Coalbrookdale’s Old Furnace gets engineering heritage award
The Old Furnace in Coalbrookdale Shropshire is to be recognised with an Institution of Mechanical Engineers' (IMechE) Engineering Heritage Award in recognition of it being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
In 1709, Abraham Darby used the Old Furnace to pioneer the use of coke rather than charcoal as a fuel for smelting iron, marking 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 Award will be presented at a special ceremony by Group Captain Mark Hunt, president of the IMechE 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.
The Old Furnace is part of the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron complex and is cared for by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
