CREW/Amy Dillwyn Lecture

Amy Dillwyn (1845-1935) was one of the world’s earliest female industrialists. In the 1890s she took control of a failing spelter works and transformed it into a profitable concern. Never bound by convention, she made trips to Europe and North Africa to secure supply chains, negotiated with engineers and mine-owners, and – with her trademark cigar – became a familiar local and national figure.

Dr Carol Bell, a businesswoman and archaeologist, will explore this lesser known part of Amy’s life when she used her very considerable talent, previously devoted to literary pursuits, to save the livelihoods of her workers when Swansea was reeling from the impact of the McKinley Tariff imposed by the US to protect manufacturing assets. This story will show that truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction.