Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian

The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian, Glamorgan, Monmouth, and Brecon Gazette, an English-language paper, was circulated in Breconshire, Glamorganshire, and Monmouthshire. Coverage focused on local news and conservative politics.

Amongst its pages, you can read about significant, local events and individuals. One such individual is William Crawshaw II, an industrialist and ironmaster from South Wales who took over Cyfarthfa Ironworks from his father and became known as the ‘Iron King’. Cyfarthfa Ironworks was a vital player in the Industrial Revolution, providing 23,000 tons of high-quality iron in 1819 alone. From the newspaper’s coverage of his death, Crawshaw’s significance can be glimpsed.

‘[W]hen it is announced to the busy world and the industrial community of Europe that William Crawshaw the great ironmaster of Bambria or South wales has ‘departed this life,’ and that he has over him the stereotyped ‘Hic Jacet’—thousands of quiet and respectable people will enquire for five minutes into the eventful life of this famous and remarkable patriarch, who has for the last half century been one of the most remarkable men of the times. When we refer to William Crawshaw of Merthyr-Tydfil, we allude to a man who has done more for Glamorganshire, and perhaps for South Wales, than any other living individual. He was one of the few remarkable men who can give a character to a country and a tone to an age’.

The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian, Glamorgan, Monmouth, and Brecon Gazette initially began as the Glamorgan, Monmouth and Brecon Gazette and Merthyr Guardian, which was published in Merthyr and ran from 1832 to 1841. It was then moved to Cardiff and changed to the Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian, Glamorgan, Monmouth, and Brecon Gazette. The weekly publication continued until 1874, at which time it was incorporated into the South Wales Weekly Telegram.