David Davies (18 December 1818 – 20 July 1890) was a highly influential
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
industrialist.
He is often known as
David Davies Llandinam (from the place of his birth,
LlandinamLlandinam is village in Powys, central Wales, between Newtown and Llanidloes, located on the A470.Llandinam was the family home of David Davies who was responsible for much of the development of the South Wales Valleys and the export of coal in the 19th century...
in
MontgomeryshireMontgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after one of William the Conqueror's main counsellors, Roger de Montgomerie, who was the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury....
), in order to differentiate him from others of the same name. During his lifetime, he was also known by the nicknames, "Top Sawyer" and "Davies the Ocean". His father was a
sawyerSawyer is an English occupational surname for someone who made a living from sawing wood.This term may also refer to:-Places:In the United States:*Sawyer, Kansas*Sawyer, Michigan*Sawyer, North Dakota*Sawyer, Oklahoma*Sawyer County, Wisconsin...
and lived on the south side of the
Severn valleyThe River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at . It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales. It then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, with the county towns of Shrewsbury, Worcester, and Gloucester...
in
LlandinamLlandinam is village in Powys, central Wales, between Newtown and Llanidloes, located on the A470.Llandinam was the family home of David Davies who was responsible for much of the development of the South Wales Valleys and the export of coal in the 19th century...
so that in winter the house was shaded from the sun because of the enclosing hills.
David Davies (18 December 1818 – 20 July 1890) was a highly influential
WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
industrialist.
He is often known as
David Davies Llandinam (from the place of his birth,
LlandinamLlandinam is village in Powys, central Wales, between Newtown and Llanidloes, located on the A470.Llandinam was the family home of David Davies who was responsible for much of the development of the South Wales Valleys and the export of coal in the 19th century...
in
MontgomeryshireMontgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after one of William the Conqueror's main counsellors, Roger de Montgomerie, who was the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury....
), in order to differentiate him from others of the same name. During his lifetime, he was also known by the nicknames, "Top Sawyer" and "Davies the Ocean". His father was a
sawyerSawyer is an English occupational surname for someone who made a living from sawing wood.This term may also refer to:-Places:In the United States:*Sawyer, Kansas*Sawyer, Michigan*Sawyer, North Dakota*Sawyer, Oklahoma*Sawyer County, Wisconsin...
and lived on the south side of the
Severn valleyThe River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at . It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales. It then flows through Shropshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, with the county towns of Shrewsbury, Worcester, and Gloucester...
in
LlandinamLlandinam is village in Powys, central Wales, between Newtown and Llanidloes, located on the A470.Llandinam was the family home of David Davies who was responsible for much of the development of the South Wales Valleys and the export of coal in the 19th century...
so that in winter the house was shaded from the sun because of the enclosing hills. Once he had started to amass his fortune, he built a grand country mansion of the north side of the river that would enjoy sunshine all year round. This mansion is
Bron Eirion which is maintained in good order to this day in the ownership of
Girlguiding CymruGirlguiding Cymru is one of the nine regions of Girlguiding UK. It serves the approximate area of Wales, although the boundaries are not exact. In 2004, there were 6,964 youth participant groups....
. In order to gain access to the house, Davies built the first iron bridge in
MontgomeryshireMontgomeryshire, also known as Maldwyn is one of thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after one of William the Conqueror's main counsellors, Roger de Montgomerie, who was the 1st Earl of Shrewsbury....
.
Davies was a
coalCoal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
magnate, largely responsible for the industrialisation of the
RhonddaRhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...
Valley. He founded the Parc and Maendy collieries, and constructed the docks at
BarryBarry is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel less than 7 miles SSW of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the Barry Island Pleasure Park...
. He was also responsible for the construction of railways across rural mid Wales including the very difficult crossing of
TregaronTregaron is a market town in the county of Ceredigion, Wales, lying on the River Brenig , a tributary of the River Teifi. According to the 2001 Census, Tregaron's population was 1,183 of whom 68.8% spoke Welsh fluently, including 100% of the 15-year-old age group.Notable buildings in the town...
Bog in the construction of the line between
LampeterLampeter is a town in Ceredigion, South West Wales, lying at the confluence of the River Teifi and the Afon Dulas.-Demographics:...
and
AberystwythAberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. It is often colloquially known as Aber, and is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
in 1866. It is reputed that he bought up the entire year's production of sheep fleeces in
CardiganshireCardiganshire was an ancient county of Wales created in 1282. In extent it is more or less identical to Ceredigion, a county constituted as Cardiganshire in 1996, with the name reverting to Ceredigion a day later.-History:...
to lay as a foundation for the railway line on the bog.
He served as
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
for
CardiganCardigan was a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors, from 1542 until it was abolished for the 1885 general election....
from 1874 until 1885 when the constituency was abolished. He then represented Cardiganshire from 1885 until 1886. In the
1886 general electionThe 1886 UK general election took place from 1–27 July 1886. It resulted in a major reversal of the results of the 1885 election as the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury in an electoral pact with the breakaway Unionist wing of the Liberals -...
he stood as a
Liberal Unionist candidate, but was defeated by
William Bowen RowlandsWilliam Bowen Rowlands , was a British politician and Member of Parliament.He was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, matriculating on 22 March 1854 at the age of 18...
, the Liberal candidate, by 9 votes.
His grandson, another
David DaviesDavid Davies, 1st Baron Davies of Llandinam , was a politician and public benefactor, the grandson of the famous industrialist, David Davies "Llandinam"....
, continued Llandinam's philanthropic activities and was elevated to the peerage. Llandinam's two granddaughters,
Gwendoline DaviesGwendoline Elizabeth Davies, CH , was a granddaughter of the philanthropist David Davies Llandinam. Together with her sister Margaret, she is remembered as a patron of the arts in Wales....
and
Margaret DaviesMargaret Sidney Davies , was a granddaughter of the philanthropist David Davies Llandinam. She and her elder sister Gwendoline became famous as patrons of the arts in Wales....
, donated their substantial art collection to the National Museum of Wales.