Henry Haydn Jones (Q59686)

Henry Haydn Jones (1863-1950) was brought up in Ruthin, where his father Joseph David Jones (1827-1870) ran the private grammar school, Clwyd Bank. His father also made a valuable contribution to Welsh music, composing numerous songs, anthems and hymn tunes, including 'Capel y Ddol'. Haydn Jones became a member of Merioneth County Council in 1889 and was its Chairman in 1890. He was elected Liberal MP for Merionethshire from 1910 to 1945 and received a knighthood in 1937. In 1903, he married Barbara, daughter to Lewis D. Jones, an ironmonger and quarry owner in Chicago. In 1911, the Aberdovey Slate Company was seeking to sell Abergynolwyn Quarry, the village and the Tal-y-llyn Railway. Haydn Jones bought the property himself and became the sole director of The Abergynolwyn Slate and Slab Company Limited. In 1935, he purchased the Aberllefenni Quarry and changed its name in 1956 to the Aberllefenni Slate Quarries Limited. Decline in demand spelled the end for the quarry. Sir Haydn Jones' estates were once part of the Maesypandy and Ynysymaengwyn estates. He died in 1950.