John Hughes and Russian Metallurgy
J ohn Hughes was born at Merthyr in South Wales in i814 and died in St Petersburg at the Hotel Angleterre in i889. In his seventy-four years he Was associated with the development of the steam-engine, and he evolved an improved mounting for naval guns. But it is his part in the development of the Russian iron and steel industry which earned him his honourable mention in history books. This article is intended primarily to assess his contribution to Russian metallurgy. Merthyr was the largest and richest of the Welsh iron towns and Hughes, after a home education, worked under his father, who was an engineer at the Cyfartha works. After gaining a practical knowledge of the industry Hughes moved to Ebbw Vale, and then founded his own Newport works. Here he earned a reputation as an innovator, before joining the Milwall ironworks where he became director in i 86o. The 'Hughes stringer', a new and successful mounting for heavy naval guns, appeared during his Milwall period.' The development of the ironclad battleship led indirectly to Hughes's interest in Russia. The Admiralty was seeking the best possible material for its ships and held trials of various British and French manufacturers' armourplate. In these trials the Milwall product was shown to be more resistant to gunfire than its competitors.2 This attracted the attention of the Russian government, which ordered Milwall iron for the armouring of its Constantine Fortress in Kronstadt. Two military engineers, General Tomleben and Colonel Gern, were sent as representatives from St Petersburg and it was through their acquaintance with Hughes that the latter was persuaded to take up a concession granted to Prince Kochubei in i868 for an iron-rail factory in the south of Russia. Hughes visited the proposed site, saw that it was good, and returned to England to form a company to exploit the concession. This done, he quit Britain and lived the rest of his life in Russia. The Russian government's incentive to start an iron industry in southern Russia (or, more exactly, the southern Ukraine) was the realization that the growing demand for iron, and especially for cheap iron, could not be satisfied