Anthony Bacon (baptised 24 January 1716 – 21 January 1786) was an English-born merchant and industrialist who was significantly responsible for the emergence of Merthyr Tydfil as the iron-smelting centre of Britain.

Background

Bacon was born at St Bees near

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

in Cumberland, the youngest son of William Bacon, a ship's captain trading in coal from that port to Ireland. His eldest full brother was

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

and his father also had a son William from his first marriage. The family claimed descent from Sir Nicholas Bacon (1540–1624); however, since very little is known about his ancestry and upbringing, the connection may be spurious or illegitimate.

Early life

Following the death of both his parents, William Bacon and Elizabeth Richardson, Anthony moved to Talbot County

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

to live with his maternal uncles, tobacco merchants Thomas and Anthony Richardson. He became a merchant and mariner, expanding the business to include

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and the import of Spanish wine. During the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

Bacon became a government contractor for shipping and victualling in partnership with London merchant William Biggin, also from Whitehaven.

Career

In 1738, Bacon became master of the ship ''York'', a tobacco trade vessel owned by John Hanbury. In 1740, under contract from Andrew Reid esq. and in accordance with the

Transportation Act 1717 The Piracy Act 1717 (4 Geo 1 c 11), sometimes called the Transportation Act 1717 (1718 in New Style), was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that established a regulated, bonded system to transport criminals to colonies in North Ame ...

, Bacon used this ship to transport 115 convicted

felons A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resul ...

(women, men and children) from Newgate Prison in London to the Province of Maryland where they were sold for a 7 to 14-year penal transportation sentence. Between 1760 and 1766, Anthony Bacon was full or partial owner of five ships that completed a total of six Atlantic slave trade voyages: the ship ''Sarah'' in 1760 to

; the ship ''Kepple'' in 1760 to

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

; the ship ''Charming Molly'' 1762 to

; the ship ''Two Sisters'' in 1763 to

; and the ship ''King of Bonny'' in 1765 to

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

& in 1766 to St. Kitts. In 1763, the ship ''Two Sisters'' was co-owned by Anthony Bacon and his nephew, Anthony Richardson Jr. The following year, 1764, Bacon withdrew from the tobacco trade, and concentrated on trade to and contracting in new British colonies (the ceded islands— St Vincent,

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

, Dominica, and Grenada) in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

and west Africa. At the same time to aid his business in government contracts, he was elected as Member of Parliament for the venal borough of Aylesbury, which he represented until 1784, by which time the participation of MPs in government contracting had been prohibited. In 1765 Bacon went into partnership with

William Brownrigg William Brownrigg ( – 6 January 1800) was a British doctor and scientist, who practised at Whitehaven in Cumberland. While there, Brownrigg carried out experiments that earned him the Copley Medal in 1766 for his work on carbonic acid gas. He ...

of Whitehaven, taking out a lease on of land in the Merthyr valley. After obtaining the mineral-rich land very cheaply, they employed Charles Wood to build

Cyfarthfa Cyfarthfa is a community and electoral ward in the west of the town of Merthyr Tydfil in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales. Community Cyfarthfa mainly consists of the settlements of Gellideg and Heolgerrig and Rhyd-y-car area just west of Mer ...

forge using his patented

potting and stamping Potting and stamping is a modern name for one of the 18th-century processes for refining pig iron without the use of charcoal. Inventors The process was devised by Charles Wood of Lowmill, Egremont in Cumberland and his brother John Wood of We ...

process to make pig iron into

bar iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" t ...

. This was followed by a blast furnace at

, 50 feet high and opened in 1767. In 1766, Bacon took over the

Plymouth Ironworks The Plymouth Ironworks was a major 18th century and 19th century ironworks located on land leased from the Earl of Plymouth at Merthyr Tydfil, in South Wales. The metal produced was considered to be the finest in South Wales. The Ironworks was ...

to supply pig iron to his forge. Brownrigg partnership was dissolved in 1777.Ince, 60. Bacon leased the Hirwaun ironworks in 1780. Bacon's government contracts included supplying ordnance. In 1773, after the

Carron Company The Carron Company was an ironworks established in 1759 on the banks of the River Carron near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, Scotland. After initial problems, the company was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom. T ...

's guns had been withdrawn from service as dangerous, Bacon offered to provide three cannon for a trial, made respectively with charcoal, coke, and mixed fuel. He also delivered a fourth with then 'cast solid and bored'. This gun was reported to be 'infinitely better than hose castin the ordinary way, because it makes the ordnance more compact and consequently more durable', despite the greater expense. This led to a contract in 1774. These guns were apparently cast by John Wilkinson until Bacon's contract with him ended in 1776. The next year, Bacon asked for

Richard Crawshay Richard Crawshay (1739 – 27 June 1810) was a London iron merchant and then South Wales ironmaster; he was one of ten known British millionaires in 1799. Early life and marriage Richard Crawshay was born in Normanton in the West Riding of ...

's name to be included in his warrants, and from this time the cannon were cast at Cyfarthfa. This continued until Bacon as a member of parliament was disabled from undertaking government contracts in 1782, when the forge and some of the gunfoundry business were leased to Francis Homfray.The National Archives, WO 47/80-100, ''passim''.

Family

Bacon married Elizabeth Richardson, but their only son died in 1770, aged 12. His brother Thomas also died in Maryland, and one of Thomas' daughters (Elizabeth) had sailed to England to assist Anthony's family. Bacon therefore made Elizabeth and his illegitimate sons his heirs. When he died, the sons received princely amounts for the time. Bacon's eldest son,

Anthony Bushby Bacon Anthony Bushby Bacon (also known as Anthony Bushby or Anthony Smith or, occasionally, Anthony Bacon II; and, as a child, William Addison) (1772 - 11 August 1827) was a British industrialist turned landed gentleman. Anthony was the eldest of the fi ...

(1772–1827) was to receive the Cyfarthfa estate when he came of age. The second son Thomas Bacon was to receive the Plymouth furnace, etc. In addition, "The Hirwaun furnace and collieries became the joint property of Anthony II and Thomas, while Robert, it seems, had the mines, etc., at Workington. Elizabeth was to receive a clear annuity of £300 when she became 21. William, then a baby, was to receive the remainder of the trust funds, provided the sum did not amount to more than £10,000, when he came of age." The sons showed little or no interest in their father's businesses and rapidly sold or leased them, Anthony II to

, who was one of the witnesses to the father's will, and Thomas to his uncle Richard Hill. Both took on estates in Berkshire.

Sources

*Jacob M. Price, 'Bacon, Anthony (bap. 1717, d. 1786)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200
subscription needed
accessed 26 May 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Anthony 1717 births 1786 deaths West Indies merchants English merchants English industrialists British ironmasters 18th-century English people People from St Bees People from Merthyr Tydfil Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 18th-century English businesspeople