Mungo Russell (died 1591) was a Scottish merchant and treasurer of Edinburgh town council from 1575 to 1583. He was involved in setting up the paper mill at Roseburn in west Edinburgh known as Dalry Mills (north-west of Dalry).

Career

Mungo Russell was primarily a textile merchant, and his brother Alexander (d. 1588) was also a merchant active in Edinburgh. Mungo sold linen cloth called "lane" to

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

in 1566. His wife's will mentions that he imported "lane and camerage" from Antwerp. As town treasurer, he purchased sweetmeats and a confection flavoured with

rose water Rose water, or rosewater, is a flavoured water created by steeping rose petals in water. It is typically made as a by-product during the distillation of rose petals to create rose oil for perfumes. Rose water is widely utilized to flavour cu ...

known as "scotchets" to banquet an English diplomat

Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her " spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wa ...

in August 1583. Russell obtained the lands of "Dalry-Mills" (now by

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

) to the west of Edinburgh and from 1582 built

Roseburn Roseburn is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The area lies in the west of the city, approximately a 20-minute walk from the city centre, west of Haymarket and close to the Murrayfield area (and Murrayfield Stadium). It is imm ...

House. He was associated with a paper mill on the

Water of Leith The Water of Leith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Uisge Lìte'') is the main river flowing through central Edinburgh, Scotland, that starts in the Pentlands Hills and flows into the port of Leith and then into the sea via the Firth of Forth. Name The ...

operated on the estate by two German entrepreneurs Peter Grote Haere and Michael Keyser. They had been appointed paper makers to

King James VI James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

by privy seal letter. Some paper used in Scottish official documents and registers at this time has a royal "I.R.6" watermark. Russell stocked paper of several qualities, including gilt-edged paper used for writing letters. Russell supplied paper to the printer Robert Waldegrave who relocated to Edinburgh in 1590. He supplied fine purple Florentine velvet to make a canopy for the

entry and coronation of Anne of Denmark On 17 May 1590, Anne of Denmark was crowned Queen of Scotland. There was also a ceremony of joyous entry into Edinburgh on 19 May, an opportunity for spectacle and theatre and allegorical tableaux promoting civic and national identities, simil ...

in Edinburgh in May 1590. Russell died on 8 September 1591. His registered will records many current transactions and his stock of textiles. Most of the fabric listed was imported and the prices are recorded in Flemish money. He sold some cloth to tailors in Edinburgh, including Alexander Oustean. One fabric known as "tokdoir" or ''toque d'or'' was a gilt

tinsel Tinsel is a type of decorative material that mimics the effect of ice, consisting of thin strips of sparkling material attached to a thread. When in long narrow strips not attached to thread, it is called "lametta", and emulates icicles. It was o ...

used in court

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...

costumes. A number of people owed him money, including John Mowbray of Barnbougle, William Baillie of Provan (for materials bought by his wife Elizabeth Durham), Agnes Leslie, Lady Lochleven, the carpenter Frances Mansioun, and Archibald Douglas, whose wife

Barbara Napier Barbara Napier or Naper was a Scottish woman involved in the 1591 North Berwick witch trials. Details of charges against her survive, and she was found guilty of consulting with witches, but it is unclear if, like the other accused people, she was ...

was the widow of the bookseller George Ker. Russell owed money to Zachary Jocond, a hatmaker in Rouen. His legacies included a gift to Thomas Fenton, who was "keeper of the king's pets", the royal menagerie at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

Family

Mungo Russell married Katherine Fisher. Their children included Gideon and Clement Russell. The children's nurse was Jonet Ramsay. After Katherine's death from the plague in 1585, Mungo married Isobel Ker, and their children included William Russell. Mungo had three daughters, Isobel, Margaret, and Jean Russell. At Roseburn House, a carved door lintel is inscribed "AL MY HOIP IS IN YE LORD" with the date 1582. A heraldic shield is flanked by the initials, "M.R" and "K.F" for Russell and Fisher. Another carved stone, a fireplace lintel possibly brought from another building, includes an allusion to the Scottish royal succession: "God keipe oure crowne & send gud succession". Gideon Russell, who died in 1601, continued building the house and his will details his debts owed to masons, carpenters, and to Hew Lyell (d.1619), a Leith timber supplier. In February 1594, Gideon Russell and his wife Margaret Stewart made a new contract with the German paper makers Michael Keysar and John Seillar. They were making paper at the West Mill of Dalry. Gideon undertook to build a new drying room for the paper. The contract shows that the Russell family had entered into a commercial partnership with the German craftsmen and entrepreneurs. After Robert Waldegrave's death, on 12 January 1604 an Edinburgh court ordered Marion Waldegrave to pay Michael Keysar £16 for 15 reams of printing paper.Robert Waterston, 'Early Paper Making Near Edinburgh', ''Book of the Old Edinburgh Club'', 25 (Edinburgh, 1945), pp. 56–58: Cathryn Spence, ''Women, Credit, and Debt in Early Modern Scotland'' (Manchester, 2016), p. 83: Edinburgh City Archives, Books of Decreets, SL234/1/6, 12 & 14 January 1604.

References

External links

Robert Waterston, 'Early Paper Making Near Edinburgh', ''Book of the Old Edinburgh Club'', 25 (Edinburgh, 1945), pp. 46–70
download of complete volume 25. {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Mungo 1591 deaths 16th-century Scottish merchants Businesspeople from Edinburgh 16th-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish businesspeople in shipping