44 Facts About William Madocks

William Alexander Madocks was a British politician and landowner who served as Member of Parliament for the borough of Boston in Lincolnshire from 1802 to 1820, and then for Chippenham in Wiltshire from 1820 to 1826.

William Madocks is best known for his activities as an agricultural improver in Gwynedd, especially around the towns of Porthmadog and Tremadog which he founded and which are named after him.

William Madocks had two older brothers, John Edward, and Joseph, but his parents had suffered the death of two further infants after the birth of Joseph, who was ten by the time William was born.

William Madocks's father was John Madocks, a barrister at Lincoln's Inn, who would go on to become an eminent King's Counsel, and his mother was Frances.

When he was christened at St Andrew's Church, Holborn, he was given the name William after his grandfather, and Alexander after Alexander the Great, rather than because it was a family name.

The Madocks family had long associations with Wales, traceable back to the time of King Henry II, and William's father inherited property at Llangwyfan and near Wrexham.

William Madocks's father backed his stance, and he worked briefly in a country solicitor's office before going to university at Oxford.

William Madocks's father hoped that he might pursue a career in the legal service.

William Madocks visited North Wales often, staying at the houses of the gentry.

Joseph and William Madocks were noted for their duets, but the parties offered lively discussion of land reclamation, landscaping and agricultural practices.

In 1796 William Madocks purchased the Dolmelynllyn estate, using inheritance from the death of his father.

William Madocks created a ferme ornee there, where he entertained friends such as Thomas Love Peacock.

William Madocks was attracted to the location due to its proximity to the waterfalls of Rhaeadr Ddu, Pistyll Cain and Rhaeadr Mawddach.

In 1798, William Madocks bought the Tan-yr-Allt estate, on the western bank of Traeth Mawr, a large expanse of sand and tidal marsh which formed the estuary of the Afon Glaslyn.

William Madocks set about extending his property by reclaiming Penmorfa Marsh from the estuary, and assisted by the surveyor and civil engineer James Creassy, who had experience of land drainage schemes in the Lincolnshire Fens around Boston, built a semicircular 2-mile embankment, running parallel to the course of the river, to reclaim some 1,082 acres of land.

William Madocks supervised the construction of two catchwater drains and a large sluice, to drain the area behind the embankment.

The Union with Ireland meant that there was a need for improved communication between the two countries, and William Madocks was in favour of a route which crossed his estate, to reach Porthdinllaen, on the northern coast of the Llyn Peninsula, which would provide the terminus for a ferry to Dublin.

William Madocks therefore, emboldened by the success of his first embankment, revived a plan first proposed in 1625 by Sir Hugh Myddleton, and reconsidered in 1718 and 1770, for a more substantial stone-filled embankment across the mouth of the river Glaslyn.

The Porthdinllaen Turnpike Trust Act was obtained in 1803, and in 1807 William Madocks succeeded in steering the Porthdinllaen Harbour Bill through parliament.

William Madocks began the building of a model town at Tremadog, which he planned himself.

William Madocks promoted the building of turnpike roads, as part of his plan to open up the area and increase its prosperity.

William Madocks was unable to devote all his time to his projects, as since 1802 he had been the Member of Parliament for Boston in Lincolnshire, and divided his time between Boston, London and Tan-yr-Allt.

William Madocks needed someone to manage his projects, and although there were several capable candidates at Boston, he knew he needed someone with Welsh language skills and a Welsh temperament.

William Madocks asked Creassy to design the planned embankment and dam across Traeth Mawr, and in early 1806, attempted to obtain an Act of Parliament to authorise it.

William Madocks would be responsible for its cost, and would in return receive the enclosed sands and some rent from reclaimed marshland.

William Madocks hoped the work would be finished by May 1809, but the work proved to be more difficult than expected.

Parliament did not re-assemble until January 1812, and William Madocks spent his time in Wales trying to resolve his financial affairs and to consolidate the embankment.

William Madocks was effectively bankrupt, but was never declared to be so, and his Parliamentary immunity again saved him from prison.

William Madocks returned, enthusiastic to complete a bridge over Traeth Bach, the estuary of the Afon Dwyryd, which would create a route from his embankment to Harlech and Trawsfynydd.

William Madocks lived on her father's estate at Tregunter, in Talgarth, and Madocks took an interest in the area, including the Brecon to Hay Railway and the Brecon Canal.

William Madocks was again elected to Parliament by the people of Boston in 1818, but it was the last time he represented them, as later that year he married Eliza at Talgarth, and spent much more time at Tregunter.

William Madocks became part of a family which included Eliza's sister, and got on very well with Eliza's daughter Eleanora, his abilities to sing, impersonate members of the government or neighbours, and organise the decoration of her bedroom proving to be great assets.

William Madocks had always had a regional plan in his mind, which involved improving communications and creating industry.

William Madocks had once tried to develop a port at Ynys Cyngar, some 2 miles from his embankment, now known as The Cob, but the effects of diverting the Glaslyn through its exit sluice were such that it had scoured out a conveniently deep channel by Ynys Tywyn, the island at the western end of the Cob.

William Madocks had already built a canal from there to Tremadog, and the Ynys Tywyn location was now better suited for a harbour than Ynys Cyngar.

William Madocks realised that a railway from Blaenau Ffestiniog could transport slates directly from the quarries to ships in the harbour, and set about obtaining Acts of Parliament to sanction both, but there was some local opposition to the schemes.

Williams was by this time the Director of Works for the newly named Port Madoc Harbour, and took on responsibility for the railway plans, as Madocks was suffering from jaundice.

Meanwhile, William Madocks became a father when his daughter Eliza Anne Ermine was born.

William Madocks hoped to return to Wales in July 1827, but did not do so, and so for the first time in 25 years, was not elected as an MP in November 1827.

William Madocks wrote him a long letter, imploring him to stay, and assuming that he would, continued to correspond on the importance of diverting the Glaslyn and other matters.

The holiday party arrived back in Rome in March 1828, where Madocks received a letter from Williams, who had obviously forgotten the quarrel, and Madocks immediately replied to express his joy and gratification at the content of the letter.

William Madocks received a letter from Williams, written in March 1828, confirming that the Glaslyn had finally been diverted, to prevent it eroding the back of the embankment, and his reply to it is his last surviving letter.

William Madocks' wife returned to Tregunter, while the Tremadog estate was divided between those who had assisted William Madocks in his schemes.

Williams continued to serve the local community, and organised a coming-of-age party for Madocks' daughter Eliza at Tremadog, in a style reminiscent of the great festivities on which Madocks was so keen.