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In 1982 just before going on holiday to Wales I talked to my Norfolk County Council colleague Gus about our plans for the journey. I explained that before arriving in North Wales we intended to stop at the Blists Hill Museum at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire.
Gus was well-versed in antiques and art. He said that we should see the 1801 paintings by Phillip James de Loutherberg entitled Coalbrookdale by night and Iron works. Coalbrookdale was considered to be the cradle of the industrial revolution, with the first iron being smelted by Abraham Darby I in the early 1700s. The process was so far perfected that by 1778 Abraham Darby III was able to build the first ever iron bridge across the Severn Gorge, completing it in 1801.
On our trip to the Museum we saw copies of the paintings and they made an enormous impression, conveying the intensity of the iron furnaces in the manufacturing process.
Over many years now I have been saddened at the way the proud industrial history of Ipswich has been airbrushed out of existence. As well as the 1949/60s Windrush generation who found manufacturing employment in the town, there were also migrants from the north of England who came to work here and were accommodated in new housing estates in Nacton and elsewhere.
Now, thanks to Historic England the Work Furnace Project, masterminded by Hannah Houghton at Eastern Angles [article: Issue 232], is now bringing into the open memories of Ipswich’s manufacturing past. As well as a conduit for the reminiscences of those involved, it is intended to produce a Heritage Trail, as very little in terms of buildings now remains. This is not before time; the Ipswich of my youth was not about marinas, bars and the night-time economy, but of skilled work by superb craftsmen renowned throughout the world.
I was pleased recently to listen to, and contribute with others, to Mark Murphy’s Radio Suffolk show. I am also taking part in the discussion session on engineering which is to be held shortly.
The forthcoming revelations will no doubt surprise many younger people. At last our town’s proud industrial history and achievements are being rescued from oblivion.
Coalbrookdale was the historic source of the industrial revolution. Ipswich was eastern England’s industrial capital, exporting excellence across the globe.
The Loutherberg paintings left an indelible impression – the most welcome Work Furnace project will do the same.
Graham Day