Hugh Myddelton

Who was Hugh Myddelton?

Sir Hugh Myddelton, 1st Baronet was a Welsh clothmaker, entrepreneur, mine-owner, goldsmith, banker and self-taught engineer. The spelling of his name is inconsistently reproduced, but Myddelton appears to be the earliest, and most consistently used in place names associated with him.

The sixth son of Richard Myddelton, governor of Denbigh Castle in Wales and MP for Denbigh Boroughs, he travelled to seek his fortune in London and after being apprenticed to a goldsmith became so successful in that trade that he was appointed Royal Jeweller by King James I. In the meantime he became an alderman and then recorder of Denbigh, and in 1603 succeeded his father as MP for Denbigh Boroughs, which he remained until 1628. He also became a very wealthy merchant and clothmaker.