Richard Reynolds (1735 - 1816)

Born 1 Nov 1735 in Bristol, England

Husband of Hannah (Darby) Reynolds — married 20 May 1757 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England

Husband of Rebekah (Gulson) Reynolds — married 1 Dec 1763 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England

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Biography

Richard Reynolds is Notable.

Richard Reynolds was an ironmaster, and a partner in the ironworks in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, at a significant time in the history of iron production. He was a Quaker and philanthropist.^[1]

Birth, Parents and Education

Richard was the son of Richard Reynolds (a Bristol iron merchant) and Jane Donne.^[2] He was born at Bristol on 1 November 1735.^[3][4]

Richard was educated at a Quaker school in Wiltshire.^[1][2]

Marriages and Children

On 20 May 1757 Richard married Hannah Darby at Shrewsbury Quaker Meeting House, Shropshire. The Quaker marriage record described him as son of Richard Reynolds (merchant of Bristol) and Jane; and her as daughter of Abraham Darby (iron master of Coalbrookdale, Shropshire) and his deceased wife Margaret.^[5][6] They had at least two children:

• William, born at Ketley Bank, Shropshire on 14 April 1758^[7][8]
• Hannah, born at Ketley Bank, Shropshire on 4 May 1761^[9][10]

Richard's first wife Hannah Darby died on 24 May 1762. The Quaker death and burial record describes her and her husband as of Ketley Bank, Shropshire.^[11][12]

On 1 December 1763 Richard married Rebekah/Rebecca Gulson at Coventry Quaker Meeting House, Warwickshire. The Quaker marriage record describes him as an iron master of Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, son of Richard Reynolds of Winterbourne, Gloucestershire, and Jane; and her as of Coventry, daughter of William Gulson, a Coventry skinner, and Ann.^[13][14] They had three sons:^[2]

• Richard, born at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire on 6 March 1765^[15][16]
• Michael, born at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire on 8 March 1766,^[17][18] died at Ketley Bank, Shropshire on 14 February 1770 and was buried at Coalbrookdale Quaker burial ground^[19] on 16 February^[20][21]
• Joseph, born at Ketley Bank, Shropshire on 31 July 1768^[22][23]

Richard's second wife Rebecca died in 1803.^[2]

Business and Property Affairs

Richard was apprenticed to a Bristol grocer in 1750. In 1757 he became a freeman of Bristol.^[1] The previous year he was asked by Thomas Goldney to go to Coalbrookdale, Shropshire to represent his interests in the iron founding business of his future father-in-law Abraham Darby, in which Thomas was a partner.^[1][2]

In 1757 Richard himself acquired a substantial share in the part of the Darby business at Ketley, Shropshire. He and his first wife initially lived there, but in 1763, after the death of his father-in-law, he moved to Coalbrookdale, Shropshire in order to oversee the whole Darby business during the minority of his brothger-in-law, another Abraham Darby, known often as Abraham Darby III. He moved back to Ketley in 1768.^[1][2]

Over a period of years Richard acquired substantial property in Shropshire, and became the main landlord for the premises used by the Darby firm. He also used his resources to help the Darby business through difficult financial times.^[1][2]

Besides his involvement in the Darby business, Richard became a partner in his father's iron merchant business in 1762. He was a founder of the Bristol Company of Ironmasters. In 1769 his father died, and Richard took over his commercial interests. He became a very wealthy man.^[2]

Richard encouraged experiments in the processes for forging pig iron. In 1767 he was probably responsible for the first use of iron rails for the railways used by the Darby ironworks.^[1]

In the 1780s Richard had paths - "sabbath walks" in the countryside - set out for the use of workers in his business in their time off.^[1]

In 1789 Richard retired, handing over his share in the Darby firm to his sons, but returned to Coalbrookdale,^[1][2] where he appears to have advised on how the firm should be run after the death of his brother-in-law Abraham Darby III.^[2]

Later Life

Richard's subsequent life was notable for his philanthropy. He is said to have given £20000 to help relieve the effects of a grain crisis in 1795, and he provided generous assistance to people in need. Much of his charitable giving was anonymous.^[1]

In 1804, after the death of his second wife, Richard returned to Bristol, where he became heavily involved in local charities.^[2]

Richard was also active in the movement for abolishing slavery, and opposed capital punishment.^[2]

In 1810 a major illness had long-term effects, including on his memory, and he never fully recovered.^[2]

