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Rebecca Rees: I am trying to find out where the Mussards origanally came from. My mother who is a mussard was told by a member of her fathers family that it is French, and that it was origanally spelt Mussarard. We are a bit unsure about this information! My grandfather is Clifford Brandon Mussard and his parents lived in Townhill Swansea.

Hi Rebecca,

Hope you're well. I appreciate it was a very long time ago that you posted this but I was wondering if you might still be happy to talk about your grandfather Cliff. I recently bought Benson House in Penclawdd, which, from what I can tell, used to belong to your grandfather.

Generally speaking I'm just trying to understand a bit more about the history of the house.

Thank you most sincerely in advance for your time. I hope to hear from you soon.

Ben

Unfortunately Rebecca is no longer a member of GR, so there's no way to contact her, and she certainly won't be looking here for replies.

There's no Benson House listed in the 1939 Register.

There's a Benson Cottage - posting just in case (although that was still called Benson Cottage in 2011, per Google Maps):

Mary A Jenkins
in the 1939 England and Wales Register
Name: Mary A Jenkins
Gender: Female
Marital Status: Widowed
Birth Date: 1 Dec 1877
Residence Year: 1939
Address: Benson Cottage
Residence Place: Gower, Glamorganshire, Wales
Occupation: Unpaid Domestic Duties
Line Number: 32
Schedule Number: 357
Sub Schedule Number: 1
Enumeration District: XLFD
Borough: Gower
Registration district: 595-1
Household Members Age
Mary A Jenkins 62
Evelyn M Hopkins 36
William I Jenkins 31

EDIT:
But all the records for household 355 are closed, so I can't see the name or number of that house.



In 1911, the records of households in Benson Street, Terrace and Road seem all to be mixed up. None have numbers, and most don't have names either. I don't see Benson House among them.
Does your house have a number as well as a name?
I expect it will have, as it's terraced, per Streetcheck.

Ben
Please remove your e-mail. Not allowed on the boards
It is also very unwise to put your address details on here...............................especially as someone has now posted the FULL address below

elec reg

2002-13
Street Benson Street
Town Swansea
County West Glamorgan
Country Wales
Postcode SA4 3XY
Age guide 65+
Address 1, Benson Street, Swansea, West Glamorgan, SA4 3XY
District Swansea
Occupancy (years) 20

1998-2018
Street Benson Street
Town Swansea
County West Glamorgan
Country Wales
Postcode SA4 3XY
Age guide 65+
Address Benson House, Benson Street, Swansea, West Glamorgan, SA4 3XY
District Swansea
Company director Yes

No 1, Benson Street

1939

No 1 Benson Street, Penclawdd, Pen-Clawdd, Gower R.D., Glamorganshire, Wales
Thomas E Evans 03 Jul 1898 Male Assurance Agent Married 366 1
Edith Evans 03 Dec 1905 Female Unpaid Domestic Duties Married 366 2
William D D Evans 24 May 1936 Male Under School Age Single 366 3

google shows


Constructed
1900-1929

As you have purchased the property, the Deeds should give a potted version of its history

Clifford Benson's father was born Clifford Davison in 1900.

This is his parent's marriage:

Marriages Jun 1893
Davison Herbert Swansea 11a 1175
Moore Margaret Swansea 11a 1175

All children born to this couple were Davisons. By 1901 they are calling themselves Mussard, perhaps to make the business more distinguished.

Rose

Thanks everyone for the info – I really wasn't expecting any kind of reply on such an old post.

Yes, I believe it was originally #1 Benson Street, but then things changed along the street and it was renamed Benson House. 1 Benson Street is now at the other end o the street. Benson Cottage is just a couple of doors down and is where the famous composer Karl Jenkins grew up and lived for quite a while.

Do any of you live in the area or know of people who lived in the house? Would be keen to talk more.

Many thanks,

Ben

PS ~ I'm sorry for posting my email address. Didn't realist it wasn't allowed and thought Rebecca might prefer to speak to me privately.

Ben
I hope you are very happy in Penclawdd.

Talk about Memory Lane
Back in 60s I had a college friend who lived in Benson Street and I visited there one weekend, but sorry, I live the other end of the UK now and that was long ago ........