Background
Born near Street Albans, he was the third son of John Greaves (1774–1849), a Quaker banker, and his wife Mary (1779–1864), daughter of John Whitehead.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
John Greaves
Edit ProfileCareer
John became a wanderer who ended up in 1830 at Caernarfon, where he went into the slate business. They had ten children, including John Ernest Greaves, Helen Constance Greaves (1845–1932) who married General Sir Henry Augustus Smyth, and Frances Evelyn Greaves who married Sir Osmond Williams, 1st Baronet. Working existing slate deposits in partnership with other entrepreneurs, initially at Glynrhonwy but adding other sites, Greaves used the income this generated to prospect for new veins which he could exploit exclusively.
He became convinced that there was a massive amount of slate underground at Llechwedd, opening the Llechwedd quarry in 1846 and in 1849 finding the enormous vein he had been seeking.
In addition to extracting slate, he was active on the board of the Ffestiniog Railway to Porthmadog, travelling on the first train in 1836 and later serving as treasurer and as chairman, and was also involved in developing a shipbuilding industry at Porthmadog. He also pioneered machinery for processing slate.
In 1860 he served as High Sheriff of Caernarvonshire. John died at Brighton and was buried at Lillington.
