Richard Crawshay

Born in a family of a Yorkshire farmer, at the age of 16 Crawshaw moved to London where he became an apprentice at Bicklewith’s, a bar iron warehouse. After his master retired in 1763, he took over the business and within a decade became a leading purveyor of iron by specializing in products that provided less expensive alternative to expensive Swedish and Russian iron.

Already a wealthy man, in 1775 Crawshay entered into a partnership with Anthony Bacon, a merchant and founder of the lucrative Cyfarthfa Ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, who produced guns, mainly cannons and cannonballs for the British army. Following Bacon’s death in 1786, Crawshay assumed the control of the company in partnership with his son, and two other investors. Thanks to technological improvements his company emerged as one of the largest industries in England, and Crawshay one of its wealthiest residents. His business continued to grow in the next two decades.

In order to facilitate the transport of iron and accelerate its delivery to Cardiff, the capital and chief port of Wales, he was one of the strongest supporters of opening the Glamorgan Canal. Through continuous technological sophistication and expansion his business considerably increased in the following period. By 1810 Cyfarthfa Ironworks had six blast furnaces, employed more than one thousand workers, and produced in excess of twenty thousand tons of iron. By the extent of its activities it became one of the world’s largest producers.

At the time of his death in 1810, his estate was worth £1.5 million or more than £100 million in 2010. The company continued to work under his successors until 1902.