The Old Furnace in Coalbrookdale chosen for Historic England’s Irreplaceable campaign
The Old Furnace in Coalbrookdale, known as the “birthplace of industry” is among ten places chosen today by Tristram Hunt, for Historic England’s campaign Irreplaceable: A History of England in 100 Places.
The campaign aims to find the 100 places that bring to life England’s rich and extraordinary history and is sponsored by specialist insurer, Ecclesiastical.
Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A has judged the Industry, Trade & Commerce category and is one of a panel of expert judges, including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Mary Beard, David Olusoga and Dr David Ison, Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral. Each judge has been tasked with choosing their top ten places in a range of different categories, from a long list of public nominations. Historic England received 799 public nominations for the Industry, Trade & Commerce category - the highest received in any category.
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England said: “We had an overwhelming response from the public in this category, with nearly 800 nominations of places which help tell the story of our industrial and commercial past. Each of these 10 places chosen by Tristram Hunt demonstrate that many different industries and enterprises, from brewing and coal mining to financial services, have defined who we are as a nation and although some have changed uses, they remain a central part of our lives today.”
Why choose The Old Furnace in Coalbrookdale?
A discovery here in 1709 is widely thought to have been the catalyst for the Industrial Revolution which transformed England and the world.
Iron production was not new to the area but it was in this furnace that Abraham Darby I pioneered the method of smelting iron fuelled by coke (heated coal), rather than charcoal (heated wood). This allowed the furnace to become incredibly hot and meant that high quality iron could be made in massive quantities. The reliance on wood supplies for charcoal up to this point had meant that producing iron on an industrial scale simply wasn’t possible, but by switching to coke Darby kickstarted the modern iron industry and gave this place the nickname “The Birthplace of Industry”.
Bridges, buildings, railways - the backbone of the Industrial Revolution, all began to be constructed using iron which paved the way for the modern world. Iron framing technology in buildings, first used at Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings not far from Coalbrookdale, even led to the tall buildings which dominate our cities today.
Category judge Tristram Hunt, said: “The work of Abraham Darby was so revolutionary in providing the power, energy and might that would transform the steel industry and generate the wealth from which modern Britain emerged.”
New podcast series
The 10 places chosen by Tristram Hunt will be explored in depth in new episodes of the recently launched podcast series - free on iTunes and Soundcloud. The podcast is presented by historian Suzannah Lipscomb and features Tristram Hunt.
