On the morning of Monday 22 July, curators from the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust will celebrate the summer opening of the Darby Houses by showing visitors three unique objects that are not usually on display.
Between 11am and 1pm Head of Interpretation Lauren Collier and Interpretation Curator Kyla Hislop will be in the Darby Houses to show the public three objects that are rarely on public view:
- The ledger containing the accounts for the building of the Iron Bridge. The information was recorded there by Abraham Darby III and the ledger will be on display in the room where he wrote in it.
- Letters from Deborah and Mary Darby to their mother, Lucy Darby, in the late 1820s and early 1830s with wax seals showing the senders’ support for the abolitionist cause.
- A document containing an estimate for the cost of building the Iron Bridge.
Dale House and Rosehill House, also known as the Darby Houses, were built by members of the Darby Family in 1717 and 1738 respectively.
Abraham Darby I, who built Dale House, is known for perfecting the iron smelting technique that changed the world by making it possible to mass produce iron. This ultimately led to a series of dramatic changes which historians have called the Industrial Revolution. His son Abraham Darby II, who lived in Dale House, continued the expansion of the local iron trade, building nine new blast furnaces within just six kilometres of Coalbrookdale, making Coalbrookdale the main producer of iron in Britain in the mid-18th century. In 1779 Abraham Darby III built the world-famous Iron Bridge.
Different generations of the Darby family lived in the Darby Houses, and they were visited by notable individuals such as the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry and William Allen, a prominent Quaker abolitionist.
Now open to visitors and cared for by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, a heritage conservation and education charity, the two homes give visitors a glimpse of the lifestyle of these 18th- and 19th-century industrialists.
Lauren Collier, Head of Interpretation at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: “We are delighted to be able to show visitors to the Darby Houses these three very special items from the Trust’s collections. They are usually carefully stored to preserve them, so this is a rare opportunity to see them. All three objects are significant as they give us insight into key figures and key moments in the history of the Ironbridge Gorge and the Industrial Revolution. This is a very rare opportunity to see them in their original context.
“We are also grateful to the volunteers who make it possible for us to open the Darby Houses daily during the summer holidays, giving more visitors the opportunity to visit the museum. We look forward to welcoming the public to the houses this summer.”
Also new in 2024, on display daily, is original menswear demonstrating the variety in men’s clothing, from the more plain styles typical of Quakers, such as the Darbys, to more decorative styles.
The display includes a suit with eye-catching cut-steel buttons that belonged to William Rathbone IV (who married Hannah Reynolds, the granddaughter of Abraham Darby II); a plain Quaker suit with breeches which curators believe belonged to another local Quaker, Richard Tapper Cadbury (1768–1860), the father of John Cadbury (1801–1889) who founded the world-famous Cadbury chocolate company; and a more luxurious 18th century embroidered silk waistcoat that belonged to someone who was not a Quaker.
Throughout the summer from Monday 22 July until Sunday 1 September, thanks to willing volunteers, visitors will be welcome at the Darby Houses seven days a week. The Trust’s other museums in Coalbrookdale, the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron and Old Furnace and Enginuity, and the Coalbrookdale Gallery, home to the Trust’s 2024 temporary exhibition ‘From Stars to Cells: The Life of Iron’, will also be open seven days a week.
Images shows the ledger containing the accounts for the building of the Iron Bridge.