The Old Furnace, in Coalbrookdale Shropshire is to be recognised with a prestigious Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Engineering Heritage Award on Friday 10 October, in recognition of it being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
The Old Furnace is part of the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron complex and is cared for by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
It was using the Old Furnace in 1709 that Abraham Darby pioneered the use of coke, rather than charcoal as a fuel for smelting iron, an innovation that marked the beginning of the industrial age.
Engineering Heritage Awards recognise artefacts of particular engineering significance and previous winners include Concorde, Mallard locomotive and the code-breaking Bombe at Bletchley Park. The Awards were set up in 1984 and this will be the 100th Award to be presented to a significant engineering artefact.
The Award will be presented at a special ceremony by Group Captain Mark Hunt, President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and John Wood, Chairman of the Institution’s Heritage Committee to Barrie Williams, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
.jpg?sfvrsn=cdc81712_0 "Old Furnace evening (high res)")
John Wood, Chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Heritage Committee, said:
“The Old Furnace marks the beginning of the industrial age and it is hard to imagine what world we would live in, if it wasn’t for the innovation and vision of people like Abraham Darby.
“It is fitting that this particularly special artefact, which was such a fundamental enabler to the development of mechanical engineering, is being presented with an extra special 100th Engineering Heritage Award.
“This Award recognises, not only the work of those early pioneers like Darby and the people at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust who have so ably kept the early days of the industrial revolution alive, but also the engineering spirit of innovation and progress.”
Anna Brennand, Chief Executive of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said:
“The trustees, staff and volunteers at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust are all delighted that the Old Furnace had been given this prestigious award by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. It is wonderful that the pioneering work conducted by Abraham Darby in this furnace has been recognised by the Institution as one of the starting points of the Industrial Revolution.”
As far as it is known, the Old Furnace began life in the mid 1600s as a typical, charcoal fired, blast furnace. However, in 1708, Abraham Darby took over the lease and converted the furnace to use coke instead of charcoal. While others had experimented with the use of coke, a mineral fuel derived from coal, it was Darby who made this change economically viable. This meant that industrial processes were no longer tied to using a fuel that required the careful management of acres of woodland. Instead coal, a more readily transportable material, could be mined and used in the furnaces. It was this shift toward the use of coal that was pivotal in helping start the Industrial Revolution.
By the 1720s the furnace was producing large quantities of iron for a wide range of customers. Its main products were cast-iron cooking pots, kettles and other domestic articles. Some of the key turning points of the Industrial Revolution had their origins in the furnaces used by the Coalbrookdale Company. In 1729 the first iron flanged railway wheels were cast here and in 1767 iron, instead of wood, was first used on the rails of the local railways. While small developments in one sense, they would go on to transform the way that goods and people were moved around the world.
The Old Furnace was significantly extended in 1777 and it seems likely that Abraham Darby III used the furnace for casting components of the world’s first cast-iron structure, the iconic Iron Bridge, which opened on 1 January 1781. The impact of the Iron Bridge on subsequent buildings is almost immeasurable as, very quickly, iron frames became the norm in large industrial structures across the country and beyond. Expansion of Coalbrookdale’s industrial facilities continued with the development of sophisticated ponds and culverts to provide water power.
By the 1820s the Old Furnace was blown out although, by that time, the Coalbrookdale Company had greatly expanded their works. Over the years the structure was gradually buried under many layers of waste material. There was a proposal for the site to be cleared and the furnace dismantled, but fortunately, it was decided to excavate and preserve the remains. The Old Furnace and a small museum were opened to celebrate 250 years of the Coalbrookdale Company in 1959.
The Coalbrookdale Company eventually became part of an alliance of iron-founding companies called Light Castings Ltd. This was absorbed by Allied Ironfounders in 1929 and eventually acquired by Glynwed which has since become Aga Foodservice Group.
In 1986 The Ironbridge Gorge was recognised as a World Heritage Site.