Francis Basset, 1st Baron De Dunstanville and Baron Basset of Stratton, and his mineral specimens at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution and the Natural History Museum, London

Abstract

A small suite of historically significant Cornish minerals are recorded as having been donated to the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (BRLSI) by Lord De Dunstanville in 1826. Only sixteen specimens are extant but their quality, and the fact that they appeared to represent the largest known suite of mineral specimens owned by Francis Basset, 1st Baron De Dunstanville and Baron Basset of Stratton (1757-1835), marked them out as being of significance and worthy of further study. Subsequent investigations revealed a second, slightly larger suite of mineral specimens attributed to Lord De Dunstanville in the 'Russell Collection' within the Natural History Museum (NHM), London. This second suite was almost exclusively given by him to his sister-in-law, Lady Elizabeth Anne Coxe Hippisley (1760-1843), of Ston Easton Park, Somerset, in 1810-1811, thus providing a link to the city of Bath. The BRLSI specimens are described in detail and reviewed in comparison to the NHM specimens. In total fifty-four specimens with associations to Lord De Dunstanville are documented.