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The Cyfarthfa Ironworks was a major 18th century and 19th century ironworks located in Cyfarthfa, on the north-western edge of Merthyr Tydfil, in South Wales. ==The beginning== The Cyfarthfa works were begun in 1765 by Anthony Bacon (by then a merchant in London), who in that year with William Brownrigg, his fellow native of Whitehaven, Cumberland leased the right to mine in a tract of land on the west side of the river Taff at Merthyr Tydfil.〔L. Ince, ''The South Wales Iron Industry, 1750-1885'' (1993), 60.〕 They employed Brownrigg's brother-in-law Charles Wood to build a forge there, to use the potting and stamping process, for which he and his brother had a patent. This was powered by water from the river, the race dividing into six to power a clay mill (for making the pots), two stampers, two hammers and a chafery. The construction of the first coke blast furnace began in August 1766. This was intended to be 50 feet high with cast iron blowing cylinders, rather than the traditional bellows. It was probably brought into blast in Autumn 1767.〔P. Riden, 'Introduction' in J. Gross (ed.), xx-xxiii.〕 In the meantime, Plymouth ironworks was leased to provide pig iron for the forge.〔Ince, 53.〕 Brownrigg retired as a partner in 1777, receiving £1500 for his share.〔Ince, 60.〕 From about that time Richard Crawshay was Bacon's partner in his contracts to supply cannon to the Board of Ordnance, but perhaps not in the ironworks. Bacon had previously subcontracted cannon-founding to John Wilkinson, but henceforth made them at Cyfarthfa, as is indicated by his asking for ships carrying them to be convoyed from Penarth.〔The National Archives, WO 47/87, 404; WO 47/89, 734; WO47/95, 362 (original pagination).〕 Bacon had the Cyfarthfa Canal, a short tub boat waterway, constructed during the latter part of the 1770s to bring coal to the ironworks.〔http://www.coflein.gov.uk/en/site/93281/details/MINING+LEVEL,+CYFARTHFA+CANAL,+RHYD-Y-CAR,+MERTHYR+TYDFIL/〕 In 1782, Bacon (as a Member of Parliament) had to give up government contracts and passed the forge and boring mill with the gunfounding business to Francis Homfray. However, he gave it up in 1784 to David Tanner, so that his sons could establish the Penydarren Ironworks. However David Tanner also did not stay long, giving up the works in 1786, the year of Bacon's death. Tanner's managers were James Cockshutt, Thomas Treharne, and Francis William Bowzer. Bacon left a family of illegitimate children and was the subject of Chancery proceedings. The court directed a lease of the whole works to Richard Crawshay, who took as his partners, William Stevens (a London merchant) and James Cockshutt. Richard Crawshay took out a licence from Henry Cort for the use of his puddling process, and proceeded to build the necessary rolling mill. However, difficulties remained with the puddling process and it was not until perhaps 1791 that these were resolved. In 1791, Crawshay terminated the partnership, which had been barely profitable, and continued the works alone, adding further furnaces in the following years.〔Ince, 60-61.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cyfarthfa Ironworks」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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