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roads。  Arrived in London; he sold his pony for fifteen pounds; and

the money kept him until he succeeded in finding employment。  He was

so fortunate as to be taken upon trial by a Mr。 Bicklewith; who kept

an ironmonger's shop in York Yard; Upper Thames Street; and his first

duty there was to clean out the office; put the stools and desks in

order for the other clerks; run errands; and act as porter when

occasion required。  Young Crawshay was very attentive; industrious;

and shrewd; and became known in the office as 〃The Yorkshire Boy。〃

Chiefly because of his 〃cuteness;〃 his master appointed him to the

department of selling flat irons。  The London washerwomen of that day

were very sharp and not very honest; and it used to be said of them

that where they bought one flat iron they generally contrived to

steal two。  Mr。 Bicklewith thought he could not do better than set the

Yorkshireman to watch the washerwomen; and; by way of inducement to

him to be vigilant; he gave young Crawshay an interest in that branch

of the business; which was soon found to prosper under his charge。

After a few more years; Mr。 Bicklewith retired; and left to Crawshay

the cast…iron business in York Yard。  This he still further increased;

There was not at that time much enterprise in the iron trade; but

Crawshay endeavoured to connect himself with what there was of it。

The price of iron was then very high; and the best sorts were still

imported from abroad; a good deal of the foreign iron and steel being

still landed at the Steelyard on the Thames; in the immediate

neighbourhood of Crawshay's ironmongery store。



It seems to have occurred to some London capitalists that money was

then to be made in the iron trade; and that South Wales was a good

field for an experiment。  The soil there was known to be full of coal

and ironstone; and several small iron works had for some time been

carried on; which were supposed to be doing well。  Merthyr Tydvil was

one of the places at which operations had been begun; but the place

being situated in a hill district; of difficult access; and the

manufacture being still in a very imperfect state; the progress made

was for some time very slow。  Land containing coal and iron was deemed

of very little value; as maybe inferred from the fact that in the

year 1765; Mr。 Anthony Bacon; a man of much foresight; took a lease

from Lord Talbot; for 99 years; of the minerals under forty square

miles of country surrounding the then insignificant hamlet of Merthyr

Tydvil; at the trifling rental of 200L。 a…year。  There he erected iron

works; and supplied the Government with considerable quantities of

cannon and iron for different purposes; and having earned a

competency; he retired from business in 1782; subletting his mineral

tract in four divisionsthe Dowlais; the Penydarran; the Cyfartha;

and the Plymouth Works; north; east; west; and south; of Merthyr

Tydvil。



Mr。 Richard Crawshay became the lessee of what Mr。 Mushet has called

〃the Cyfartha flitch of the great Bacon domain。〃  There he proceeded

to carry on the works established by Mr。 Bacon with increased spirit;

his son William; whom he left in charge of the ironmongery store in

London; supplying him with capital to put into the iron works as

fast。  as he could earn it by the retail trade。  In 1787; we find

Richard Crawshay manufacturing with difficulty ten tons of bar…iron

weekly; and it was of a very inferior character;*

 'footnote。。。

Mr。 Mushet says of the early manufacture of iron at Merthyr Tydvil

that 〃A modification of the charcoal refinery; a hollow fire; was

worked with coke as a substitute for charcoal; but the bar…iron

hammered from the produce was very inferior。〃  The pit…coal cast…iron

was nevertheless found of a superior quality for castings; being more

fusible and more homogeneous than charcoal…iron。  Hence it was well

adapted for cannon; which was for some time the principal article of

manufacture at the Welsh works。

 。。。'

 the means not having yet been devised at Cyfartha for

malleableizing the pit…coal cast…iron with economy or good effect。

Yet Crawshay found a ready market for all the iron he could make; and

he is said to have counted the gains of the forge…hammer close by his

house at the rate of a penny a stroke。  In course of time he found it

necessary to erect new furnaces; and; having adopted the processes

invented by Henry Cort; he was thereby enabled greatly to increase

the production of his forges; until in 1812 we find him stating to a

committee of the House of Commons that he was making ten thousand

tons of bar…iron yearly; or an average produce of two hundred tons a

week。  But this quantity; great though it was; has since been largely

increased; the total produce of the Crawshay furnaces of Cyfartha;

