-1845 (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2009), pp. 150-51 (annotated version); also Eng. MS. 372, fol. 109, Raffles Collection, John Rylands University Library of Manchester. George Barclay (1774-1838), minister to a Baptist congregation at Kilwinning (1804-38) and strong supporter of the BMS in Scotland. Greville Ewing (1767-1841), Congregationalist minister and educator in Glasgow, 1799-1836. Mr. Wardlaw was a Baptist layman in Glasgow and a supporter of the BMS, involved in the collection of BMS subscriptions in Glasgow in 1804-1805 (see Periodical Accounts, vol. 3, p. 148).