Records of Henry Crawshay & Co Ltd

Minutes, attendance books, financial records, letter books and other correspondence.

<p>References to Henry Crawshay &amp; Co Ltd can be found in other archives in the Record Office: D4031, D4853 and D6178. For more detailed research on the Crawshay family the National Library of Wales holds the Cyfartha Papers relating to the Cyfartha Ironworks (in Merthyr Tydfil) owned by William Crawshay senior. Papers deposited by British Coal (D7837) contain minutes of the Northern United Colliery in 1965. Further background information to the Forest's industrial development can be found in The Industrial History of Dean by Cyril Hart (1971), The Victoria History of the County of Gloucester: The Forest of Dean volume V (1996), The Old Industries of Dean by David Bick (1980), The Industrial Teagues and the Forest of Dean by Ralph Anstis (1990).</p>

Records deposited by Mr David Bick

Note on provenance: The bulk of the records in this archive were purchased by the depositor when they were offered up for auction by Ambra Books, Bristol in January 1989. It seems fairly certain that these records were part of a much larger archive which was broken up into lots and sold by aution since similar papers have since reportedly been seen on traders' stalls in Bristol. The six letter books listed as D8729/4/1/1-6 were purchased later from a different source. The earlier history of the records is not certain but it would seem that, following nationalisation, they spent some time in the hands of the Washbourn family (Frank G Washbourn, d. 1906, was Director and Company Secretary). This would explain the presence of the deposit account books of F N Washbourn and Emily Washbourn (listed as 3/1/2-3) and the Washbourn family correspondence (listed as 4/2/1) within this archive.

The depositor has kept three blank volumes entitled the "Trafalgar Colliery", and of the records deposited the following have since been returned: a blank "Share Register Book Preference Shares 201 to 300 & Ordinary Shares 303 to 400"; a blank "Certificate Receipt Book"; and a "Directors' Attendence Book", the latter because it contains only information recorded in the Board Minutes.

Henry Crawshay & Company Ltd (1889-1947) was established in 1889 through the amalgamation of Henry Crawshay & Co and Henry Crawshay & Sons. The firm was registered to the offices at Dashwood House, 9 New Broad Street, London with Sir Gabriel Goldney as Chairman of the Board and William Crawshay (1845-1910) as Managing Director. The amalgamation brought together all the businesses owned by the Crawshays in the Forest of Dean.

In 1832 William Crawshay (1788-1867), the great Welsh ironmaster, of Cyfartha Works in Merythr Tydfil, collaborated with Moses Teague and acquired an interest in the Cinderford Ironworks on the east side of the Forest. The Ironworks prospered and William, joined by his son Henry (1812-1879) in the 1840s, soon owned and leased a number of iron mines, such as Shakemantle, Buckshaft and St. Annal's. The nickname 'the Iron King of the Forest of Dean' attributed to Henry Crawshay is an indication of the success enjoyed by the Crawshay family in the Forest. By the 1890s the Cinderford Ironworks was one of the last operating furnaces in Gloucestershire. The recession, intensified by foreign competition, forced the Board to review its role in iron manufacturing. In view of the annual losses the Board resolved that "the furnace should be blown out" and in 1894 the Cinderford Ironworks closed (D8729/1/1/1 p.291). The Company continued to operate the iron mines until 1899 when the Board decided to "discontinue working [the iron mines] and cut the heavy losses" (D8729/1/3/1 p.39).

The Crawshay family took a leading role in the coal mining industry because the Cinderford furnaces demanded a large and regular supply of coal. The Crawshays owned and worked a large number of collieries in the Forest, including Speech House Mining Collieries, Lightmoor (c.1840-1940), Trafalgar (c1860-1925), Foxes Bridge (closed 1930), Eastern United (1909-1959) and Northern United (1933-1965). The minute books listed below help to identify these collieries and provide information on their performance, maintenance and value.

In 1947 the coal industry was nationalised. The mines belonging to H Crawshay & Co Ltd were taken over and the shareholders duly compensated (D8729/3/1/2); the compensation plan may be the reason why the Shareholders' Attendance Book continues until 1955 as listed below (D8729/2/1/1). As early as 1946 the Ministry of Fuel and Power cast doubts over the future of the Forest's coal mining industry. The increasing operational costs and declining sales made coal mining unprofitable. In 1965 the Forest's last major colliery, Northern United, closed.

The records in this archive provide an insight into the Company and the environment in which it operated. By the late nineteenth century a high proportion of the coal mined in the Forest was produced for the household-coal trade. Economic recession and competition from national and overseas collieries posed a real threat to the viability of the companies. Business in the Forest was perhaps different from business elsewhere. The proximity of the mines and collieries led to an interdependence among the companies. For example, a Committee Meeting involving the colliery owners in 1897 sought to level the price of coal (D8729/1/3/1 p.14).

Companies like H Crawshay & Co Ltd helped to develop and maintain an infrastructure in the Forest of Dean that supported the local community as well as trade and industry. The mining industries experienced great change in the nineteenth century as the demand for coal and iron increased. This increase had a significant impact on the Foresters as greater production called for deeper mines and a larger work force. The mining industries were arguably the principal source of jobs in the Forest, and supported miners, ironworkers, quarrymen and charcoal burners. In addition the Company also made annual donations to charities and local associations, such as Gloucester Royal Infirmary, the Ambulance Association and the British Red Cross.