Bedford, John, ca. 1725-1791

Person

Bedford, John, ca. 1725-1791

John Bedford the ironmaster was born c. 1725 in Birmingham, to John Bedford, a cutler, and his wife Sarah. Initially, he worked for a time as a japanner in Birmingham. He purchased an estate at Moseley in 1754, using the property as financial security to instigate a number of future ventures. In the 1760s, Bedford moved from Birmingham to Trostrey, Monmouthshire, where he worked as a manager at an iron forge on the banks of the River Usk. He subsequently secured the lease of the Rogerstone estate where he established his own forge. In 1770 he purchased land at Cefn Cribwr near Bridgend, Glamorgan, with a view to establishing an iron-works there, complete with blast furnace, forge, mines and collieries. The venture, however, was never a commercial success. Bedford retired to Birmingham in 1791 to live with his brother Thomas, where he died in the same year. The iron works at Cefn Cribwr stand in ruins today.