{"version":"1.0","type":"photo","cache_age":"3600","width":600,"height":338,"title":"In November 2017 the Coalbrookdale Foundry closed. For over three hundred years the people of Coalbrookdale provided a workforce for this industrial giant, creating delicate filigree, AGA stoves, the world\u0027s first iron bridge and lots more! Our sculpture recognises and commemorates a piece of local history which has\r\nhad world-wide significance. \r\n\r\nIt is positioned in the place where coal was transformed into coke: prior to Abraham Darby I\u0027s ground-breaking experiments, iron had been forged with charcoal; the use of coke was a major step forward in the production of iron as a raw material for the Industrial Revolution; this location is still known as The Coke Hearth.\r\n\r\nOn the day of closure, workers hung their boots, jackets and helmets on the foundry gates; this sculpture commemorates that moment... along with the preceding three hundred and eight years of craftsmanship in iron manufacture that gave Coalbrookdale a resonance locally, nationally and throughout the world.","url":"https:\/\/images.weserv.nl\/?url=www.openbenches.org\/image\/9b824c0124bc493d71c348ad92e67a299676be1a\/\u0026w=600\u0026q=60\u0026output=webp\u0026il\u0026default=1","author_name":"jrbray1","latitude":52.641052,"longitude":-2.490823,"licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","provider_name":"OpenBenches","provider_url":"https:\/\/openbenches.org\/"}