The renewal of the lease had taken from 1840 to 1848, by which time Sir John Guest was starting a long and declining period of illness that would eventually lead to his death.

A student of modern management methods, Menelaus insisted on weekly reports on physical and financial performance from all departments, and took daily walks through the works.

Though the Bessemer process was licensed in 1856, nine years of detailed planning and project management were needed before the first steel was produced: Menelaus innovated in production systems and methodologies.

[1] With local supplies of iron ore depleting, all of the South Wales ironworks became highly dependent on transport systems.

The Dowlais ironworks site was located 1,000 feet (300 m) above sea level, and so required excellent transport connections to remain profitable and competitive.

As a result, Clark and Menelaus drove railway development, connecting Dowlais to the docks at Cardiff, Barry, Newport and Swansea.

[2] Unlike many successful Victorian-era business people, Menelaus was not very active in civic life, but focused his attentions of development of his chosen profession.

In 1857 he facilitated the meeting at the Castle Hotel, Merthyr, which led to the foundation of the South Wales Institute of Engineers, of which he was the first president.

[1] Although paid well from his work at Dowlais and investments in other steel, coal and commercial activities, Menelaus lived a simple lifestyle at his home in Merthyr Tydfil.

[8] Menelaus was buried on 4 April 1882 in the churchyard at Penderyn, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in the same brick grave that had already held his wife for thirty years.