Genealogy Chat

Can anyone give me any information on the above company? I have found a Great Great Aunt married to a Frank Meredith-Jones 1861 whose family had this and am having problems locating other brothers. Ancestry is missing images for the 1871 Welsh Census which makes it difficult too! The censuses variously have the family as plain Jones, M Jones or the Meredith as a Christian name. Not much luck with BMD either! Hoping someone local might be able to help me out? Sorry I have to go to the dentist now :( ouch but will check in later. Trina

Hi - here's one tiny snippet I found by Googling: 'Cambrian Leather Works The Cambrian Leather Works grew from humble beginnings as a sheep tannery owned by John Peers in the late 18th century. Charles Rocke & John Meredith Jones turned it into a massive concern, just off Salop Road, in the 1860s-80s. The leather works closed in 1975.' If I find anything else, will let you know. Athena

Many thanks for doing that Athena. I did a bit of googling too, and that was the information that set me off! Had absolutely no idea about having anything like that in the family. There are some bits and pieces in the Record Office in Wales I'll send for, but I was hoping to find out more about the family too. Being double barelled presents problems in the way it has been recorded - or maybe it wasn't always db and just Jones!

I worked for the Wales Gas Board in Salop Road in 1960's, which was next door to Meredith-Jones' Leather works. My sister in law worked in the Lab's at the factory. The leather works were started by John Peers in 1770. In 1822 the leather works were sold to Evan Morris. In 1858 the works were again sold to Charles Rocke and John Meredith Jones ( b 21 Sep 1832, d 14 Jun 1892) and turned it into the largest commercial concern in the town, renaming it the Cambrian Leather Works and adopting the Prince of Wales feathers as their trade mark. In 1888 the partnership was dissolved and the business continued as J. Meredith Jones & Sons, with John's sons Frank Meredith Jones and A. Seymour Jones as new partners. The business continued to expand and opened warehouses in Liverpool and Manchester and depots in 18 countries. At its peak, the Cambrian Leather Works employed over 500 workers and installed the first leather industry laboratory in the country. The Cambrian was badly affected by the depression and closed in 1934. It re-opened in 1946 under the ownership of the Gomshall Group (although still trading as J.Meredith Jones & Sons). The company was sold to the Garner Group of tanneries in 1972 and shut down in 1975.