| Coalbrookdale | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Abraham Darby's blast furnace, Coalbrookdale | |
  Coalbrookdale Location within Shropshire | |
| OS grid reference | SJ668047 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TELFORD |
| Postcode district | TF8 |
| Dialling code | 01952 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Coalbrookdale is a town[1] in the Ironbridge Gorge and the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. It lies within the civil parish called the Gorge.
This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides of the valley. As it contained far fewer impurities than normal coal, the iron it produced was of a superior quality. Along with many other industrial developments that were going on in other parts of the country, this discovery was a major factor in the growing industrialisation of Britain, which was to become known as the Industrial Revolution. Today, Coalbrookdale is home to the Ironbridge Institute, a partnership between the University of Birmingham and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust offering postgraduate and professional development courses in heritage.
- ^ "Godwin, Joseph, (born 7 July 1964), Director, BBC Academy, since 2015, and BBC Midlands, since 2016 (Director, BBC Birmingham, 2015–16)", Who's Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2011, retrieved 8 November 2024