Friends of Ironbridge Gorge Museum acquire plate and medal for Trust’s Nationally Designated Collections

The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust is pleased to announce a new acquisition, made possible by its Friends, and now on display in the Iron Bridge Tollhouse.

In May 2025, a volunteer working with the Trust’s Collections team spotted a plate and medal with links to the Coalbrookdale School of Art, which operated in the Ironbridge Gorge between 1856 and 1924, on sale.

The Coalbrookdale School of Art was established to educate the local workforce in a variety of artistic subjects from freehand drawing to design and casting. Students would go on to work in the local china making, tile making and iron production industries and local companies the Coalbrookdale Co., Craven Dunnill & Co. and Maw & Co. also paid for employees to attend classes there to improve their skills. The school was linked with the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) and inspired by the concern, following the Great Exhibition, that standards of design in Britain were low. Artwork from the schools was sent to the V&A to be examined and works entered in the national competitions it ran were displayed there.

The plate and medal that is now part of the Trust’s Nationally Designated Collections belonged to Thomas Cruickshank Fowler (1845-1931). Fowler spent his entire working life at the Coalbrookdale Co., as a designer and draughtsman. He designed the plate while an employee of the company, and it is likely that the company would have supported his studies at the school alongside his work.

The plate is approximately 33.5 cm in diameter and features a classical-inspired design dominated by yellow and blue. Fowler submitted the plate for the national competition in 1864, and was awarded gold, for which he received the ornately engraved copper medal that has now been acquired with the plate, thanks to funding provided by the Trust’s Friends, a registered charity that supports the work of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, itself a heritage conservation and education charity.

Kate Cadman, Collections Curator at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: “The story of this acquisition is a remarkable one, from an eagle-eyed volunteer spotting this wonderful pair of objects to the generous Friends of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum who provided the funding to bring the items back to Coalbrookdale and give them a home in our collections. We are extremely grateful to the Friends for their help.”

Jim Clarke, Chair of the Friends of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum, said: “We are delighted to have been able to step in and provide the funding for the purchase of Thomas Fowler’s plate and medal, two beautiful objects.”

The Trust’s collections already contain artwork from students of the school. A copy of the roll of honour listing students who won prizes for their work between 1879 and 1909 is also on display at Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron. The Coalbrookdale School of Art was highly successful in the national South Kensington exams. From 1870 to 1909, students gained five gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze medals, six Queen’s and two King’s prizes, 32 book prizes, 13 Art Teacher’s Certificates and five National Scholarships.

Thomas Fowler’s son, named Harold, followed a similar career path to his father, attending Coalbrookdale School of Art and working as a draughtsman and designer at the Coalbrookdale Works. He also designed the War Memorial in Coalbrookdale.

Thomas Fowler’s plate and medal are now on display at the Iron Bridge Tollhouse (free entry).