In November 2017 the Coalbrookdale Foundry closed. For over three hundred years the people of Coalbrookdale provided a workforce for this industrial giant, creating delicate filigree, AGA stoves, the world's first iron bridge and lots more! Our sculpture recognises and commemorates a piece of local history which has
had world-wide significance.
It is positioned in the place where coal was transformed into coke: prior to Abraham Darby I's ground-breaking experiments, iron had been forged with charcoal; the use of coke was a major step forward in the production of iron as a raw material for the Industrial Revolution; this location is still known as The Coke Hearth.
On the day of closure, workers hung their boots, jackets and helmets on the foundry gates; this sculpture commemorates that moment... along with the preceding three hundred and eight years of craftsmanship in iron manufacture that gave Coalbrookdale a resonance locally, nationally and throughout the world.
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