William McConnel  William McConnel (1810 – 10 October 1902) (sometimes written: William McConnell) was a British industrialist and mill-owner from Lancashire, England. He founded the Aberdovey Slate Company that ran the Bryn Eglwys slate quarry from 1863 onwards and oversaw the construction of the associated Talyllyn Railway. The McConnel family were owners of a series of large cotton spinning mills in Ancoats in the city of Manchester. The first mill, Sedgewick Mill, was built between 1818 and 1821 by the company of Messrs. McConnel & Kennedy under the chairmanship of James McConnel, William's father, and in partnership with John Kennedy. James McConnel died in 1831 and three of his sons, Henry, James and William became partners in the business. By 1833, the McConnel & Kennedy Mills were the largest importer of cotton from America, and Sedgwick Mill was one of the largest mills in operation in the United Kingdom. Henry retired from the business in 1860 and his brother James retired in 1861, leaving William as the sole owner of the mill. The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 had a dramatic impact on McConnel & Kennedy. Raw cotton supplies from America were cut off, causing many Lancashire Mills to sharply reduce production or close completely. Sedgwick Mill held large stocks of raw cotton and continued in limited production. By 1863, with the war continuing, McConnel was looking for other enterprises to diversify his interests away from cotton spinning. In 1859, McConnel purchased Hengwrt Hall near Dolgellau in mid Wales. His connection to Wales lead him to form the Aberdovey Slate Company on 3 January 1864, to exploit the mineral resources of the district. The company leased the land on which the Bryn Eglwys slate quarry stood and took over slate extraction operations. McConnel oversaw a significant expansion of operations at the quarry. A major part of this was to construct a new railway from the quarry to the standard gauge Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway at Tywyn, some 7 miles away. This new railway was the narrow gauge Talyllyn Railway which opened in 1866. Bryn Eglwys was a successful venture and continued in production until 1946. The Talyllyn Railway continued serving the local district after the closure of the quarry, and in 1951 became the first railway in the world to be taken over by volunteers and run as a heritage railway.