Dale House was built by the founder of the Coalbrookdale Company, Abraham Darby I. Completed in 1717; it was subsequently lived in by five generations of the Darby Family. It was built to overlook the Upper Furnace Pool and its associated blast furnace, and was the place where hospitality was extended to visitors to both the family and the ironworks. It was regarded as a true family home by the Darby's, even when individual members had moved away to much grander houses.

Dale House

The Hall

In 1776 the house was lived in by Abraham Darby III (grandson of Abraham Darby I). He enlarged the house between 1768 and 1776, converting the existing attic into a third storey, adding cast iron window sills and lintels and making substantial alterations to the interior. It is to this period that the house and garden has been restored. Although it would have been the home of a successful businessman, as the residence of a Quaker family, it would also have been relatively simply furnished.

The Study

Abraham III (1750-89) lived in Dale House from 1776-80. This room was his study and it is from here that he directed the building of the Iron Bridge. In 1780 he moved to the nearby Hay Farm which overlooked the Gorge and the Iron Bridge, and it was there that he died in 1789 of Scarlet Fever.

The Parlour

Abraham Darby I never got to live in the home that he built. Shortly before it was completed in 1717 he attended a Quaker meeting held in the Parlour. Sadly on May 6th he died and his body was brought back to Dale House and laid out in the Parlour, before being taken to the Quaker burial ground across the river in Broseley.

Today the Parlour is a place where visitors can browse through books, documents and historic images and discover more about the history and impact of the ironworks that Abraham Darby I founded.

The Dining Room

Dale House under went many changes and during the 20th Century the character of the house was almost totally destroyed when it was converted into flats. The Dining Room has been returned to its original room plan but has not been fully restored. This allows visitors to see aspects of the room structure which would normally be hidden by floorboards and plaster, including the top the vaulted cellar which runs underneath the house.