Difference between revisions of "Crumlin Viaduct Works"
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
Proud of their speed of delivery, reducing the time for bridge building from years to months | Proud of their speed of delivery, reducing the time for bridge building from years to months | ||
Silver medal at the Paris Exhibition for a | Silver medal at the Paris Exhibition for a rivetting machine (patented by H M Kennard). | ||
1871 a new private company, led by H M Maynard, took over from the Kennards. The shares were owned by many including local people including H M Kennard of Blaenavon was a little more cautious but even that most astute of businessmen even- | |||
tually took up 25 shares.46 This despite the purchase, in 1872, of the Blaenavon prop- | |||
erty by a new company trading under the name of the Blaenavon Iron and Steel Co | |||
Ltd. This may well have been the reason for the withdrawal of the Kennards from | |||
Crumlin for he was the major director and thus probably short of cash. Maynard was | |||
extremely assured "They had been very well occupied since they had taken over the | |||
Works persons who had known the Works for many years were continually making | |||
application for prices, but the Works were fully occupied and no more orders could be | |||
taken at present though they should keep in mind the possibility of extending their | |||
boundaries at some future date, so as to provide means of providing iron for their | |||
own purpose."and later "He knew that they would not at first make such large profits | |||
as were made by the proprietors of whom they had purchased the Works, but he | |||
believed the time must come when the profits would be better than they have ever | |||
been".47 | |||
Revision as of 11:55, 23 March 2012
Iron bridge builders of Crumlin
1853
1857 Start of diversification into other areas - railway signal and switching gear, steam-powered machine tools for riveting, striking, drilling and lifting and other civil engineering ironwork, such as lighthouses, piers and railway station roofing.
Employed about 200 people
1863 one of their largest bridges was Blackfriars which unusually was not designed by the company but by Joseph Cubitt who also installed it.
Proud of their speed of delivery, reducing the time for bridge building from years to months
Silver medal at the Paris Exhibition for a rivetting machine (patented by H M Kennard).
1871 a new private company, led by H M Maynard, took over from the Kennards. The shares were owned by many including local people including H M Kennard of Blaenavon was a little more cautious but even that most astute of businessmen even- tually took up 25 shares.46 This despite the purchase, in 1872, of the Blaenavon prop- erty by a new company trading under the name of the Blaenavon Iron and Steel Co Ltd. This may well have been the reason for the withdrawal of the Kennards from Crumlin for he was the major director and thus probably short of cash. Maynard was extremely assured "They had been very well occupied since they had taken over the Works persons who had known the Works for many years were continually making application for prices, but the Works were fully occupied and no more orders could be taken at present though they should keep in mind the possibility of extending their boundaries at some future date, so as to provide means of providing iron for their own purpose."and later "He knew that they would not at first make such large profits as were made by the proprietors of whom they had purchased the Works, but he believed the time must come when the profits would be better than they have ever been".47
See Also
Sources of Information
- The Crumlin Viaduct Works 1853-1878 : from world leader to Welsh tragedy; Gwent local history, 80 Spring 1996 [1]