William Crawshay (1764 – 11 August 1834) was a British industrialist. Born in South Wales, he spent most of his life in London. He was the only surviving son of

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 ...

, one of the richest men in the United Kingdom. He had three sisters, including Charlotte, who married Benjamin Hall, also an industrialist, making William Crawshay the uncle of Sir Benjamin Hall, politician and reformer. William took over the

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 ...

from his father, but it was never his primary concern, and he continued to live in London, where he took charge of the company's selling agency.Archives Wales: Swansea University - Crawshay, Robert Thompson
Accessed 13 March 2013 He already had trading interests in India and had only taken a role in the business because of the death of his elder brother. After his father's death in 1810, he left the running of the works mostly in the hands of his own son,

William Crawshay II William Crawshay II (27 March 1788 – 4 August 1867) was the son of William Crawshay I, the owner of Cyfarthfa Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. William Crawshay II became an ironmaster when he took over the business from his father. He wa ...

, and died at Stoke Newington aged 70, leaving a fortune of £700,000.

References

1764 births 1834 deaths British ironmasters Welsh industrialists {{wales-bio-stub