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before the death of Anthony Bacon, there came from London one Richard Crawshay,
a Yorkshireman, who was destined to play a big part in the developement
of the industrial wealth of Merthyr Tydfil. Reports of the mineral wealth
of South Wales reached him and he decided to come to Merthyr Tydfil. He
leased the Cyfarthfa Works from Bacon's family in 1786 and, by 1794 had
become sole owner. In a short space of time he had become so wealthy that
he could afford to lend his Brecon banker £50,000, and to promise
another £50,000 if it were required. He made his mind to produce iron
of the best quality so he visited Henry Cort, at Gosport, near Portsmouth.
Cort had, in 1784, invented the process known as rolling and puddling. The
latter was a method of converting pig iron into malleable iron. Crawshay
adopted this process and with great success. In 1803, he was employing 1,500
men in what was then considered to be the largest works in the world. Another
visitor who came to Merthyr Tydfil was Robert Raikes, the founder of Sunday
Schools. At the special request of Richard Crawshay he came to study the
conditions under which the people lived. As a result of this visit, the
first Sunday School was established at Cyfarthfa. Richard Crawshay died
in 1810. Although the works passed down to his son William Crawshay, who
was deeply immersed in his work as an Indian merchant and had no time for
the Cyfarthfa works. He in turn appointed his son also William Crawshay
to manage the concern. A few years later with the construction of the railways,
the works output rose to deal with the large orders for rails. In 1825 Cyfarthfa
Castle was built at a cost of £30,000. In 1847, William Crawshay retired
and was suceeded by his son, Robert Crawshay and the works continued to
flourish. During his time at Cyfarthfa steel began to supersede iron, but
he was unwilling to take up its manufacture. This resulted in fewer orders
at Cyfarthfa. To make up for this loss of trade, Robert Crawshay turned
his attention to the coal deposits on the estate and these proved very profitable.
He was the last of the Crawshays to reside at Carfarthfa. His sons appointed
managers to look after the works interests, and in 1902 the works were acquired
by Messrs. Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. The busy days of the Cyfarthfa Works
were over and they were closed down in 1910. |