Industrial Revolution Power Brokers
This year marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Industrial Revolution in what is now a quiet Shropshire town as well as the 200th anniversary of the death of one of Britain’s greatest industrialists, Matthew Boulton. Ross Reyburn reports.
Ironically, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution occupies one of the finest scenic views in England. Opened on New Year's Day in 1781, the striking arched Iron Bridge that spans the Severn Gorge is today overlooked by the town that takes its name from the famous construction, serene focal point for the UNESCO Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.
'The Iron Bridge is unbelievably beautiful,' says David de Haan, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust's Director of Learning. The location was just a wharf where there was a ferry and the town didn't exist when it was built. The bridge was a fantastic exercise by Abraham Darby III to promote the use of iron.'
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