Margaret mushet
1798 - 1885
Part of the famous family of metallurgists, Margaret wrote for journals and published a book on Coleford to raise money for the new church. Both of Margaret’s known works have the Forest and Coleford at their core.
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The Mushet family home in Coleford, 'Forest House' formerly 'Tump House'
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writing careerMargaret is known to have written for journals, including the article ‘The Forest of Dean’ published in the Chamber’s Journal, in August, 1864. It provides a description of the geography, geology and industry of the Forest as Margaret would have known it. Looking at the indices of the Chambers Journal, it does not appear to have been normal practice for this publication to name its authors, either in the annual index itself, or beside their published works. It is therefore as a result of her second known work, in which the article is reprinted in full, that Margaret can be firmly identified as the author. This also leads to the question of whether Margaret did have other pieces of work published in this or other journals of the day. Without such journals giving authors’ names this remains a tantalising but unsolved question. By the late 1870s plans were afoot in Coleford to replace the Octagonal church (which then stood at The Tump in the Market Place, the current free standing clock tower being all that remains of the church), with a new larger building, which would meet the needs of the growing town. The aim was to accommodate the much increased local population and to effect a move from what had become a busy road junction. The ‘new’ church that was subsequently built in the town, St John’s Church, opened in 1880 (it is now closed down). Margaret had by this time begun to live at least some of her time with her widowed brother-in-law and his family. However, there were clearly ongoing strong links between Margaret and the town which had been the focus of her family’s iron foundries. To aid the fundraising for the new church Margaret wrote and had published a slim volume entitled ‘Something about Coleford and the Old Chapel’ (1877). As its final chapter, this volume included a reprint of the earlier Forest of Dean article, from the Chambers Journal.The 70+ page booklet also had other material more specific to Coleford and its environs, including a number of illustrations. There is a tantalising reference in a letter written on behalf of Margaret’s uncle, Robert Mushet of the Royal Mint, in 1825 by John Stuart Mill, a British philosopher and political economist. (The letter appears in a book entitled Additional Letters of John Stuart Mills, Volume 32, Routledge, University of Toronto Press). Written to John Bowring of The Westminster Magazine, the letter refers to a copy of a poem written by his niece, asking that it be considered for publication in The Westminster. Though the niece is not named, it is probable that it was Margaret. This poem (title unknown) was never published, though a footnote within the book states that Margaret ‘later contributed to periodicals’. Illustration of Old Chapel, Coleford 1810, taken from her book Something About Coleford and the Old Chapel (1877)
influence of the ForestBoth of Margaret’s known works have the Forest and Coleford at their core. The area became Margaret’s home from the age of 10 or 11, and it would appear that she immersed herself in learning about its history. In the volume entitled ‘The Story of Coleford and the Old Chapel’ (published in 1877 as a fundraiser for a planned new church) Margaret explores various aspects of the area. Themes within the book include the history of religion and churches in both Coleford and Newland, the ‘ancient history’ of Coleford, notable families and industries associated with the town and surrounding area, and the surrounding Forest. More specifically, Chapter 1 focusses on religion, including an earlier chapel which reportedly stood on the Tump (in the same location as the then church) in Coleford as early as the mid-1700s. This Old Chapel was certainly still in situ as late as 1810, as a sketch of the Market Place as it