George Stephenson's Rocket - powered by coal!
Britain's Industrial Revolution in the 19th century which set the pattern for our own prosperity was made possible by unleashing coal energy.
Opportunities in a lump of coal spurred the inventors and engineers and led to the new factories, machines and concepts of production and transport of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. Beyond everything, coal provided the steam power for engines that worked machines, for locomotives to carry people, raw materials and finished products and for the first production lines.
Ironbridge, Shropshire - A symbol of the coal powered Industrial Revolution
Gas from coal lit towns, workshops and homes for people who previously spent much of their lives in semi-darkness. It gave the power to travel fast, do many things at once, and exert forces greater than man or animal. Power to produce and use still more coal...
Through the use of coal Britain led the way in the industrial revolution. Partly this was by being 'an island built on coal' - and because the British had the skill and ingenuity to win the coal and develop its uses faster than other nations. It also helped by harnessing the genius of the inventors, engineers and industrialists of the age.
It could be said that Industrial Revolution is still with us to this day and will carry on forever. It can be shown that even today, despite the development of alternative energy sources, coal produces about one third of the power Britain uses. Coal, which inspired and powered the Industrial Revolution of the last three centuries, still plays a vital role for our country today.