John Hanbury (1664–1734)
| John Hanbury | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1664 |
| Died | 1734 |
| Occupation | Businessman, politician |
| Spouse(s) | 2 |
| Children | more than 4 |
| Parent(s) | Capel Hanbury |
| Relatives | William Selwyn (father-in-law) |
John Hanbury, Esq. (1664–1734) was one of a dynasty of ironmasters responsible for the industrialisation and urbanisation of the eastern valley through which runs the Afon Llwyd (in English "grey river") in Monmouthshire around Pontypool. Hanbury is most notable for patenting the rolling process of tinplating in the early 18th century.
Hanbury was born into a family ultimately from Hanbury, Worcestershire and was christened in Gloucester in 1664. Hanbury was the son of Capel Hanbury (1707–1765), who in turn was the third son of the first John Hanbury of Pursall Green.
Hanbury became Member of Parliament for Gloucester in December 1701. He left politics in 1702. He regained his seat in December 1702.
Hanbury lost his Parliamentary seat in 1708, but re-entered politics in 1720 as an MP for the Welsh constituency Monmouthshire. Although a supporter of the Whig party, in his later life he opposed several of Robert Walpole's most important bills. In 1731, he joined with Sir James Lowther and others in opposing the application previously made by William Wood for a royal charter to incorporate a million pound company for his (ineffectve) ironmaking enterprise. Lowther referred to Hanbury as having 'the greatest skill as well as works' (i.e. ironworks).
In 1720 he benefited from the legacy of his friend Charles Williams of Caerleon, and with the £70,000 left to him he bought Colbrook House near Abergavenny, which subsequently passed to John Hanbury's son Charles Hanbury Williams.
When his father died in Jan 1704, Hanbury inherited the estate at Pontypool. The estate included ironworks, some of which had long belonged to members of the family. Soon after his father's death he wrote down his observations about his ironworks. He had a blast furnace, forges (probably two), and mills (including a slitting mill) at Pontypool and a further furnace and forge at Llanelly (then in Breconshire). In 1708, he also became interested in the blast furnace at Melin Cwrt, near Neath. Hanbury continued his Pontypool and Llanelly ironworks for the rest of his life and they passed to his descendants with the rest of his Pontypool estate.
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