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Bill Samuel
Webservant
QuakerInfo.com
Quaker Tour of England, Page 9 of 22 Ironbridge
Ironbridge photo by Bill Samuel, 21 June 1998
Until well into the 19th century, university education in Britain was restricted to members of the established church. Denied advanced formal education, the brightest and most innovative Friends (Quakers) often went into business and industry. In 1709, Friend Abraham Darby leased the blast furnace at Coalbrookdale to make iron from coke. Charcoal, which previously had been used as a burning agent, was becoming expensive. Darby was the first to use coke, which enabled him to get more out of iron ore and to produce thinner iron products. Darby invented iron rails and built the first iron bridge (pictured above) in 1779.