Things to do in Coalbrookdale, England: The Best Museums

Reviewed By 227ianc - London, United Kingdom

Abraham Derby I transformed the cast iron industry when he perfected the smelting of iron with coke rather than charcoal The remains of his blast furnace of 1709 still exist in Coalbrookdale alongside the new Museum of Iron in the old 1838 warehouse which celebrates the individuals who made this area 'the birthplace of the industrial revolution' in England plus the products of the famous Coalbrookdale Company which are still to be found all over England, having started from creating cooking pots from 1709. The displays include the gold medal presented by the Royal Academy in 1787 for the wooden model of the Iron Bridge, also on show, and ends with a couple of Agas, which are made in Coalbrookdale today. It shows how designers created many useful objects that we still see in our towns and cities today and also some very strange objects such as a dining room table held up by dogs. A fascinating museum telling the story of how Coalbrookdale changed the world, and there is a good shop and a popular coffeeshop/restaurant in an adjacent building. There is a link to Scotland, with a lamp from the Carron Works in Falkirk - in its day one of the largest ironworks in Europe, whose achievements are in need of similar recognition to the works at Coalbrookdale