"Coalbrookdale" cast iron strong box

For me, Coalbrookdale is a magic place in a painting, lit by the fires of Hell melting rivers of iron, AKA Milacron's avatar. Also suggesting a line in a Blake poem, and a place with a really cool bridge whose importance was explained on BBC TV by Jacob Bronowski. But I have never been there.

So I was very interested (not to the point of buying it and driving to Texas) when I ran across this eBay listing for a fine old strong box with a neat key. Dimensions are 29" x 16" x 18.5". The name, "COALBROOKDALE" is cast in the door. I suppose most of the foundry's product remains in the UK or has been scrapped, so I was surprised to see this box for sale in Texas for not too bad a price. I do not know how old it is, but I know 1850 is not within the Georgian period.

coalbrookdale safe strongbox vintage georgian c 1850 | eBay

History of Coalbrookdale: Coalbrookdale - Wikipedia

Google found a handful of Coalbrookdale cast iron strong boxes sold or for sale in the UK, so I guess they made lots of them.

Just to add confusion, there was a Colebrookdale Furnace established in 1720 in Pottstown, PA. They spelled the name differently, but it still confuses people.

https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-2A3

Larry

Strong box for sale

At 200lbs not to many people would have run off with that item
Very neat key as well.

Harold

Harold Mulder said:

At 200lbs not to many people would have run off with that item
Very neat key as well.

Harold

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The key:



Larry

L Vanice said:

surprised to see this box for sale in Texas for not too bad a price. I do not know how old it is, but I know 1850 is not within the Georgian period.

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ISTR that from the opening of the Virginia Company through the First Word War, the UK was the single largest investor in the USA. Also in the top as trading partner and shipper of bothway goods by sea. Railways came later.

And that Texas' famous "King Ranch" had been one of those British beneficiaries of investment and/or outright ownership.

Fast forward to 1974-84. Responsibility for upgrading all the safes and their security systems for an 18-store retail chain with "captive" Diamond office and Manufacturing (running that being my "primary" tasking).

Much research. Then All my OTHER safes became "value for money" Mosler TRTL-30.

The Diamond department safe? Cost no object. Imported. From England. A John Tann "Banker's Anti Arc". Similar to this one, but with few "extra's":

Used John Tann Super Fortress 6325 TRTL30X6 Equivalent High Security Safe - lackasafe

Meant to survive and delay, delay, delay.. even KILL (with intentionally toxic combustion byproducts , and "burning-bar" / oxygen lance serious about that..) any fool who tried to torch it.

Target market? Third-world countries where there was no reliable alarm system service - nor local police response as could be trusted not to themselves be the very perps or co-conspirators.

The British firms were still the global experts. And had long had both the largest and most needy markets, plus the best and most-frequent access to them by sea.

Much the same could have been said of early-days Texas as a market? Folks were on their own "back in the day"!

And maybe "not only!" ... if the infection of anti-authority madness gets much worse?

The problem with old strong boxes and safes is how do you get your wife to let you bring them in the house?
I found brass standoffs and glass tops make them into tables.

kustomizer said:

The problem with old strong boxes and safes is how do you get your wife to let you bring them in the house?
I found brass standoffs and glass tops make them into tables.
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View attachment 296227

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UNDer the house, mate. Concrete. Steel. A really NEAT place to mix-in all your scrap carbide shards, hardened ball bearings, old drills, hardened coil springs, hunks of Teflon that melt, Coper wire, Kevlar..... ever try drilling or core drilling a filler like that between sheets of armor plate? Kinda f**ks-up drills, annulars, or abrasive core equipment..

How about the half-inch of solid copper than keeps dissipating a cutting torch heat? Or an inch of nasty polymer that releases SERIOUS amounts of toxic gas when hit with the oxygen lance?

And then no two have the cable release "kamikaze" bolting in the same place? The ones that fire when tools crack the glass plate the Day Job locking gear is mounted on.

And that was ages ago....

Simpler in 'nam.

I just had a lone M26 frag with the shitty little safe as an anti-tamper.

The joke being.. regs & TO&E said we had to HAVE a company safe, but I paid the lads in cash soon as I got back from post finance. Didn't have a classified docs storage need. BN HQ was within eyeshot if ever I did have. Provost Marshall's MP's, CID nearly as close. No need to hold "evidence" locally.

So that lonely frag was the only item as was ever even IN that silly safe, the whole 12 months in Command!

If it were closer to me I would be very tempted to drive down and buy it. I think it is just cool and with great history.

Here's one at one of the Ironbridge museums - Museum of Iron, I think. The words say 'Guildfield Register Chest'. I assumed it referred to a patent, but I couldn't find anything, so it may simply be that it was tailor-made for Guilfield/Guildfield Church to keep the parish records secure.



Two iron cupboards at the wonderful Beamish Museum, made by John Whinfield of Gateshead in 1813. Presumably from a workshop (they're in part of the museum which represents Robert Stephenson's works in Newcastle). Perhaps they were used to store workshop valuables, like brass, the ruler, tea, sugar, and any valuable tools, particularly the sledge hammer which would have served in lieu of lockpicking skills.

rivett608 said:

If it were closer to me I would be very tempted to drive down and buy it. I think it is just cool and with great history.

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And if it had a Bramah lock and key, I would find it very hard to resist.

Bramah lock - Wikipedia

As Asquith suggested, I have to wonder how secure a cast iron chest with a very nice lock would be against a thief with a big hammer. Back in the 1950's, I had an antique miniature/toy nickel plated cast iron safe with simple combination lock. I dropped it once and it broke.

Larry