David Davis, Blaengwawr (1797 – 19 May 1866), was a leading figure in the South Wales coal industry and a founder of the

steam coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is a type of f ...

trade. David Davis was born in Llanddeusant, Carmarthenshire, in 1797. At a young age, he went to Merthyr Tydfil, where he served an apprenticeship with a relative before opening his own business at

Hirwaun Hirwaun (, ; ) is a village and Community (Wales), community at the north end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It is NW of the town of Aberdare, and comes under the Aberdare post town. At the United Ki ...

. The business was successful and he soon became involved in small scale mining at Rhigos. This colliery (with its wharf at Briton Ferry near

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

) was sold in 1847, but by that time Davis had taken a lease of valuable steam-coal seams on the Blaengwawr estate at

Aberaman Aberaman is a village near Aberdare in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, south Wales. It was heavily dependent on the coal industry and the population, as a result, grew rapidly in the late nineteenth century. Most of the industry has now ...

. He sank a pit therein 1843, and transported the coal to Cardiff on 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 Bristol Channel at Cardiff. The final section of canal was closed in 1951. History Construction started ...

until the

Taff Vale Railway The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales, built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff. It was opened in stage ...

was opened in 1847. At this time, Davis moved from Hirwaun to a house that he built at Blaengwawr. He also built another house, Maesyffynnon, for his son,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

, who joined him in the business. Another son, Lewis, became sales agent in Cardiff. Davis was an active

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

and, in 1837, was instrumental in the building of a new chapel at

Soar, Hirwaun Soar, Hirwaun was a Wesleyan Methodist chapel in Station Road, Hirwaun, Aberdare, Wales. History The church at Soar dated from 1805, when the Hirwaun ironworks were in operation, and early meetings were held in a barn before the first chapel was ...

to replace an older chapel that was turned into cottages. When Davis moved the main focus of his business operation from Hirwaun to Blaengwawr he encouraged a number of his workmen to follow him, and he established the Wesleyan Chapel at Aberdare, which was largely frequented by his employees. In later life, Davis turned his attention to the Rhondda Fach valley, which at that time was almost entirely rural and uninhabited. After costly but at first unsuccessful sinkings, he finally struck a good seam at Ferndale. Early in 1866, with his four sons, he established 'Davis and Sons'. This enterprise prospered and was converted into a limited liability company, with a prospectus published inviting the public to subscribe for debentures and shares in May 1890. This successful flotation was organized by

Robert William Perks Sir Robert William Perks, 1st Baronet (24 April 1849 – 30 November 1934) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician, lawyer, financier, and company director. He was the son of George Thomas Perks (1819–1877), a Wesleyan Methodist ...

. David Davis was also active in public life as a member of the

Aberdare Local Board of Health Aberdare Local Board of Health was established in 1854 in response to the 1848 Public Health Act, and a report on the sanitary condition of the town conducted by Thomas Webster Rammell. It was eventually replaced in 1894 by Aberdare Urban District ...

. David Davis was a good example of a self-made Welsh coal owner. He died on 18 May 1866 and was buried at St John's Cemetery, Aberdare.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, David, Blaengwawr 19th-century Welsh businesspeople Welsh Methodists 1797 births 1866 deaths British businesspeople in the coal industry