The Bristol Records Society has recently published its 78th volume, one with some Kings Weston associations. The new publication, edited by Anthony Turner, catalogues the correspondence between William Cole, a gentleman and customs official in Bristol, and Sir Robert Southwell of Kings Weston and his son Edward. The letters exchanged between them largely relate to their mutual interest in natural history and associations with the Royal Society. Sir Robert was elected President of the Society in 1690, a position he was re-elected to five times.
There are few insights into Kings Weston, but a short series of letters are particularly fascinating. They describe the discovery of some crystals Cole had discovered on Sir Robert’s estate and presented them to him and his family as a gifts. The “topaz” stones were made up into five rings, one for Sir Robert and Edward, and the remaining three for each of his surviving daughters.
It’s not clear where the stones were found on the estate, but crystals are not uncommon in the rocks of the Avon Gorge. Known since the Seventeenth Century as “Bristol Diamonds” they became popular as souvenirs. Dug out of iron ore veins, or found in nodules and geodes they were actually quartz crystals. The “topaz” Cole found are likely to be similar stones.
Both the main stone types within the Kings Weston parkland, limestone and Dolomitic Conglomerate, could have produced these gems. KWAG has come across them before now during excavations for steps, or mixed in topsoil, but none appear to have the same clarity encountered by Cole. What became of the Southwell’s rings is, sadly, unknown.
The following excerpts are taken from the recent publication and give extra colour and depth to the story:
William Cole to Edward Southwell, 5 May 1694
“Honoured & deare Sir
I have forborne to write to you since your last of the 27 March for that I was desirous in my next to make good my promise of sending you some of the Topaz stones of Kings Weston which I have att length and without much difficulty procured and now send you…
Now concerning the stones it may not be impertinent to give you a particular account that about 10 or 12 yeares since I procured many of them from Kings Weston and among them all there were not above 5 or 6 which were very good, and these I parted from to gratifie the earnest desires of some particular freinds not keeping anie for myselfe (being a stone I always fancied above others) presuming to have gotten more but never could till your last time being heere and when I had gotten severall hundred of them I caused the Jeweller to examine them and he pict out 22 of them (not finding any more that he thought good) which he carried with him to London to be cutt there but 12 of which found fitt to be cutt and returned the rest to me as defective, of which I chose out the 5 best and biggest to be set in Rings which are now sent by [….)
I did as well as I could by conjecture, direct the Jeweller in sizeing the ringes, 1st that for Sir Robert to be made a small size too big for me i.e. no 1. The next No 2 for yourselfe a size bigger then that supposing your finger to be somewhat bigger then your fathers, and N° 3 for Mm H[elena] & M E[lizabeth] neere of the same bignesse and N° 5 the least for M K[atherine]. I presumed the stones would have beene bigger, but he that cutt them assured me that when the topps of those which are crystalline the rough side & both are ground of The Topaz in the midle would be noe bigger soe as to be cleane and pure.
These 5 taken out of the aforesaid 12, the remaining 7 are not soe big nor indeed soe good as these. He further assured me that in grinding them he found them harder than the common Topazes, tho not as the Orientall hard Topazes which are neer in value to dyamonds, which are allsoe called yellow dyamonds. The foile under the stones is the common looking glasse foile. It hath been my designe some years past to procure some of theise stones to the end they may be worn not onely, rudely cut enough as they are, but as such found in S’ Roberts owne mannor. If these several tokens of gratitude find acceptance with the same [illegible interlined word replacing”
Sir Robert Southwell to William Cole, London 2 July 1694
“Wee lately had the effects of your favour in five Rings you told us indeed of Topazes of our own Growth but I little thought you would have improved them as you have done. But you have at the same time improved our value of Kings Weston. for we newe not before we were so rich.
Mr Woodward a great Judge of these things admires them very much, and hath obleiged me to furnish his collection with 2 or 3 Rust ones when I gett downe.”
William Cole to Edward Southwell, 23 aug 1694
“Besides these thinges I was requested by him in his letter & […] to imploy the stone digger to find some of the rough topaz stones for Mr Woodward which I proposed to doe this weeke, but before that spoken with him he came this morning to offer some other sorts of stones to me; and told me that he was yesterday att Kings Weston digging in Sir Robert’s land and forbidden by one of his servants. I examined him what answer he made him, and he told me that he said I had procured leave for him from Sir Robert but I never spake with him nor sent to him since I went into Wilts in May last. He offers to ingage not dig in any place to the damage of the Land and to suffer punishment if he doth not levell the holes where he shall dig for stones which he sayth lye neere the surface if your father think fitt that he shew the places where he supposeth to find them to one of his servants that he may be first satisfied that it may be don without damage to the land, he hath one large peec of a hollow rock of about half hundred within which are found good stones which I presume will be pleasing to Mr Woodward tho not of the right Topaz colour which if your father please to accept it I shall ingage the stone digger to present to your father being found in the same Mannour and to search for such as are of the true colour.”
