Ironbridge - West Midlands UK

[Steven Tribe]

This is fun! Blast furnaces reduce the carbon content in pig iron - producing eventually steel. But perhaps someone could take a sample from the bridge so we could get the carbon content checked?

[IanG]

AFAIK, there were older works making wrought iron, but Ironbridge (Coalbrookdale) was where iron was first smelted using blast furnaces. The Ironbridge is definitely iron, and was the world's first.

Ironbridge is a World Heritage Site.

Over 2,000 years out the first Blast Furnaces where in the 5thC BC.

The Coalbrookdale Works was supposedly the first Blast Furnace to use Coal (coke) rather than Charcoal which meant production could be greatly increased as charcoal was often in short supply as furnaces used large quantities.

In fact Coal had been in use a century before in Blast furnaces but not in large quantities, and there are direct family and employee connections between the earlier companies and Abraham Darby. I studied Industrial Archeology with one of the founders of the Iron Bridge Gorge Museum Trust and spent a few weeks at the Ironbridge Institute.

Ian

[Pete Watkins]

Just to throw a bit of chaos into all this. An old Black Countryman told me in the pub one night that a bloke named Dud Dudley first invented a method of smelting iron using coal instead of charcoal but the charcoal burners chased him out of town (God only knows which town) and the technology was forgotten until Abraham Darby re-invented it. Great story, nice pub and good English ale.
Pete.

[IanG]

Just to throw a bit of chaos into all this. An old Black Countryman told me in the pub one night that a bloke named Dud Dudley first invented a method of smelting iron using coal instead of charcoal but the charcoal burners chased him out of town (God only knows which town) and the technology was forgotten until Abraham Darby re-invented it. Great story, nice pub and good English ale.
Pete.

9:30am Saturday 28th, Pete and any others who want to join us, Old Station car park which is at the Ironbridge corner of Ladywood Road, eastern side of the River. Drive south through Ironbridge village itself stay by the river to the New Bridge and double back to the car park (maybe 2 miles).

Dud Dudley did indeed invent the method of smelting iron with coal, and in the Foley's Stour Valley Ironworks account for 1665-70 there's purchases of Pitcole Iron from his former works.

Ian

[Pete Watkins]

Ian,
Sundays the 28th. I'm at Statfold Barn Railway on Saturday. I'm sure that you mean Sunday but I'm easily confused at my age.
Help.
At least my old mate wasn't totally in fantasy land when he mentioned Dud Dudley.
Hope to see you on SUNDAY????
Pete.

[John Orrells]

see you all tomorrow (sunday)
John

[John Orrells]

cheers all for an interesting day!
John

[Pete Watkins]

Thanks to everyone, especially Ian. I really enjoyed it.
Best wishes,
Pete.