R. Fothergill and Co
c.1855 Richard Fothergill (1822-1903) succeeded his uncle, Rowland Fothergill as manager of the Aberdare Ironworks. He had acquired extensive knowledge of all the processes involved in the manufacture of iron and in the production of coal. Later he became proprietor of the works.
1862 Fothergill, owner of the Aberdare Ironworks, acquired the whole of the Plymouth Ironworks on the death of Anthony Hill; he converted them from the cold blast system to the hot blast so that these works were serious competition for the great concerns at Dowlais and Cyfarthfa.
1865 Penydarren had 7 blast furnaces but none of them were in use; the works belonged to R. Fothergill and Co[1]
1872 Owned the Plymouth, Duffryn and Penydarran works in Glamorgan and the Pennydarren works at Cardiff.
c.1873 As a result of strikes, the Penydarren works were closed and Fothergill indicated he would not re-open unless he could do so at a profit[2]
1875 As a result of the introduction of the Bessemer process, and owing to coal strikes, Fothergill's companies (i.e. Aberdare and Plymouth) failed, as did many others[3].