In 1865 a player listed as “S Crawshay” batted at number eleven and was unbeaten on 0, besides taking a catch, as the South Wales Cricket Club beat Middlesex Club and Ground by an innings at Islington. It is believed that this was Francis Crawshay whose brother William was the wicket-keeper for the Welsh side and had turned up from his home in Westminster to support his brother and his friends.
Francis (junior) was the second son of Francis (senior) and the grandson of William Crawshay, the Iron King of Cyfartha Castle. He was brought up in the family’s manor house on Barry Island, before moving with them to Westminster. He acted as private secretary to his father but following his death in 1878, Francis (junior) and his Russian-born wife Isabella, moved to live at Forest House and look after the operation of his late father’s iron-making premises in Treforest.
He subsequently became a Deputy Chair of the Bank of Wales, as well as a Director of Allsopp’s Brewery in Cardiff, besides acquiring Glan-y-Nant Colliery at Bettws near Bridgend. In 1890 he also became the Proprietor of the Dunraven Colliery at Blaencwm near Treherbert. He and his family moved to Sketty Court to the west of Swansea, but in September 1893 he was forced by rising debts to sell ther Dunraven Collery and subsequently returned to the Home Counties where he lived for many years at Foxhill House near Reading.
CRAWSHAY, Francis Richard
Born – Llantwit Vardre, 11 January 1849.
Died – Burghfield Common, Berkshire, 24 May 1939.