Coalbrookdale

• 1. Pre-Industrial Foundations

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  The valley of Coalbrookdale held a bloomsmithy called Caldebroke Smithy before the Dissolution of the Monasteries. This early ironworks belonged to Much Wenlock Priory until the mid-sixteenth century. The manor passed to John Brooke around 1572, who developed coal mining on a substantial scale in his estate. His son Sir Basil Brooke became a significant industrialist and invested in ironworks elsewhere. He acquired an interest in the patent for making steel via the cementation process about 1615. Though forced to surrender the patent in 1619, he continued making iron and steel until his estate was sequestrated during the Civil War. In 1651, Francis Wolfe leased the manor as clerk of the ironworks. A surviving old blast furnace contains a cast-iron lintel bearing a date currently painted as 1638. An archive photograph shows this same lintel marked 1658 instead. By 1688, Lawrence Wellington operated the ironworks, followed shortly by Shadrach Fox. Fox renewed the lease in 1696, letting the Great Forge and Plate Forge to Wellington. Some evidence suggests Shadrach Fox smelted iron with mineral coal, though this remains controversial. The furnace blew up no later than April 1703 and remained derelict until Abraham Darby arrived in 1709.

• 2. The Coke Revolution

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  Abraham Darby rebuilt Coalbrookdale Furnace in 1709 using coke as fuel. This coal came from drift mines dug into the sides of the valley. It contained far fewer impurities than normal coal, producing superior quality iron. His business made cast-iron pots and other goods through a patented foundry method. This technique enabled him to produce cheaper pots than his rivals. Coalbrookdale claims to be home of the world's first coke-fired blast furnace. It was actually the first in Europe to operate successfully for more than a few years. Darby renewed his lease of the works in 1714 forming a partnership with John Chamberlain and Thomas Baylies. They built a second furnace about 1715. Darby died prematurely at Madeley Court in 1717, the same year he began building Dale End house. His widow Mary followed him quickly in death. The partnership dissolved before Mary's death, with Baylies taking over Vale Royal Furnace. A company led by Quaker Thomas Goldney II of Bristol managed the works after Mary's death. Richard Ford also served as manager. Abraham Darby the Younger joined the business as assistant manager when old enough.

• 3. Engineering Innovations

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  Molten iron for this foundry work came from blast furnaces or air furnaces remelting pig iron. The Company supplied cylinders for Newcomen atmospheric engines starting in 1723. Upgraded boring facilities in 1734 allowed them to bore larger cylinders reaching 60 inches diameter by 1748. Later they achieved 70 inch diameter cylinders. They installed their own Newcomen engine in 1743 as a water-returning engine. This pumped water from below the waterwheel to the pond above it when supply was low. From 1720, the Company operated a forge at Coalbrookdale but it was not profitable. In about 1754, renewed experiments applied coke pig iron to bar iron production in charcoal finery forges. This proved successful and led partners building new furnaces at Horsehay and Ketley. In 1767, the Company began producing the first cast-iron rails for railways. Abraham Darby III undertook building the world's first cast-iron bridge in 1778. It opened on the 1st of January 1781. Most of the work happened at Coalbrookdale since no settlement existed at Ironbridge in the eighteenth century. A beam engine named Resolution replaced the earlier Newcomen water-returning engine in 1781. This atmospheric engine had a separate condenser per James Watt's patent.

• 4. Notable Residents And Figures

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  The gates of London's Hyde Park were built at Coalbrookdale during the nineteenth century. Other examples include the verandah at St John's in Monmouth, Wales. A Peacock Fountain stands in Christchurch, New Zealand as another export. Ornamental ironwork became a speciality for the foundry during this period. The blast furnaces closed down perhaps as early as the 1820s but foundries remained active. In 1795, Buildwas Bridge used only half as much cast iron despite being 30 feet wider than the Ironbridge. Thomas Telford began Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct project in 1796 carrying Shrewsbury Canal over River Tern. Charles Bage designed and built the world's first multi-storey cast-iron-framed mill using brick and iron without wood. This improved fire-resistance significantly. Several industrial heritage sites exist on the local trail including Quaker Burial Ground and Tea Kettle Row. The Great Western Railway Viaduct also marks the area's history.

  The Old Blast

• 5. Decorative Ironwork Legacy

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  Furnace became buried after closing in the century following its operation. A proposal to clear and dismantle it was rejected in favor of excavation and preservation. It opened with a small museum celebrating 250 years of the Company in 1959. This site became part of Ironbridge Gorge Museums larger project. The Museum of Iron sits inside Great Warehouse constructed in 1838. Ironbridge Institute occupies the Long Warehouse forming sides of an open space. Another side holds the Old Blast Furnace under a building erected in 1981 for weather protection. One track will be taken by Telford Steam Railway as southern extension from Horsehay. Archaeology unit continues investigating earlier history of Coalbrookdale. They recently excavated remains of 17th century cementation furnaces near Upper Forge site. The uppermost lintel reads Abraham Darby 1777 recording enlargement for casting Iron Bridge. The interior profile bulges around middle

• 6. Modern Preservation Efforts

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  then tapers into narrower hearth where iron melted.