University News Last updated 30 October
A Birmingham School of Jewellery alumna is turning the shock discovery that her great-great-grandfather played a part in the School’s launch and practised the same specific medium into an exciting new book.
When Julia Usher began studying at Birmingham School of Jewellery, part of BCU, in 2002, she had no idea that her family had any connection to the industry or the School itself. “I’ve always loved jewellery, and I knew the School’s reputation was world-renowned,” she says of her reasons for joining.
Julia was only in her first term when her dad’s uncle, a keen historian, informed her that she was not the first family member to have an aptitude for jewellery. It turned out that Julia’s great great grandfather, Samuel Usher, was a manufacturing jeweller of note in the region. “That was the first any of us knew about Samuel,” Julia reveals. “The trade had skipped three generations before it came back to me.”
If that was not surprising enough, more was to come. In the present day, Julia found out her link to Samuel was incredibly more nuanced. “I found Samuel’s firm in the 1872 Birmingham Post Office Directory, listed under ringmakers as ‘gold signet and mourning,’” Julia explains. “Mourning rings were the Victorian way of remembering someone you had lost. At this point, I’d been running Ashes Memorial Jewellery for nearly 10 years…without knowing it, I’d ended up specialising in the modern version of what he made.”
The connections, however, kept growing. Julia discovered that Samuel is believed to have been a founding member of the Birmingham Jewellers’ and Silversmiths’ Association, which started the School of Jewellery back in 1890.
Furthermore, Samuel’s son Gus was also involved in jewellery, serving as President of the above association and speaking to Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace about Birmingham enamel work.
Now, Julia is chronicling this rich family history and happenstance with a new book. The Golden Link will detail her own and Samuel’s life and craft, as well as comparing the techniques he used with the ones Julia practises at her bench in the present day. However, Julia says the book will deep dive into more than just their own history.
“It’s a story of craftsmanship and of Victorian Birmingham,” she explains. “The Jewellery Quarter was at the heart of it all, with workshops crammed into every street. I want readers to feel what it was like to work there in Samuel’s era and to see how much of what he did still happens at my bench today.”
Julia is still in the process of writing the book, but is excited to tell a story complete with “the twists, the dead ends, the lucky finds at midnight on eBay and plenty of funny moments along the way.”
In the meantime, though, Julia has been reflecting on uncovering such an unexpected lineage.
“At first, it felt like a lovely coincidence,” she says. “The more I’ve discovered, the more it feels like something bigger. When I found the mourning rings in that directory, I had goosebumps. I now use one of Samuel’s own sponsor’s marks on special pieces, including family wedding rings. Next year, I’ll be designing new memorial pieces with a heritage slant, inspired by the Victorian jewellery I’ve seen during my research. It feels like carrying Samuel’s story forward.”
For more information on The Golden Link, please visit Julia’s website.