The Old Furnace, which is part of the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron in Shropshire, was recently presented with an Engineering Heritage Award by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in recognition of it being “the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution”.

It was where — in 1709 — Abraham Darby pioneered the use of coke rather than charcoal to smelt iron — an innovation that is regarded as the beginning of the industrial age.

John Wood, chairman of the IMechE’s Heritage Committee, said: “It is hard to imagine what world we would live in if it wasn’t for the innovation and vision of people like Abraham Darby.

"It is fitting that this particularly special artefact, which was such a fundamental enabler to the development of mechanical engineering, is being presented with the 100th Engineering Heritage Award.”

The Old Furnace was significantly extended in 1777, and it may have been used by Abraham Darby III to cast parts for the world’s first cast-iron structure — the iconic Iron Bridge, which opened on 1 January 1781. The Old Furnace was ‘blown out’ by the 1820s, and it was eventually buried under many layers of waste material.

There was a proposal for the site to be cleared and for the furnace to be dismantled, but it was decided to excavate and preserve the remains. The museum to celebrate 250 years of the Coalbrookdale Co was opened in 1959.