Blood, Faith and Iron. A dynasty of Catholic industrialists in sixteenth and seventeenth century England

Notes:

Draws on doctoral thesis. The writer was sometime Director of the archaeological unit at Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. Deals with the Brooke family's acquisition of lands in the Coalbrookdale area and their creation of a major industrial complex between c1540s and 1640s and the broader religious, economic and political context in which the family and their business functioned. Considers medieval influences and the influence of the family's Catholicism which does not conform to established narratives of religion and enterprise. Asks how exceptional were the Brookes and the extent to which their Catholic faith influenced their business success?. Chapters include: 'Lines of enquiry'; 'Before the revolution'; 'Society and religion'; 'Visions of landscape' - Madeley Court; 'Expressions in architecture' - Madeley Court; 'Industry and conformity' - 'Process and products' / 'Fuel production and mineral extraction' / 'Iron working' / 'Madeley Ironworks in context'; 'Innovation and resistance' - 'Steelmaking' / 'Inputs - developing sources of supply' / 'Madeley Steelworks' / 'Products and competitors' / 'Brooke's ferrous industries in context' / 'Other industrial interests' / 'Sequestration and imprisonment'; 'Industrialisation and identity'