William Rea (ironmaster) - Later Career

Later Career

He is last heard of in 1748, when he forced the sale of an estate at Wolverley. Samuel Jewkes had apparently given him a partnership in Wolverley Old Forge during the embargo and had died without paying. William Rea brought proceedings in Chancery for payment, but had to await the majority of the grandson before the estate could be sold and he could be paid. The estate was bought by Edward Knight (ironmaster), William Knight's son, who was by then an important and wealthy ironmaster in the area.

Little is known of Rea's career after he was sacked by the Forest Partnership. He had had shares in ironworks in Cheshire and Staffordshire, at Cunsey in Furness, and in Sussex and was evidently an important figure in the iron industry, but withdrew from (or lost) these shares during the 1720s.

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