Dynasty of the Iron Founders

I have recently read a book called “Dynasty of the Iron Founders: The Darbys and Coalbrookdale“, written by Arthur Raistrick and published in 1953. It’s a heavy-going tome and a difficult read, charting the early days of iron founding from the early 18th century through to more modern times (well, the 1950s anyway). The whole story is spread over many more years than I had been led to believe from my school days and involved a lot more people. The famous bridge (pictured above) was just a small part of the tale and was built (primarily) by Abraham Darby III (the story is complicated by the fact that each generation of the Darby family called a son ‘Abraham’, and the book makes it more complicated still by often forgetting to define which one it is referring to.

You can buy a used copy of the book from Amazon for just £5. It’s worth battling your way through it if you are interested in the history of the Ironbridge Gorge and those who shaped it.