Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron – Great Exhibition

Africa lamp standard, from a series of four cast-iron standards representing continents, produced by the Coalbrookdale Company in the 1860s and thought to have been designed by John Bell

Date

30 March 2015

Location

Coalbrookdale

SJ 66770 04671; 52.63874°N, 2.49248°W

Information

Further Reading

Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron

Boy and Swan Fountain (John Bell). This was one of pieces displayed in 1851 by the Coalbrookdale Company at the Great Exhibition in Crystal Palace, Hyde Park. The work was sold to Wolverhampton Corporation but returned to Coalbrookdale in 1959.

Andromeda. One of the Coalbrookdale Company’s pieces shown at the 1851 Great Exhibition was a bronze statue of Andromeda designed by sculptor John Bell. This cast-iron version was made afterwards.

In Greek mythology, Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess. Her mother, Cassiopeia, was punished for her arrogance by the god of the sea Poseidon, who sent the sea monster Cetus to wreak havoc on the country. Chained naked to a rock, Andromeda was offered as sacrifice in appeasement. She was rescued from her fate by Perseus, who turned the sea monster to stone using the head of the Gorgon Medusa.

Andromeda (John Bell)

Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron

Oak and Ivy Chair – part of a garden bench and chairs set designed in 1859. The Coalbrookdale Company produced a range of garden furniture featuring different floral designs.

Scuttle Grate – the W. S. Scott Morton Patent Scuttle Grate featured in the Coalbrookdale Company’s 1902 catalogue. The decorative grate had a coal scuttle on either side of the fire.