easy walk to the north) provided a sufficient water supply and land for lease. In addition, Dawley (adjacent to the east) provided mines. The furnace at Horsehay came into blast successfully on 5 May 1755. For this venture, Darby II enlisted the financial help of Thomas Goldney III (the main shareholder of the Coalbrookdale Company). The new furnace ushered in a period of great activity when the East Shropshire Coalfield, for a time, became the area of greatest production of iron then known. Such was the importance of the furnace that many people including dignitaries visited it. A railway from Horsehay to the nearby Severn wharves was built and the first waggon of 'pigs' (iron) was sent down Jiggers bank through Coalbrookdale and on to the wharves almost within sight of the Ironbridge (built later by Abraham Darby III, completed in 1779). Telford Horsehay Steam Trust Horsehay is home to the Telford Steam Railway. It holds various events throughout the year, including as of 2017, a 1940s weekend and a Polar Express experience at Christmas. Famous residents Horsehay was the birthplace of novelist Edith Pargeter, who wrote the popular Brother Cadfael novels under the pen name "Ellis Peters". Country singer/songwriter, Raymond Froggatt still lives and has his studio in the village. Television personality Paul Hendy used to live in one of the cottages round Horsehay Pool. Back in the early 19th century, a giant of a man called William Ball worked in the Horsehay Iron Works. At the time, he was the heaviest man in England, tipping the scales at 36 Stones. Following an eye injury, he finished work at the Iron Works and toured the country under the name of "John Bull". See also Listed buildings in Dawley Hamlets References Heath, P. Horsehay. Retrieved 20 October 2005. External links Telford Steam Railway Horsehay Village Golf Centre Telford Villages in Shropshire