Thread: Welsh Iron?

A very good site: Cyfarthfa Iron Works

"Anthony Bacon started Iron production at Cyfarthfa in 1765. Richard Crawshay leased the works from Bacon's family in 1786, and in 1794 became the sole owner. In 1803 he employed 1,500 people and Cyfarthfa Ironworks was said to be the biggest in the world.

Richard Crawshay died in 1810, and the works passed to his son William Crawshay. who appointed his son William II as manager, he took the works to it's greatest production levels, and made many improvements and developments. His son Robert Thompson Crawshay took over in 1847. Robert's refusal to change to Steel production ( Steel was becoming a more popular metal ), eventually brought about the works closure in April 1874.

Following Robert's death in 1879, the works was converted to a Steel production plant, by his son William Thompson Crawshay, at a cost of £150,000, and reopened in 1882. It again closed in 1910. In 1915 it was reopened to produce pig iron and shell steel during the Great War.

It finally closed forever in 1919. Dismantling was commenced in 1928."

Paul I can't answer your question, but that story's explanation of the "Welsh Method" was a technique to produce very pure iron by puddling and stirring, which was exported widely as a raw material. So perhaps it is likely a lot of steel of that era originated in Wales.

Steel knows no boundaries. Sheffield steel could come from Scandinavia, the same way Chinese steel may be from Australian ore.
Cheers,
Jim