then appears, attributed to Margaret herself, is included within the volume. This sketch, done when Margaret was no more than 12 years old, is suggestive of a far earlier interest in the arts than her two currently known publications would suggest. Margaret appears to have had ready access to old sources relevant to the history of the area, citing sources made available to her in her research, such as record books related to two local charities (Bell’s and Hall’s). Amongst the families mentioned in the book, Margaret includes reference to her own. She speaks of her father having initially come to the area to run the Whitecliff Furnace, and alludes to the operational difficulties that led to the end of this enterprise. Embedded within this slim volume Margaret offers up intriguing descriptions of Coleford as it was at the time she knew it. She mentions, for example, two human skeletons and also a gravestone discovered along the road to Whitecliff, speculating that these finds may indicate that an early burial place existed in that location. While much of the information Margaret gives in the book is backed by known history, she does appear occasionally to have relied on local stories, which have become less accepted as fact in more recent years. In illustration, Margaret describes Offa’s Dyke as having ‘passed through Coleford’, describing traces of the Dyke as being located near Poolway House. Margaret also touches on the Civil War as it impacted upon the area, including detailing an apocryphal story from the local Frowen family, who had lived in the area for many centuries. From this family Margaret heard of a local belief, that Charles II had taken shelter in a crop of peas, on the outskirts of Coleford, before being given lodging in Royalist homes in the area. |
LifeMargaret was born to David and Agnes Mushet on 16th December 1798. She was the eldest child, baptised in Dalkeith, Midlothian, on 28th Feb 1799. Leaving Scotland in connection with his work, David and his young family initially relocated to Derbyshire, where several of his children were baptised. A further professional opportunity saw the family move once again, to Coleford, where the youngest and best known child was born, Robert (Forester) Mushet. By the age of 12 years Margaret would have lived in Scotland and two different parts of England. From this age onwards the family’s fortunes became intrinsically linked with Coleford and the surrounding area. It is this area that Margaret would have known throughout her older childhood and adolescence, and is clearly one that had a major influence upon her in adult life. Margaret’s father died in 1847, being survived by his wife Agnes, who died in 1854, and in later life, Margaret appears to have lived for at least some of the time with her widowed brother-in-law and his family. By 1861 Margaret was, according to the census, living with her brother-in-law George Roberts (then Curate of St John’s Church in Cheltenham) and two of his children (Agnes, then aged 21 and Andrea then aged 13) at 2 Berkeley Street, Cheltenham. It is possible that this was a permanent arrangement, though Margaret certainly retained links with the Forest and may have had a second home still in the area. Margaret died on 10th July 1885. Although her usual place of residence is on record as 5 Glenfall Terrace, Cheltenham, Margaret was at the time of her death staying at The Rectory, Beechamwell, Norfolk, where George Roberts was by then rector of Beechamwell. She was buried on 17th July, her brother-in-law, George conducting her funeral. Margaret’s niece, Agnes Eleanora Roberts, was the sole Executrix of her will, which had a personal value of just £40. rESPONSES TO HER WORKMany local newspapers carried reviews of the booklet when it was first published, including the Gloucester Journal. Its publication also triggered very varied intermittent correspondence, including an early letter from one John O’Hart, a self-styled antiquarian researcher, arguing against Margaret having assigned a Scottish Clan ancestry to one of the families (the Nicholsons) mentioned in the book (this being at odds with his own research, which gave them an Irish background!).
