Although the Industrial Revolution did not much affect the rural parts of the area, there was considerable industrial activity in the North Wales Coalfield, particularly around Wrexham. The Bersham Ironworks at Bersham, in the same area, was at the forefront of technological advances and was most famous for being the original working site of the industrialist John Wilkinson who invented new processes for boring cannons. The Williams-Wynn family of Wynnstay had become rich after the dissolution of the monasteries and owned vast estates in Clwyd with resources including lead, tin and copper as well as corn and timber.