William Rea (ironmaster)
Encyclopedia
William Rea of Monmouth
is probably best known to history as the compiler of a list of British
ironworks.
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 1990 to 1725.
In this role, he succeeded John Wheeler. The date of his birth is February 24, 1862, but 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 not unlikely that he was John Wheeler's chief clerk, but that is not known. After Wheeler's death, he 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 ironmaster
s, 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.
n and Dutch
ports. The price of iron is likely to have returned to its pre-crisis level, leaving Rea bound to a contract for wood at what had become an uneconomically high price. The result for him was financially disastrous.
and sacked him. Warine Falkner was the next manager, but his wife wanted to move back to Staffordshire
to be near her family, and he left. In the time of his successor Thomas Pendrill, the business (now owned entirely by the Foley family) gradually contracted, and ends in obscurity as an unimportant concern, some time after 1751.
. This was ultimately partly resolved by an arbitration by Warine Falkner and Edward Kendall with William Knight as umpire. The result was to leave Rea financially ruined, with his property mortgaged to the Duke of Beaufort
, to whom he ultimately surrendered it.
during the embargo and had died without paying. William Rea brought proceedings in Chancery
for payment, but had to await the majority of the grandson before the estate could be sold and he could be paid. The estate was bought by Edward Knight (ironmaster), William Knight's son, who was by then an important and wealthy ironmaster in the area.
Little is known of Rea's career after he was sacked by the Forest Partnership. He had had shares in ironworks in Cheshire and Staffordshire, at Cunsey in Furness
, and in Sussex
and was evidently an important figure in the iron industry, but withdrew from (or lost) these shares during the 1720s.
Monmouth
Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
is probably best known to history as the compiler of a list of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
ironworks.
Ironmaster
His importance to the coalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
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 1990 to 1725.
In this role, he succeeded John Wheeler. The date of his birth is February 24, 1862, but he may have been the son of Richard Sea, another Goley manager. He appears as a manager of Wilden Forge
Wilden Ironworks
The village of Wilden is in the English county of Worcestershire. It was for many years the location of an ironworks.-Wilden Mill:Wilden was part of the demesne of the Bishop of Worcester's manor of Hartlebury. A mill was built on the River Stour in 1511 by William Baylly, a fuller...
about 1692 and was managing some forges near the Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
for John Wheeler and Obadiah Lane from about 1701. It is not unlikely that he was John Wheeler's chief clerk, but that is not known. After Wheeler's death, he 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
Bringewood Ironworks
Bringewood Ironworks was a charcoal ironworks in north Herefordshire. It was powered by the river Teme, with a blast furnace, a finery forge and latterly a rolling mill for blackplate ....
(near Ludlow
Ludlow
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
, Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
). After the death of Philip Foley
Philip Foley
Philip Foley was the youngest of the three surviving sons of the British ironmaster Thomas Foley . His father transferred to him in 1668 and 1669 all his ironworks in the Midlands for £60,000...
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
Paul Foley (ironmaster)
Paul Foley , also known as Speaker Foley, was the second son of Thomas Foley of Witley Court, the prominent Midlands ironmaster.-Ironmaster:...
and Auditor of the Imprests - an Exchequer
Exchequer
The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles...
sinecure
Sinecure
A sinecure means an office that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service...
.
In 1717, an embargo was placed on British trade with Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. As a substantial part of the iron manufactured in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
was imported from Sweden, there was a shortage of it and the price rose. This meant there were large potential profits for English ironmaster
Ironmaster
An ironmaster is the manager – and usually owner – of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain....
s, 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
Holme Lacy
-Etymology:Holme Lacy is not from Old Norse holmr "island" like other places of the name Holme, but from the fairly similar Old English hamm "land in a river-bend". The name was recorded as Hamme in the Domesday Book in 1086...
near Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
. 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
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
. The charcoal made from the cordwood no doubt went to their ironworks.
Financial Losses
Timber was probably a commodity in which he did not usually deal, and he may have got the price wrong; alternatively, he may just have paid an inflated price that was appropriate at the time, but not later. Whatever the reason, this business made a very substantial loss. The underlying problem was probably that the embargo was lifted in 1719, and Swedish iron came in again direct. The imports had anyway only been temporarily interrupted, as Swedish iron soon began to find its way into England, re-exported from PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n and Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
ports. The price of iron is likely to have returned to its pre-crisis level, leaving Rea bound to a contract for wood at what had become an uneconomically high price. The result for him was financially disastrous.
Sacked
It is likely that his failure left him depressed; certainly in 1725,he was severely in arrears with providing accounts to his partners. Accordingly, the partners met at WolverhamptonWolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
and sacked him. Warine Falkner was the next manager, but his wife wanted to move back to Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
to be near her family, and he left. In the time of his successor Thomas Pendrill, the business (now owned entirely by the Foley family) gradually contracted, and ends in obscurity as an unimportant concern, some time after 1751.
Financial Ruin
Rea's sacking was followed by litigation, mainly (but not entirely) in the Court of ExchequerExchequer of pleas
The Exchequer of Pleas or Court of Exchequer was a court that followed equity, a set of legal principles based on natural law, and common law, in England and Wales. Originally part of the curia regis, or King's Council, the Exchequer of Pleas split from the curia during the 1190s, to sit as an...
. This was ultimately partly resolved by an arbitration by Warine Falkner and Edward Kendall with William Knight as umpire. The result was to leave Rea financially ruined, with his property mortgaged to the Duke of Beaufort
Duke of Beaufort
Duke of Beaufort is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, a Lancastrian leader in the Wars of the...
, to whom he ultimately surrendered it.
Later career
He is last heard of in 1748, when he forced the sale of an estate at Wolverley. Samuel Jewkes had apparently given him a partnership in Wolverley Old ForgeFinery forge
Iron tapped from the blast furnace is pig iron, and contains significant amounts of carbon and silicon. To produce malleable wrought iron, it needs to undergo a further process. In the early modern period, this was carried out in a finery forge....
during the embargo and had died without paying. William Rea brought proceedings in Chancery
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid the slow pace of change and possible harshness of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equity, including trusts, land law, the administration of the estates of...
for payment, but had to await the majority of the grandson before the estate could be sold and he could be paid. The estate was bought by Edward Knight (ironmaster), William Knight's son, who was by then an important and wealthy ironmaster in the area.
Little is known of Rea's career after he was sacked by the Forest Partnership. He had had shares in ironworks in Cheshire and Staffordshire, at Cunsey in Furness
Furness
Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale hundred that is an exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay....
, and in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
and was evidently an important figure in the iron industry, but withdrew from (or lost) these shares during the 1720s.