Similar discussions appeared in letters on themes mentioned in the booklet, as disparate as the course of a brook running through Coleford to The Great Oak of Newland, this continuing until as late as 1898. Interestingly, one such correspondence, appearing in the Guardian on April 6th, 1894, incorrectly attributes the book to ‘a Granddaughter of Mr (David) Mushet. Mary Howitt, who is best known as the authoress of the Spider and the Fly, was mentioned in the booklet, as her father had preceded Margaret’s father as a manager at Whitecliff Furnace. Mary references this in an account of her own life (1889), commenting that it was a dark time for her family, and that, as she was very young when they moved away, she had little personal recall of Coleford. |
Margaret's Father, David mushet
David Mushet, c.1845
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1772-1847
Born in Dalkeith, Scotland, David was born into a family with a background in metal working. He became a metallurgist, working initially at the Clyde Iron Works near Glasgow. While still a young man, Mushet discovered black band limestone, and developed a number of iron processing patents. Mushet married in 1798 and moved to England with his young family in the early 1800s. After living and working for a few years in Alfreton, David took up a business opportunity to manage Whitecliff Furnace, Coleford. David had a brother, Robert, who also had a successful professional career, becoming an officer of the Royal Mint in London - his son, also Robert Mushet, became in turn an officer of the Royal Mint. David went on to patent Refined Iron, and to open a number of iron works in the Forest area, also owning mines. Additionally he had shares in local railways. David wrote a number of professional books, about iron making, including Papers on Iron and Steel (1840). At the time of his death in 1847, David owned numerous mines and other works in the Forest, including Park Hill Mine and Gale, Oakwood, Mill, Bixslade, Howlers Slade and Dark Hill Brickworks. |
mARGARET'S brother, Robert 'Forester' Mushet
1812-1891
Robert was born in 1812 in Newland, near Coleford, and was the youngest child of David Mushet and his wife Agnes (Nee Wilson). The family owned and operated a number of industrial works and mines. However, when Robert married Mary Ann Thomas (1818 - 1914) of St Briavels, in Cheltenham in 1841, he gave his occupation simply as ‘free miner’, also attributing this same trade to his father. He had also by this time adopted the middle name of Forester, this usually being viewed as being in recognition of his place of birth. When his son Edward Maxwell Mushet was baptised in 1843 the family is stated as living at Edenwall, Near Coleford. Robert and Mary Ann had a large family, with at least two sons following him in the iron and steel manufacturing industries. |
Robert Mushet
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He also had a daughter, Lisowna (sometimes transcribed as Livorna) Mary, who died in Coleford in young adulthood (1849 - 1875). In April 1874, around a year prior to her death, Lisowna Mary was called to court as a witness as to the identity of a drowned woman who had been staying in the same accommodation as her during a stay in Bedford.
In later adult life Robert lived at addresses in Cheltenham, while maintaining family links with Coleford. When his son Henry Charles Brooklyn Mushet was baptised in 1864 and until at least 1871, the family address was Belgrave House, Cheltenham. At the time of his death Robert was living at Sydenham Villas, Cheltenham, his widow Mary Ann remaining at this address until at least 1911.
Robert and the Iron Industry
Robert operated a number of works in the Forest and beyond, and he was a key figure in the development of a number of initiatives in the manufacture of steel, including a self-hardening steel. Robert was the inventor of a process (the manufacture and addition of Spiegeleisen), which was later adapted and incorporated as an essential stage of the Bessemer process. Mushet applied for, and initially gained, a patent for his process. Due to a ‘lapse’ in maintaining the formal patent for his work, Mushet’s process became, as he later himself described it, ‘public property’. It was taken up by Henry Bessemer, and largely subsumed into the Bessemer process, which revolutionised the iron and steel industry.
In 1866 Mushet’s daughter, (Lisowna) Mary is reported to have gone to visit Bessemer when aged just 16 years, to challenge him on his own claims to the full process, in the hopes of gaining greater financial and professional recognition for her father.
By 1878 the Bessemer process was responsible for the successful production of over 1 million tons of Bessemer steel, the lack of recognition for his contribution having a serious financial and professional impact upon Mushet.
In July 1879 Mushet wrote a letter, on the occasion of Bessemer being awarded a knighthood. It was published in newspapers including the Cheltenham Mercury, and reflected once more on the background to the disputed development. Mushet acknowledges that the Bessemer process ‘is not the result of the brain work of any one individual’, but due to the inventions of both Bessemer and himself. He notes that other key people in the industry considered that the process should more correctly be called the ‘Bessemer – Mushet’ process (he wrote a booklet using this terminology a few years later, in 1883).
In his letter Mushet concludes by calling for a knighthood himself, adding that his family had been ‘knights baronets’ from the time of the Crusades until Montrose’s rebellion, adding that their survival rates in battle would have been much improved with access to ‘Bessemer steel helmets’!
Robert Forester Mushet was also responsible for the development of Special Steel, a self-hardening steel. In 1857 a steel rail, forged using Mushet’s techniques, was installed at Derby Station, the first such rail aver to be used.
