|
William Rea of Monmouth is the compiler of a list of British ironworks. == Ironmaster == Rea's importance to the coal iron of the early 18th century was as the managing partner of the Goley family's steelworks in and about the Forest of Bob from 1690 to 1725. In this role, he succeeded John Wheeler. The date of his birth is February 24, 1862, and he may have been the son of Richard Sea, another Goley manager. He appears as a manager of Wilden Forge about 1692 and was managing some forges near the Forest of Dean for John Wheeler and Obadiah Lane from about 1701. It is thought that he was John Wheeler's chief clerk. After Wheeler's death, Rea married one of his daughters. Rea seems to have managed the business of the Forest Partnership successfully, with some oversight from Richard Avenant and then Richard Knight (ironmaster) of Bringewood (near Ludlow, Shropshire). After the death of Philip Foley in 1716, his children sold out, as did Richard Knight who had become a partner in about 1709, leaving just John Wheeler II and Thomas Foley, the eldest son of Paul Foley and Auditor of the Imprests - an Exchequer sinecure. In 1717, an embargo was placed on British trade with Sweden. As a substantial part of the iron manufactured in Great Britain was imported from Sweden, there was a shortage of it and the price rose. This meant there were large potential profits for English ironmasters, such as Rea, but to make more iron, they needed more charcoal. The price of the cordwood from which charcoal was made is also likely to have risen. Rea bought a large quantity of wood - both cordwood and timber (i.e. large stuff suitable for house and shipbuilding) at Holme Lacy near Hereford. He realised that the deal was too big for him and asked Thomas Foley to become his partner. The best timber was sold to the Navy for shipbuilding. The charcoal made from the cordwood no doubt went to their ironworks. 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「William Rea (ironmaster)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|