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Scale plan and elevation of a Frit Arch Furnace (D2646/117)

David Mushet was the youngest son of Robert Mushet, a Forest of Dean ironmaster, born in Coleford on 8 April 1811.  After studying metallurgy with his father he opened his own iron works, the ‘Forest Steel Works’ and carried out thousand of experiments in iron and steel making.  His main claims to fame are that that he refined and perfected the’ Bessemer Process’ for making steel and invented 'R Mushet's Special Steel' (RMS), the first true tool steel.  This image from the Mushet archive is a letter from James Revitt of Old Gravel Lane, London to Thomas Halford.  It is dated 12^th September 1811 and does not relate to iron or steel production but instead shows a scale plan and elevation of a Frit Arch Furnace, a type of furnace used in glass production.  ‘Frit’ is a mixture of sand and other compounds that have been heated in a process known as ‘calcination’ to purify them, after which it can be melted in a crucible to make glass.  Halford, of 12 Finch Lane, Cornhill, is identified by Pigot's London & Provincial Directory as a stock broker and he had shared much correspondence with Mushet over several years.  In this instance he was presumably asking Mushet’s advice as to whether the furnace would work and whether it was a good investment or not.