Robert has a number of professional publications. He died in 1891. He and his wife are buried in Cheltenham.
In later adult life Robert lived at addresses in Cheltenham, while maintaining family links with Coleford. When his son Henry Charles Brooklyn Mushet was baptised in 1864 and until at least 1871, the family address was Belgrave House, Cheltenham. At the time of his death Robert was living at Sydenham Villas, Cheltenham, his widow Mary Ann remaining at this address until at least 1911.
Robert and the Iron Industry
Robert operated a number of works in the Forest and beyond, and he was a key figure in the development of a number of initiatives in the manufacture of steel, including a self-hardening steel. Robert was the inventor of a process (the manufacture and addition of Spiegeleisen), which was later adapted and incorporated as an essential stage of the Bessemer process. Mushet applied for, and initially gained, a patent for his process. Due to a ‘lapse’ in maintaining the formal patent for his work, Mushet’s process became, as he later himself described it, ‘public property’. It was taken up by Henry Bessemer, and largely subsumed into the Bessemer process, which revolutionised the iron and steel industry.
In 1866 Mushet’s daughter, (Lisowna) Mary is reported to have gone to visit Bessemer when aged just 16 years, to challenge him on his own claims to the full process, in the hopes of gaining greater financial and professional recognition for her father.
By 1878 the Bessemer process was responsible for the successful production of over 1 million tons of Bessemer steel, the lack of recognition for his contribution having a serious financial and professional impact upon Mushet.
In July 1879 Mushet wrote a letter, on the occasion of Bessemer being awarded a knighthood. It was published in newspapers including the Cheltenham Mercury, and reflected once more on the background to the disputed development. Mushet acknowledges that the Bessemer process ‘is not the result of the brain work of any one individual’, but due to the inventions of both Bessemer and himself. He notes that other key people in the industry considered that the process should more correctly be called the ‘Bessemer – Mushet’ process (he wrote a booklet using this terminology a few years later, in 1883).
In his letter Mushet concludes by calling for a knighthood himself, adding that his family had been ‘knights baronets’ from the time of the Crusades until Montrose’s rebellion, adding that their survival rates in battle would have been much improved with access to ‘Bessemer steel helmets’!
Robert Forester Mushet was also responsible for the development of Special Steel, a self-hardening steel. In 1857 a steel rail, forged using Mushet’s techniques, was installed at Derby Station, the first such rail aver to be used.
Robert has a number of professional publications. He died in 1891. He and his wife are buried in Cheltenham.
Bibliography
The Forest of Dean (Saturday August 24th, 1864). Chamber’s Journal, London
Something about Coleford and the Old Chapel (1877) Gloucester: Carrington and Co.
Further reading on the Mushets:
The Story of the Mushets (1952) by Fred M. Osborn [published by Nelson]
Coleford, The History of a West Gloucestershire Forest Town (1983) by Cyril R. Hart [Alan Sutton Publishing]
Man of Iron, Man of Steel: Lives of David and Robert Mushet (1997) by Ralph Anstis [published by Albion House]
www.electricscotland.com/history/men/mushet_david.htm
www.gracesguide.co.uk/Robert_Forester_Mushet
The Forest of Dean (Saturday August 24th, 1864). Chamber’s Journal, London
Something about Coleford and the Old Chapel (1877) Gloucester: Carrington and Co.
Further reading on the Mushets:
The Story of the Mushets (1952) by Fred M. Osborn [published by Nelson]
Coleford, The History of a West Gloucestershire Forest Town (1983) by Cyril R. Hart [Alan Sutton Publishing]
Man of Iron, Man of Steel: Lives of David and Robert Mushet (1997) by Ralph Anstis [published by Albion House]
www.electricscotland.com/history/men/mushet_david.htm
www.gracesguide.co.uk/Robert_Forester_Mushet
This page was researched and written by Reading the Forest volunteer Caroline Prosser.