"Wilkinson was a major force behind the construction in 1779 of an iron bridge, the world's first, across the River Severn at Coalbrookdale. In 1787 Wilkinson launched the first iron barge. His iron obsession reached its peak in the late 1790s, when he paid to have iron windows, a pulpit and other fittings installed into a Methodist chapel in Bradley. He was known as 'Iron-Mad Wilkinson'."

Its his bicentenery and its being celebrated in July 2008 in Broseley, Shropshire, with a pageant and function at his house. Pat Simons from the singing group Cuckoo Oak has set a poem to music for the event, which deals with iron working.

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