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Richard Crawshay (1739 – 27 June 1810) was a London iron merchant and then South Wales
ironmaster An ironmaster is the manager, and usually owner, of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain. The ironmaster was usually a large ...
; 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 Yorkshire. Initially starting work aged 16, working for Mr Bicklewith of York Yard, Thames Street, London (to whom he was apprenticed) in a
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" ...
warehouse in London, he became sole proprietor of the business on Bicklewith's retirement in 1763. He married Mary Bourne in 1763 and they had a son
William William is a male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sex ...
and three daughters, Anne, Elizabeth and Charlotte. Charlotte married Benjamin Hall, and became the mother of
Benjamin Hall, 1st Baron Llanover Benjamin Hall, 1st Baron Llanover (8 November 1802 – 27 April 1867), known as Sir Benjamin Hall between 1838 and 1859, was a Welsh civil engineer and politician. The famous " Big Ben" may have been named for him. Background Hall was a son ...
.


Iron importation and ironworks proprietorship

By the 1770s he was a leading London iron merchant, dealing mainly in Swedish and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
n iron. The firm was Crawshay and Moser in 1774, but Crawshay, Cornwell and Moser in 1784. The business still existed as R & W Crawshay in 1816. By 1775, he was acting as Anthony Bacon's agent for supplying iron
cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during ...
to the
Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence o ...
and was from 1777 a partner in that business (casting cannon at
Cyfarthfa Ironworks The Cyfarthfa Ironworks were major 18th- and 19th-century ironworks in Cyfarthfa, on the north-western edge of Merthyr Tydfil, in South West Wales. The beginning The Cyfarthfa works were begun in 1765 by Anthony Bacon (by then a merchant in L ...
at Merthyr Tydfil). This continued until Bacon had to give up government contracts in 1782, because he was a member of Parliament. In 1786, following the death of Anthony Bacon, he took over the whole
Cyfarthfa Ironworks The Cyfarthfa Ironworks were major 18th- and 19th-century ironworks in Cyfarthfa, on the north-western edge of Merthyr Tydfil, in South West Wales. The beginning The Cyfarthfa works were begun in 1765 by Anthony Bacon (by then a merchant in L ...
, in partnership with William Stevens (a London merchant) and
James Cockshutt James William Cockshutt (1872 – 13 April 1938) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. References {{DEFAULTSORT:Cockshutt, James 1872 births 1938 deaths Sportspeople from Darwen English footballers Men's ass ...
, who had previously managed the forge and boring mill for David Tanner. In May 1787 he took out a licence from
Henry Cort Henry Cort (c. 1740 – 23 May 1800) was an English ironware producer although formerly a Navy pay agent. During the Industrial Revolution in England, Cort began refining iron from pig iron to wrought iron (or bar iron) using innovative produc ...
for his puddling process, but the
rolling mill In metalworking, rolling is a metal forming process in which metal stock is passed through one or more pairs of rolls to reduce the thickness, to make the thickness uniform, and/or to impart a desired mechanical property. The concept is simil ...
needed was not completed until 1789. He solved the problems of the puddling process by using an iron plate for the furnace ceiling and sea-washed sand for the floor. In 1791 he terminated the partnership, which had made little profit. He continued the business alone, and had two
blast furnaces A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...
, 8 puddling furnaces, 3 melting fineries, 3 balling furnaces, and a rolling mill in 1794. A blast furnace was built by 1796, and a fourth in 1796. There were 6 by 1810. He thus developed Cyfarthfa into one of the most important ironworks in South Wales. Crawshay was very ambitious and imperious in manner, being called 'The Tyrant' by some, but was without social pretension. He was active in protecting the interests of the iron trade and was a major promoter of the
Glamorganshire Canal The Glamorganshire Canal in South Wales, UK, was begun in 1790. It ran along the valley of the River Taff from Merthyr Tydfil to the sea at Cardiff. The final section of canal was closed in 1951. History Construction started in 1790; being ...
which immensely improved transport of iron to Cardiff Docks. In 1799 he was the 6th wealthiest man or family in Britain (with some forerunners counted for completeness as wider family concerns), owning £2M (). He was one of ten millionaires known that year. At his death in 1810 his undivested estate was sworn at £1.5 million. By his last will he left of his ironworks to son William Crawshay I, to a son-in-law, and to nephew Joseph Bailey. He was buried at
Llandaff Cathedral Llandaff Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Llandaf) is an Anglican cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Peter ...
.


See also

*
Cyfarthfa Castle Cyfarthfa Castle ( cy, Castell Cyfarthfa; ) is a castellated mansion that was the home of the Crawshay family, ironmasters of Cyfarthfa Ironworks in Park, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. The house commanded a view of the valley and the works, which ‘ ...
– built by Richard's grandson,
William William is a male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sex ...
.


References


External links

*http://www.tlysau.org.uk/cgi-bin/anw/quicksearch?term=richard+crawshay *http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/45891 {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawshay, Richard 1739 births 1810 deaths British ironmasters English industrialists People from Normanton, West Yorkshire People from Merthyr Tydfil