Ironbridge (matchstick model)
| Exhibit |
|---|
Ironbridge (matchstick model) |
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| location: |
| Arch One , Area 71 Arch One, Overhead |
A wooden matchstick model of the famous iron bridge at Ironbridge Gorge, crossing the River Severn.
The model is overhead in Arch One, above the shop counter.
About the original bridge
The bridge at Ironbridge was built by Abraham Darby III, one of the founders of Britain's Industrial Revolution. Darby perfected a method of manufacturing iron using coke to remove the impurities, and this made the material cheap enough to be used for purposes that would previously have been uneconomic (such as bridges). Designed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard, and opening in 1781, the bridge heralded a new dawn in the industrial use of iron, and its high visibility effectively made it a giant advertisement or billboard for the new industrial processes that were being developed.
Ironbridge literally put Darby's foundry "on the map", and its distinctive design made it an icon of the Industrial Revolution.
