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In 1709, Quaker ironmaster Abraham Darby I, led the way to cheap and plentiful iron production by using coke as fuel, instead of charcoal. Coalbrookdale became one of the most important industrialised areas in the world during the eighteenth century and it was said that the Severn was the second busiest river in Europe. In 1758, 400 vessels were trading between Gloucester and Welshpool. Within fifty years this number had doubled, and by the 1750s many ferry crossings were also in operation, being essential for transporting raw materials across the river to the ironworks and other industries in the valley. The only other permanent crossing was the medieval Buildwas Bridge, 2 miles upstream. For boats navigating the river, the water was often too shallow in summer and too fast and high in winter, so industry was at the mercy of the Severn. The ironmaster, Abraham Darby III, was commissioned to build a new bridge. The building of the bridge was partly a public relations exercise, advertising the versatility of cast-iron and his Coalbrookdale Company. The bridge was promoted by the eighteenth-century equivalent of a media campaign and paintings were commissioned to advertise it. Darby paid a bill ‘for advertising the views’ six months before the Bridge officially opened. An engraving of the bridge went through several editions, each purchaser being given an engineering drawing free of charge. Thomas Jefferson, later third President of the United States, bought Iron Bridge engravings through a friend in London, whilst Minister to France in 1786.

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Institute: Ironbridge Gorge Museum