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Darby Houses, Shropshire

Coal and limestone were being quarried and mined in the Severn Valley in Shropshire from the Middle Ages. Iron was made here from the reign of Henry VIII. At this time iron was produced in small batches, iron being extracted from ore by using heat generated from charcoal. With charcoal becoming increasingly expensive, the early eighteenth century iron master Abraham Darby of Bristol was experimenting with coke, a fuel produced by baking coal at high temperatures. Darby thought that coke could be used instead of charcoal in the smelting of iron ore. The best coal for the production of coke was mined in Coalbrookdale in the Severn Valley, Shropshire, so that's where Darby relocated his business in 1709. Darby was proved right about coke, and he was able to produce iron more cheaply in larger quantities. Coalbrookdale - then a name for the whole area rather than the single town of today - became one of the world's most important industrialised areas during the eighteenth century. It was Darby's revolutionary ideas which in many ways provided the iron for the Industrial Revolution to occur.

The Darby Houses were iron masters' residences. Five generations of the Darby family lived here, including Abraham Darby I who perfected iron ore smelting with coke, and Abraham Darby III who built the Iron Bridge, using his company's iron working technology. The Darby Houses now contain a display about the Darby family and their work. The Dale House has been restored to its appearance around 1780, while the Rosehill House recreates 1850.

 

Opening Times: closed for the winter, re-opening March 24th 2012 from 10am - 5pm.

Address: Darby Road, Coalbrookdale, Telford, Shropshire TF8 7EW

Directions: Leave the M54 at junction 4 or 6, and follow signs for Ironbridge Gorge. Then follow signs for Coalbrookdale Museums. Click here for an interactive map centred on Ironbridge.

Access: A steep path leads to the houses from the Darby Furnaces. A few reserved parking spaces are available at Rosehill House. Rosehill House has two floors open to the public. The ground floor has level access, but upper floors can only be reached by stairs. The public areas at Dale House are all on the ground floor, and access is provided with a ramp.

Contact:

telephone: 01952 433424

fax: 01952 884391

e-mail: tic@ironbridge.org.uk

web site: http://www.ironbridge.org.uk/