Quakerism

Richard was an active Quaker, often representing North Wales Quarterly Meeting at the Quaker Annual Meeting in London.^[2] He adhered to Quaker traditions in dress, and escorted several visiting American Quakers when they visited England. Someone who worked for him described him as "not a thin, withered, crotchety disciple of George Fox, but a full-fed Quaker, fair and ruddy".^[1]

Death

On medical advice, Richard went to Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, a spa town, in August 1816. He died there^[2] on 10 September 1816 and was buried at the Friars Quaker burial ground, Bristol on 17 September.^[24][25] In early October a Bristol charity, the Reynolds Commemoration Society's was formed to continue his charitable activities.^[1]

His will, in handwriting that is in places hard to decipher with certainty, was dated 9 May 1816, with codicils of 13 May, 27 July and 7 September 1816. It was proved on 24 October 1816. In the will and codicils he:^[26]

• described himself as a gentleman of Bristol
• named, among others:
  • his daughter Hannah Mary Rathbone, widow of William Rathbone, and her son William
  • his son Joseph
  • his deceased son William and his widow Hannah[?}
  • Rebecca, Frances, Sarah, Samuel and Edmund Darby and Mary Rathbone, who leased property in Shropshire from him
  • his sister Sarah[?] Darby
  • Lucy Darby, widow of Edward Darby
  • Richard Darby
  • his cousin Elizabeth Sparrow of Banbury, Oxfordshire
  • his friend Priscilla Hannah Gurney of Bath

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Barrie Grinder for 'Reynolds, Richard (1735–1816)', print and online 2004, revised online 2022
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14} Edward H Millgan. British Quakers in Commerce and Industry 1775-1920, Sessions Book Trust, 2007, pp. 357-358
3. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1654, BRISTOL AND SOMERSET: Monthly Meeting of Bristol: Birth notes, FindMyPast
4. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FW6B-GF7 : 11 December 2014), Richard Reynolds, 01 Nov 1735, Birth; citing p. 148, Bristol & Somerset, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
5. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1327, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Broseley Meeting, Marriages, FindMyPast
6. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWKM-4M2 : 11 December 2014), Hannah Darby, 20 May 1757, Marriage; citing p. 92 & 93, Broseley, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
7. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1002, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Births, FindMyPast
8. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWLK-123 : 11 December 2014), Hannah Reynolds in entry for William Reynolds, 14 Apr 1758, Birth; citing p. 54, Broseley, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
9. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1002, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Births, FindMyPast
10. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQGN-XZ5 : 11 December 2014), Hannah Reynolds in entry for Hannah Reynolds, 04 May 1761, Birth; citing p. 55, Broseley, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
11. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1003, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Burials, FindMyPast
12. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWFC-YZ9 : 11 December 2014), Hannah Reynolds, 27 May 1762, Burial; citing p. 27, Broseley, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
13. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1360, WARWICKSHIRE, LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND: Warwickshire Middle, later united to Warwickshire North: Marriages, FindMyPast
14. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N232-68Z : 13 March 2020), Richard Reynolds, 1763
15. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1327, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Broseley Meeting, FindMyPast
16. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQ3X-2X8 : 11 December 2014), Richard Reynolds, 06 Mar 1765, Birth; citing p. 38, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
17. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1327, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Broseley Meeting, FindMyPast
18. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VWZC-W74 : 11 December 2014), Michael Reynolds, 08 Mar 1766, Birth; citing p. 57, Broseley, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
19. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1327, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Broseley Meeting, Burials, FindMyPast
20. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FW2G-33X : 11 December 2014), Michael Reynolds, 16 Feb 1770, Burial; citing p. 31, Broseley, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
21. ↑ Shropshire Burials, FindMyPast
22. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/1327, HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Monthly Meeting of Shropshire: Broseley Meeting, FindMyPast
23. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQSD-73J : 11 December 2014), Joseph Reynolds, 31 Jul 1768, Birth; citing p. 58, Broseley, Shropshire, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London
24. ↑ The National Archives, ref. RG6/37, BRISTOL AND SOMERSET: Monthly Meeting of Bristol: Burials, FindMyPast
25. ↑ "England, Bristol, Non-Conformist Church Records, 1777-1936," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2Z7-5F6X : 11 March 2018), Richard Reynolds, 17 Sep 1816; citing Burial, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom, Bristol City Archives, England; FHL microfilm 004320050
26. ↑ The National Archives, ref. PROB 11/1585/170, Discovery Centre catalogue entry

• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 48, pp. 69-71, entry for 'REYNOLDS, RICHARD (1735–1816)', Wikisource
• Wikipedia: Richard Reynolds (ironmaster)