The Past at Work

Season 1 • Episode 3: The New Iron Age • Watch with subtitles

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Episode 3: The New Iron Age

April 8, 1980 • 25 min

The single greatest discovery of the industrial revolution was the ability to smelt iron using coke instead of charcoal and the development of casting and forging techniques to use it. Anthony Burton goes to Coalbrookdale to tell the story of Derby's success, visits a casting shop at Llanberis, and gets his nose to the grindstone in a water-powered forge in Devon.

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