95:. He then gained access to the Glamorganshire Canal by building a short length of private canal, which became known as the 'Doctor's Canal'. The tramline, which was serviced by horses pulling wagons along its length, was opened for business 29 September 1809, becoming the very first transportation link into the Rhondda Valley.
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but it was through his family connections that he began prospecting in mineral rights for which he became best known. Griffiths is described as a 'dynamic and colourful personality', and a practical joker, even arranging a comical funeral for himself. He died in 1826, with his will being proven of 31
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to the ports of
Cardiff, and both were open markets for coal. The existing system of transporting coal to the canal was through the use of pack horses, which were slow and inefficient due to the weight of coal each horse could carry. Griffiths first built a tramroad from the Hafod Estate to the town
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in 1810. The committee was examining the petition of South Wales colliery owners concerning tax on coal, Griffiths stated categorically that he has no colliery and nor had he ever owned one. Though many modern sources still reiterate the erroneous fact that
Griffiths opened a mine in the Lower
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Although several early sources state that
Griffiths was the first coal pioneer of the Rhondda, opening a coal level at Gyffeillion in 1790, these facts have been contradicted by later sources. Griffiths himself denied owning a coal level in a series of replies to a
67:, the Hafod Fawr Estate. In 1808, Griffiths obtained a lease for the mineral rights for the farm from his brother-in-law. Griffiths then made two sub-leases for these rights in 1809 and gave the right to
115:, who is recognised as the first person to gain personal rights and sink the first deep mines in the Rhondda, obtained rights to use Griffiths' tramroad. Coffin's mine was further up the valley at
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Report form the
Committee on the Petition of the Owners of Collieries in South Wales. Minutes of Evidence before the House of Commons 1810, pg 13-16
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To make the estate more profitable, Griffiths decided to improve the transportation links from the site to the newly opened
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Griffiths' youngest sister was married to Evan Morgan, who owned a farm estate in the Lower
Rhondda near modern-day
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On
Griffiths' death the rights to the Trehafod Estate passed to his family and was successfully deep mined by
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industrial pioneer. Griffiths is notable for building the first recognised transport links into the
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paving the way for future coal exploration into one of the world's richest coal fields.
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Davies). He was christened on 13 January 1756, and was brought up in a very strong
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in 1851. Griffiths' tramline was used until it was replaced by the
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to open a level below the Estate on the east side of the
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History of the
Pioneers of the South Wales Coalfield
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179:The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, Down to 1940
355:British businesspeople in the coal industry
289:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
260:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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177:Lloyd, John Edward; Jenkins, R.T. (1958).
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50:family. Griffiths practised medicine in
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142:The Welsh Academy Encyclopaeia of Wales
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144:. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
105:House of Commons of the United Kingdom
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161:Glamorgan, its History and Topography
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140:Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel (2008).
82:. The Canal linked the ironworks at
248:Early History of the Rhondda Valley
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275:Phillips, Elizabeth (1925).
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87:of Newbridge, now known as
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181:. Cardiff: William Lewis.
163:. Cardiff: William Lewis.
250:. Pontypridd. p. 6.
172:. London: Phoenix House.
91:, and there bridged the
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159:Evans, C.J.O. (1948).
360:People from Glamorgan
204:Lloyd (1958), pg 307.
350:Welsh industrialists
323:Evans (1959), pg 51.
314:Evans (1959), pg 41.
246:Johns, D.B. (1910).
236:Evans (1959), pg 39.
222:Evans (1959), pg 40.
168:Lewis, E.D. (1959).
80:Glamorganshire Canal
170:The Rhondda Valleys
16:British businessman
22:(1756–1826) was a
151:978-0-7083-1953-6
128:Taff Vale Railway
108:Rhondda in 1790.
20:Richard Griffiths
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130:in 1841.
48:Methodist
40:Llanwonno
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24:Welsh
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