Ynysfach; and Kirwan; being upwards of 50;000 tons of bar…iron

yearly。



The distance of Merthyr from Cardiff; the nearest port; being

considerable; and the cost of carriage being very great by reason of

the badness of the roads; Mr。 Crawshay set himself to overcome this

great impediment to the prosperity of the Merthyr Tydvil district;

and; in conjunction with Mr。 Homfray of the Penydarran Works; he

planned and constructed the canal*

 'footnote。。。

It may be worthy of note that the first locomotive run upon a

railroad was that constructed by Trevithick for Mr。 Homfray in 1803;

which was employed to bring down metal from the furnaces to the Old

Forge。  The engine was taken off the road because the tram…plates were

found too weak to bear its weight without breaking。

 。。。'

to Cardiff; the opening of which; in 1795; gave an immense impetus to

the iron trade of the neighbourhood。  Numerous other extensive iron

works became established there; until Merthyr Tydvil attained the

reputation of being at once the richest and the dirtiest district in

all Britain。  Mr。 Crawshay became known in the west of England as the

〃Iron King;〃 and was quoted as the highest authority in all questions

relating to the trade。  Mr。 George Crawshay; recently describing the

founder of the family at a social meeting at Newcastle; said;〃In

these days a name like ours is lost in the infinity of great

manufacturing firms which exist through out the land; but in those

early times the man who opened out the iron district of Wales stood

upon an eminence seen by all the world。  It is preserved in the

traditions of the family that when the 'Iron King' used to drive from

home in his coach…and…four into Wales; all the country turned out to

see him; and quite a commotion took place when he passed through

Bristol on his way to the works。  My great grandfather was succeeded

by his son; and by his grandson; the Crawshays have followed one

another for four generations in the iron trade in Wales; and there

they still stand at the head of the trade。〃  The occasion on which

these words were uttered was at a Christmas party; given to the men;

about 1300 in number; employed at the iron works of Messrs。 Hawks;

Crawshay; and Co。; at Newcastle…upon…Tyne。  These works were founded

in 1754 by William Hawks; a blacksmith; whose principal trade

consisted in making claw…hammers for joiners。  He became a thriving

man; and eventually a large manufacturer of bar…iron。  Partners joined

him; and in the course of the changes wrought by time; one of the

Crawshays; in 1842; became a principal partner in the firm。



Illustrations of a like kind might be multiplied to any extent;

showing the growth in our own time of an iron aristocracy of great

wealth and influence; the result mainly of the successful working of

the inventions of the unfortunate and unrequited Henry Cort。  He has

been the very Tubal Cain of Englandone of the principal founders of

our iron age。  To him we mainly owe the abundance of wrought…iron for

machinery; for steam…engines; and for railways; at one…third the

price we were before accustomed to pay to the foreigner。  We have by

his invention; not only ceased to be dependent upon other nations for

our supply of iron for tools; implements; and arms; but we have

become the greatest exporters of iron; producing more than all other

European countries combined。  In the opinion of Mr。 Fairbairn of

Manchester; the inventions of Henry Cort have already added six

hundred millions sterling to the wealth of the kingdom; while they

have given employment to some six hundred thousand working people

during three generations。  And while the great ironmasters; by freely

availing themselves of his inventions; have been adding estate to

estate; the only estate secured by Henry Cort was the little domain

of six feet by two in which he lies interred in Hampstead Churchyard。







CHAPTER VIII。



THE SCOTCH IRON MANUFACTURE … Dr。 ROEBUCK DAVID MUSHET。



〃Were public benefactors to be allowed to pass away; like hewers of

wood and drawers of water; without commemoration; genius and

enterprise would be deprived of th

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