Darby design unveiled for memorial at birthplace
This is the design which is the leading contender in creating a memorial honouring the Shropshire ironmaster Abraham Darby I who is credited with laying the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution.
Darby smelted iron from coke, rather than charcoal, at his furnace at Coalbrookdale in 1709, which was to revolutionise iron production.
The idea to create a memorial to Darby at his birthplace of Woodsetton, Dudley, has come from a resident, Mrs Mandy Caddick.
"My original idea was for a stone memorial with a plaque on and an information board and information booklet," she said.
"I live very near to where Abraham Darby I was born. I thought that he should be honoured for his achievements and in the area that he was born."
Dudley artist Steve Field has now drawn up three alternative designs, of which the frontrunner depicts two figures loading up a blast furnace, from which six pig iron blocks emerge.
"This is the design which is likely to be used," said Mandy.
"The funding for the building of the memorial is coming from local companies and local community groups.
"I have also suggested that when new signs are made for the area there could be one for Woodsetton that says: Welcome to Woodsetton, Birthplace of Abraham Darby 1st."
Darby was born in 1678, the first of a dynasty of ironfounders. His grandson, Abraham Darby III, built the world's first iron bridge at Ironbridge in 1779.
