Here in beautiful rural Shropshire on the River Severn
sits a key landmark in England's industrial history
This bridge was erected in 1779
and was one of the first freestanding cast iron structures anywhere in the world
It was part of a revolution in design and engineering
that would see iron become much more widely used in construction around the globe
I'm Rob Bell, engineer and adventurer
and I'm exploring some of the most fascinating and significant sites in
England's industrial history. We're here at the Iron Bridge
because this marks the beginning of the Industrial Revolution,
the rise of coal and a shift in the way people lived and worked
that continues to this day.
To find out more about this industrial icon
I'm meeting English Heritage historian, Matt Thompson
- Matt, hi, great to see you - Hi, good to see you too
Apart from being this useful crossing over the river here
what exactly is the Iron Bridge? What's its significance?
The Iron Bridge is this symbol of one of the most remarkable periods
in our nation's history - the Industrial Revolution,
when we saw huge changes to society, changes in technology,
changes in the way people saw the world.
It's the first freestanding metal structure.
So when you look at the Burj Khalifa or you look at
the skyline of New York and you see these steel framed skyscrapers,
the Iron Bridge is a kind of great great great great great grandparent of all of these structures.
So really, what happened here in Shropshire is something that went on to transform the world
Well tell me a bit more about the material used to
construct this bridge and and how that was actually made
Well the bridge as the name suggests is made out of iron. And iron of course is
the material of the Industrial Revolution. The name that's most
associated with the bridge, and for very good reasons, is Abraham Darby III
and he was part of a consortium really of local iron masters
who wanted to build a bridge across the river. But they also wanted to show
how good they were at their trade - what they could actually achieve
and so this is very much a sort of calling card for the Iron Masters of the
South Shropshire Coalfield. This is a story that goes back a bit
further and it goes back to Abraham Darby III's grandfather
Abraham Darby came to Coalbrookdale and by 1709
he was producing iron using coke as a fuel and not charcoal
and he is credited with being one of the first people
to use a mineral fuel to be able to smelt iron
and he could do that in a way that was cost effective.
The use of coal was really the next step forward that enabled
a more efficient process to take place.
This was the real beginning to the Industrial Revolution.
If this bridge was this showcase for this new material iron, why build it here?
Why build it in the Severn Gorge? What was it about this place?
This whole area is perfect for the manufacture of iron. Not only do we have all the raw
materials that you'd need - iron ore, limestone and also coal, that can be
turned into coke for fuel. And it's the presence of the River Severn
this is the motorway, it's the super highway of its day
You can bring goods in, your finished goods can go out to market
and also the steep sides of the gorge means that you've got a good supply of
running water which can be used to power water wheels
to give you blast or a draft into the furnaces.
The Severn Gorge here sounds like it would have been a very different place
Can you paint a picture of what it would have been like to stand here now?
What we would see, what we'd hear, what was going on around us?
I think some of the best pictures can be painted by people at the time. One poet
Anna Seward came here and she wrote a poem called 'O, violated Colebrook'
In it she talks about the sort of sulphurous air
which would be all the smoke and fumes coming from the lead smelters and the iron furnaces.
And she talks about the glassy stains on the water of the river
because of course there's lots of pollution going into the river as well
And she paints a picture almost of an apocalyptic vision of industry
destroying the environment. When we stand here and we see the bridge as this
fantastic monument to the age of industry
we also have to really be aware of what the implications were of that
moving forward in terms of climate change
and the situation that we find ourselves in now.
And what would life have been like here for people who were living in the Severn Gorge
or working here in all this industry?
There was no health and safety really in
those days, so it would have been hard work
it would have been incredibly hot work and it would have been dangerous work.
It was a remarkable place to visit, but it must be a very difficult place to work
We look at the bridge today and we celebrate it for what it represents
but when it was built, did it have an impact in Britain?
Absolutely, I mean it had an impact even before the bridge was opened.
So Abraham Darby commissioned a painter William Williams to paint this
beautiful painting of the bridge in all its glory
and very quickly artists, writers, poets, travellers
came here to see the Iron Bridge and to see the furnaces.
It was a tourist attraction
In 1986 it became a World Heritage Site, so that puts it on a par
with the pyramids or Petra, all these other fantastic sites
It's been a long journey of recognising its importance and
English Heritage now as a charity, we're delighted to be
the organisation that cares for this, to ensure that in another
250 years' time it's still standing.
Not only is it a hugely important piece of our nations, our world history,
but it's also still a bridge. It's not in a glass case, there's no
velvet rope saying 'do not sit', 'do not stand', 'do not walk' on it
This is part of a vibrant living community. It's still a functional item.
There's something about that that I really love.
And it feels like a real privilege to be able to do that
to come and stand, to see it, to walk across it
use it as it was first intended to get from one side of the river to the other
Matt, thank you so much for your time today
Thank you
As we've seen today, the Iron Bridge is more than just a simple structure.
It's a British icon that's recognised around the world
as being a landmark to the burgeoning industrial age
The introduction of cast iron engineering had inspired the world to
create structures that weren't just functional, but beautiful as well
The Iron Bridge is accessible to visitors year round
and it's the perfect place to take a break
and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Severn Gorge
Check the English Heritage website for more details