John Whitehead Greaves (21 June 1807 – 12 February 1880) was an English businessman who was instrumental in developing the

slate industry in Wales The existence of a slate industry in Wales is attested since the Roman period, when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then expanded rapidly until the lat ...

Early life and family

Born near St Albans, he was the third son of John Greaves (1774–1849), a Quaker banker, and his wife Mary (1779–1864), daughter of John Whitehead. His older brother was Edward Greaves. His older sister Celina Greaves (1804–1884) married the brewer

Edward Fordham Flower Edward Fordham Flower (1805–1883) was an English brewer and author who campaigned for a Shakespeare memorial theatre and against cruelty to animals. Origins Born at Marden Hill in Hertfordshire on 31 January 1805, he was the younger surviving ...

and a younger sister Rebecca Mary Greaves (1814–1892) became the mother of Sir Michael Henry Lakin, first of the Lakin baronets. John became a wanderer who ended up in 1830 at

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

, where he went into the slate business. Once well established, in 1843 he married Ellen (1816–1887), daughter of a Suffolk landowner Gill Stedman. They had ten children, including John Ernest Greaves, Richard Methuen Greaves, Helen Constance Greaves (1845–1932) who married General Sir

Henry Augustus Smyth General Sir Henry Augustus Smyth (25 November 1825 – 19 September 1906) was a senior British Army officer. He was the son of Admiral William Henry Smyth and the brother of astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth and geologist Sir Warington Wilkinso ...

, Ellen Mabel Greaves (1851-1941) who was the mother of the architect

Clough Williams-Ellis Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis, CBE, MC (28 May 1883 – 9 April 1978) was a Welsh architect known chiefly as the creator of the Italianate village of Portmeirion in North Wales. He became a major figure in the development of Welsh architec ...

, and Frances Evelyn Greaves (1864-1926) who married

Sir Osmond Williams, 1st Baronet Sir Arthur Osmond Wynn Williams JP DL (17 March 1849 – 28 January 1927) was a Welsh Liberal Party politician. Early life He was born at Llanfihangel-y-Traethau, Merionethshire, Wales on 17 March 1849. He was the eldest surviving son of ...

Business career

Working existing slate deposits in partnership with other entrepreneurs, initially at Glynrhonwy but adding other sites, Greaves used the income this generated to prospect for new veins which he could exploit exclusively. He became convinced that there was a massive amount of slate underground at Llechwedd, opening the

Llechwedd quarry Llechwedd quarry () is a major slate quarry in the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, north Wales. At its peak in 1884 it produced 23,788 tons of finished slate per year and had 513 employees. It continues to produce slate on a limited scale and is ...

in 1846 and in 1849 finding the enormous vein he had been seeking. His slate won a Class 1 Prize Medal at the

Great Exhibition of 1851 The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took pl ...

and orders flowed in, including a contract to supply Kensington Palace. In addition to extracting slate, he was active on the board of the Ffestiniog Railway to

Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ff ...

, travelling on the first train in 1836 and later serving as treasurer and as chairman, and was also involved in developing a shipbuilding industry at Porthmadog. He also pioneered machinery for processing slate. In 1860 he served as

High Sheriff of Caernarvonshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire (or Carnarvonshire). The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in a county but over the centuries most of the responsibi ...

Legacy

John died at Brighton and was buried at Lillington. His son John Ernest Greaves had taken over the slate business, which still operates on a reduced scale and has developed a major tourist attraction, the Llechwedd Slate Caverns.

References

External links

*http://www.lillingtonparishchurch.org/index.php?p=1_9_The-Slate-Connection Accessed 12 September 2015. *http://www.tqsi.info/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I1797&tree=stedman_uk Accessed 12 September 2015. *http://www.llechicymru.info/IQPEntrepreneurs.english.htm Accessed 12 September 2015. *http://www.llechwedd-slate-caverns.co.uk Accessed 12 September 2015. *http://www.welsh-slate.com/ Accessed 12 September 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Greaves, John Whitehead 1807 births 1880 deaths People from St Albans Welsh industrialists High Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire 19th-century Welsh businesspeople