George Insole | |
|---|---|
_portrait_c.1840.jpg) | |
| Born | Worcestershire, England |
| Baptised | 5 December 1790 |
| Died | 1 January 1851 (aged 60) Crockherbtown, Cardiff, Wales |
| Burial place | St Margaret's Church, Roath, Cardiff |
| Occupation(s) | Colliery proprietor and entrepreneur |
| Known for | Pioneering development of the mineral resources of the South Wales coal fields |
| Children | James Harvey Insole |
George Insole (baptised 5 December 1790 – 1 January 1851) was an English entrepreneur who built an extensive coal mining and shipping business in South Wales.
A younger son of an English tenant farmer in Worcestershire, Insole made judicious use of significant financial assistance from his wider family to move to Cardiff, Wales, in 1828, to enter into partnership there as a brick, timber and coal merchant (1829–1830), and to become an independent coal producer and shipper in 1832. He pioneered the introduction and early success of South Wales steam coal in the London and international markets and his coal contracts underpinned Lucy Thomas's reputation as "the mother of the Welsh steam coal trade".
Insole is claimed to have been the first to supply the London market (1830), the international market (Malta, 1831), and the Royal Navy (1831) with South Wales steam coal. Insole was for many years the largest shipper of steam coal at Cardiff.