Casson Papers

Personal letters, 1841-1862; estate, business and financial correspondence of the Casson family, including the Diphwys slate quarry, 1836-1892; letters relating to charities in Merioneth, 1842-1896; and letters relating to Ffestiniog Poor Law Union, 1852-1860. See also arrangement field.

The Diphwys slate quarry in Ffestiniog, Merionethshire, was opened in about 1765. In 1800 it was bought for £1,000 by William Turner (1766-1853) and his partners William and Thomas Casson of Lancashire. They were joined by Hugh Jones, Hengwrtucha, Dolgellau, a banker, and formed the company William Turner & Co. Thomas Casson was the father of George (b. 1802), William (b. 1813) and John (b. 1816), and the grandfather of 'Cassons the Bankers'. According to the 1861 census George Casson was a 'Magistrate Banker' and John Casson is described as a 'Banker', both living at Blaenyddol, Ffestiniog. George Casson followed his father as a partner in the Diphwys slate quarry, along with Thomas Turner, the son of William Turner.

Arranged chronologically into two groups: Group I consisting of family letters; social matters; business papers; quarry business; transport of slate; general business; financial matters; papers relating to lands; political matters; ecclesiastical matters; education; charities; Turnpike trust; papers relating to the Volunteer Rifle Corps; Game; and miscellaneous papers; and Group II (Z/DCH/A - Casson Papers Appendix) consisting of business papers; personal letters; diaries; papers from The Poor Law Board; and miscellaneous papers.

No restrictions

Compiled by Mair James for the HMC/NLW Family and Estates project. The following source was used in the compilation of this description: Meirionnydd Archives, Catalogue of the Casson Papers.

Hard copies of the catalogue are available at Meirionnydd Archives, National Library of Wales and the National Register of Archives

Usual copyright regulations apply.

All records deposited at the Meirionnydd Archives have been retained

Accruals are not expected

Further papers relating to the Casson family business activities are National Library of Wales, Tanymanod and Gelli Estate Papers (previously Plas Blaenddôl Papers) 147,166,169,220-238,267,276, and HSBC Group Archives (see Pressnell, L. S., and Orbell, John, A Guide to the historical records of British banking (Aldershot, 1985)).