Prismatic pyromorphite, up to 2 mm, on drusy
plumbogummite from Roughton Gill mine, Caldbeck
Fells, Cumbria probably collected in the late
1800's from underground. National Museum Wales
specimen NMW 83.41G.M.7818, ex R.J. King coll. and
ex. Bootle Museum. Photograph by Mick Cooper ©
Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales.
Welcome to The Russell
Society
Welcome to the web site of The Russell
Society, a national group of both amateur and
professional mineralogists that encourages the
study, recording and conservation of
mineralogical sites, material and minerals.
Members range from complete beginners to
experts, who all share a great interest in
minerals and share their knowledge with others.
The Society is named in honour of
Sir
Arthur Russell, the foremost British
mineral collector of the 20th century.
This site is for
anybody with an interest in minerals and
also introduces the Russell Society as a
group of similarly interested people.
There are full details about the Society
and our activities plus information for
members and non-members alike. If you are
interested in joining the Society please
use the options given to the right to
obtain more information about membership
of the Society.
The Society is divided into seven branches
that cover different regions of Britain.
Information on each branch, their area, contact
details and activities is given in the Branch
details menu. Details of meeting venues and
Branch programmes are also published here.
Russellite from Hemerdon Bal Mine, Plympton,
Devon, England. This is a rare bismuth
tungstate mineral and is named after the
British mineral collector Sir Arthur Russell.
Photograph © Richard De Nul.
News and Events
Headlines
Russell Reflections Released
After a lot work by members of the Society
collecting, collating and compiling hundreds
of photographs taken by members over the 40
years that the Russell Society has been in
existence the document Russell Reflections has
been released and can be downloaded from link
on the News Page of this web site. Russell
Reflections is a compilation of photographs,
evoking nostalgic memories of the many aspects
of the Russell Society, have been collected
together from 1972-2012 as part of our 40th
anniversary celebrations.
The full PDF file is posted in Dropbox and the
link can be found in the News Page with other
information. More
information...
The Farquharson of Invercauld Mineral
Collection
An interesting extract from the community magazine
The Braemar Buzzard
published by the Braemar News Group:
"Our new Farquharson of Invercauld Mineral
Collection is an exciting development out of the
boxes and boxes of old stones which were gathering
dust on the top floor of the Castle. Roy Starkey
(see article opposite [link below - Ed.]),
a mineralogist with a special interest in
Cairngorms, has curated and interpreted the
collection which turns out to date from the 1780's
/ 90's. He has created a fascinating exhibition
which includes cairngorms, topazes and beryl which
will go on show in the exhibition room alongside
our Braemar Gathering Exhibition."
Roy's full article can be found in the News Page
along with some photographs of the collection.
More
information...
The image is a typical tray of specimens from
the collection - smoky quartz "Cairngorm" crystal
specimens labelled and numbered in individual
storage trays.
ASM Weekend Report
The Society's Annual Social
Meeting and AGM 2012 was held in the
South-West branch area in April. The weekend
was based near Falmouth, Cornwall, at the
Tremough Campus of the Combined Universities
of Cornwall. As well as a full programme of
field trips, visits, talks and social
activities there was a celebration of the
Society's 40th anniversary. A full report of
the weekend has been published on the
AGM 2012 page. If you
have any photographs from the weekend,
especially from the field trips and visits, Gary
Morse would appreciate a copy for use in the
report.
The Russell Society AGM Weekend 2013 was over
Friday 12th to Sunday 14th April 2013 and hosted by
the NW Branch at the Castle Green Hotel and
Conference Venue, Kendal.
Further
information.
Society Photographic Competition 2012
Judging of the 2012
annual Society Photographic Competition was
undertaken at the 2012 ASM by the Society
members present. Winners and runners up in
three categories for entry were selected::
- A: Mineral specimen (whole or in part)
- B: Micromount specimen
- C: A geological exposure
Winners have been notified and their photographs
are now posted on this site. To see the 2012
winning photographs go to the
Annual Photo'
Competition page.
Mineral Collection Sale by Tony House
Tony House of Frome, Somerset is down sizing
and is disposing of his lifetime's mineral
collection at very low prices for very good
and rare specimens. Lists of Devon and
Cornwall specimens and fluorites are
available. Click on this link for
more
information.