Papers of Richard and Robert Thomas, boat builders, Conwy

This collection consists of family papers relating to apprenticeship, wills, property and financial and other documents relating to the Conwy boat building business such as inventories, surveys, bills, letters, account books and wages books.

Also includes accounts material for the shop of Mrs Jane Jones of High Street, Conwy which was found with the Thomas family papers (see entry under Acquisition). It is not known for certain but Mrs Jones may have been a relative of the Thomas family. Richard Thomas appears as a customer in several of the ledgers. Also contains a Poor Rate Assessment book for the parish of Gyffin.

Richard Thomas of Conwy who died in 1893 was a master boat builder and boat repairer. He was also involved in the business of shipping freight out of the Conwy estuary, in particular copper from Llandudno in the years 1840 to 1860, although bankrupt by 1858.

His son, Robert Thomas continued his father's boat building business and in his later years was a surveyor of pleasure boats at north Wales coastal resorts on behalf of the respective Urban Councils. He was a prominent member of the Carmel Methodist Calvinist chapel at Conwy and acted as superintendent of the Sunday school there. He died in 1935.

Material in this collection was acquired by the University College of North Wales (now the University of Wales, Bangor) after the death of Robert Thomas in May 1935. Before that, it was stored on the premises of Mr Keswick's shop at Conwy.

Another catalogue description can be found here : https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb222-bmssrrt