William Allbut's newspaper the Potteries Mercury in December 1840. In 1842 an article that William Allbut published (and possibly wrote) made members of the Chartist movement angry and the Allbut's house was almost burnt to the ground. Luckily, troops prevented this from happening. Life at "The Mount" On 26 June 1844 William Allbut leased a mansion in Penkhull, Staffordshire called "The Mount" from Josiah Spode IV of Armitage Park (the great-grandson of Josiah Spode I) for a price of £75 per year. In the terms of the lease it was agreed upon that "The Mount" could be used as a school for young ladies, but that no boys were to be taught there. Two days after the lease was signed William Allbut sent a letter to Josiah Spode IV requesting that he help repair some damage on the property (e.g. some of the gates) and telling him that his six-year-old son (William Sydney Allbut) would be "study and play" at the school, even though it was exclusively for girls. The new location of ladies' school at "The Mount" was first advertised in the Potteries Mercury on 13 July 1844. Then, on 20 January 1845, the Potteries Mercury ran a large advert for the ladies' school in which the school's focus on English education and physical activity (aided by the rural location of "The Mount") is advertised. Sophia Mort's teaching philosophy can be seen in one line of the advertisement which reads, "In this establishment the object of the teachers is to educate, not merely instruct the pupils." The school is known to have taught French, Italian, music, and other basic aspects of 19th century English education for girls. Sophia's daughter Elizabeth Ann Allbut and son Thomas Henry Allbut were both students at this school, along with at least 30 female students (both English and international students). Along with Sophia, the school employed a music teacher, an English teacher, and a French teacher (who was a native of France). During the time that Sophia was running the ladies' school at "The Mount," her husband William was working as a farmer of 43 acres, along with his normal line of work as a newspaper editor. It is unknown how long the Allbut family leased "The Mount," but they were recorded as present there in the 1851 English Census. Publishing History In 1849 Sophia Mort's short story "Look to the End" was published