William Lewis, 1st Baron Merthyr (Q64580)

Sir William Thomas Lewis (1837-1914), 1st Baron Merthyr of Senghenydd, was the son of Thomas William Lewis, an engineer at the Plymouth iron-works, Merthyr Tydfil. In 1855, he became assistant-engineer in the service of the Bute estate, mineral agent of the estate in 1864 and in 1880 acting trustee to the Bute estate. Sir William managed the Bute pits, but between 1870 and 1880 also acquired control of his own pits, later known as Lewis Merthyr Consolidated Collieries Limited in the lower Rhondda. He also sank a pit at Senghenydd in 1895. In response to the growing strength of trade unionism, he set up what developed into the South Wales and Monmouthshire Coalowners' Association. Sir William's eldest son and heir was Herbert Clark Lewis (1866-1932), 2nd Baron Merthyr of Hean Castle, Pembrokeshire.