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Transport problems are nothing new
By the 1780s there were over 20 miles (30km) of iron railway tracks around Coalbrookdale which linked the furnaces and forges to the mines, warehouses, canals and the river Severn. It is thought that each mile cost £800 to build! |
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Could you ask for anything more
The 1877 Coalbrookdale Company decorative castings catalogue includes castings of a stag and a camel, but perhaps the strangest item is a casting of a bear playing the part of a dentist! |
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Ringing them in
If a workman was persistently late for work his friends would fetch him to work in a wheelbarrow, with the accompaniment of a racket made by tin whistles, cans and gongs. The culprit was then tipped out at their place of work. |
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Where did you get that hat?
Workers in the different departments at Coalbrookdale used to wear different types of hats according to where they worked. The moulders wore starched blue and white checked caps and the modellers wore starched white ‘chefs’ hats. The fitters made their own hats out of brown paper. Some were shaped like a trilby, some were square and some were shaped like a bishop’s mitre. |
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Dam disasters
The dam wall between the old furnace and the upper furnace pool at Coalbrookdale has broken twice. The first time was sometime between 1700 and 1706 and the second time was in 1801. |
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Keep it under your hat
One of the workers in the pattern shop where wooden patterns were made used to take home small pieces of wood to light his fire. He hid the wood inside his hat his top hat! |
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Security has always been our watchword
In the 19th century the wages for the workers at the Coalbrookdale Ironworks were carried from the bank in Ironbridge to Coalbrookdale in a wheelbarrow! |
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What do you mean you want a day off!
In 1875 the working day was from 6 am to 6pm on Mondays to Fridays and 6 am to 4 pm on Saturdays. Sundays were the only days off. If a workman was late, even by only a few minutes the gates were closed and he lost a quarter of a days pay. |
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What’s in a name?
Almost everyone had nicknames these included Raspass, Magpie, Tinker, Foot and First, Pecker, 4-pennyworth-of-lamb, wooden Mike, Iron Mike, Teddy Fol-lol, Cottage Tom, Spot Tom and 6 foot Tom. |
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Poisonous processes
Some iron statues were plated to make them look like bronze or covered in gilding. The process involved using poisonous chemicals and these, including cyanide, sulphuric and nitric acid, were just left lying around the workshops. |
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Shave while you work
At one time the manager of the Coalbrookdale works allowed a couple of barbers to come into the works to shave and cut the hair of the workers. One of them brought his lunch with him hidden under his hat! |
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Accidents at work
Accidents at work such as burns, scalds, eye injuries, and crushed and severed limbs and fingers were not uncommon. Injured workmen would be taken by horse and cart to the cottage hospital in Broseley or on a 15 mile journey to Shrewsbury. A badly injured employee would be lucky to survive the journey. |
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The Shropshire Giant
William Ball was an iron puddler. He was known as the Shropshire giant because he weighed over 40 stone (560lb; 254kg). In 1850 he led a procession to celebrate the birth of Alfred Darby II and was lifted onto his horse by a special crane. |
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10 strange things made of iron
Iron was used to make all kind of things including Chimney pots, gravestones, a tortoise, a coffin, bookcases, a boat, earrings, doors, glue pots and clocks. |
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Double Turns
Smelting iron in a blast furnace was a continuous process that ran 24 hours a day. Each week there was a night shift and a day shift. In order to change the shifts over the Sunday day shift had to do a ‘double turn’ starting at 6 am and going on for 24 hours until 6 am on the Monday morning. The hours were later reduced by allowing the workers to have a few hours rest on Sunday morning and afternoon. In the 19th century when they no longer smelted iron at Coalbrookdale workers were allowed to have Sundays off. |
Crystal Palace Trivia |
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An Inspired Design
Good ideas often happen at unexpected moments. Joseph Paxton sketched out his design for The Crystal Palace on a sheet of blotting paper while at a meeting. |
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Bad Taste Designs
Not all of the Coalbrookdale Company’s exhibits at the Great Exhibition escaped criticism. The Coalbrookdale Dome had a mixed reception. The figure of the eagle slayer was thought to be good, but the eagle with an arrow sticking through it was described as: "an absolutely inexcusable piece of bad taste" |
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Lost Property
Lost property that was never reclaimed included 3 petticoats, 2 bustles, 3 pin cushions and 12 monocles. |
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Poets and Praise
The Great Exhibition inspired poets such as Thackeray. There was specialist literature for visitors from abroad and for children. Martin Tupper’s "Exhibition Hymn" was also available - in 30 languages! |
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Military Testing
There were concerns about whether the floor would be strong enough to take the expected crowds of people, so a group of soldiers were used to test the strength of the floor by marching up and down on it. |
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Speedy Construction
The speed with which such the Crystal Palace was completed astonished the world. The secret lay in the design being based on the repetition of standardised components which were mass produced, pre-fabricated and simply bolted together on site. No scaffolding was needed. Only blocks and pulleys, masts, sheer legs and ropes were used. At one point three columns and two girders were being erected every 16 minutes! In all some 3300 iron columns and 2150 girders as well as some 900,000 square feet of glass were used. |
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Spending a Penny
Visitors to the Great Exhibition had to 'spend a penny' to use the public toilets. The toilets took £2,441 in the 141 days that the exhibition was open! |
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The Chinese Exhibits
China did not send anything for the exhibition so the objects on display were assembled from collectors in Britain. Despite this everyone was fooled by a character who dressed up in Chinese clothes and claimed to be an envoy from China. He got to meet many people and take part in the ceremonies. |
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Stuffed Elephants
India sent a howdah but no suitable stuffed elephant could be found to display it. In the end one was borrowed from Saffron Waldon Museum. |
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Diamond thieves
The Koh-i-noor diamond was displayed in a large golden bird cage designed by Chubbs. There was a plan to steal the diamond. A woman was to faint in front of the stand and cause a distraction while others stole the jewel. The theft was thwarted after they let their plans slip to a servant in their lodgings. |
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Crystal Palace catering
Schweppes provided soda water, lemonade and ginger beer in the Refreshment Courts. Bath buns, plain buns and sandwiches were also available. "Ices" were on sale, frozen in a patent steam driven machine. A plate of ham cost 6d, bread and butter 2d and soda water cost 6d. In all 1,092,337 bottles of mineral water and buns 1804,718 were sold, but letters to the newspapers were written about the "atrocious sandwiches". |
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Axeman save that tree!
There was public outcry when the building of the Crystal Palace threatened several elm trees on the site. Some of these were saved and incorporated into the building by constructing the central arched transept. |
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A plague of sparrows
There is a story that the building was plagued by sparrows. No solution could be found and eventually the advice was asked of the Duke of Wellington. He suggested using sparrow hawks. However this seems to be a myth, because the ventilation openings in the side of the building would have made it impossible to clear the building of birds. |
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Banned from the building
No dogs, smoking or alcohol were allowed in the building. |
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Work in progress
Even before it was completed the Crystal palace was attracting visitors. Over 200 people a day came to wander around the building site and see the work in progress until the contractors issued tickets at 5 shillings to curb the demand for sightseeing. The proceeds from this went to a workmen’s fund. |
