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HomeDorset EastCulture, the Arts & the History - Dorset East"Men of Iron”: The Latest Exhibition From Poole Museum To Go On Display...

“Men of Iron”: The Latest Exhibition From Poole Museum To Go On Display At The Lighthouse This January And February

40 years ago, what started as a photography assignment led by Geoff Drury for his students at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art & Design set out to capture the men of Poole Iron foundry on film.

Inadvertently, their days at the foundry turned out to be some of the foundry’s last, as with much of Britain’s industrial heart in the 1980’s, the coal powered industrial age was coming to an end.

The photography assignment was set to test the students abilities, but they ended up creating an endearing tribute to the men and women at the heart of Poole’s industrial heritage.

The old foundry was located next to St. James Church in Poole’s old town from the late 1800’s to the 1980’s; its towering chimney and smoke would have been a mainstay of the Poole town skyline. 

Young, old, men and women, several generations toiled in the heat of the foundry, hauling carts of iron and pouring the molten metal into moulds with little protection other than a helmet and a pair of gloves.

Items such as the helmets and casks are on display at the exhibition.

Working long days in the heat, many men worked shirtless, the sweat and soot pouring over their rippling muscles, a physique the byproduct of years of hard labour that would turn many a contemporary “gym rat” green with envy.

Though the photographer’s primary aims were to take photos of the men, the machinery, and the environment itself, what they discovered was a community of workers working with each other and for each other.

The pictures on display portray the banterful comradery of the workers on shift, pulling amusing poses and faces, laughing with the photographers, showing off their little jokes and quips written in white chalk on the soot stained bricks.

You can also see the quiet, humble nature of the working class man, keeping their head up in stoic dignity while others in society would see them as lesser.

The people at the Foundry were proud, distinguished persons who knew their worth. A picture of a worker leaning on a hatch with the following chalked onto the wood “£700 for 30 years is the unacceptable face of capitalism. Bow your heads in shame.” 

The men and women of the foundry made it clear their opinions of what “payoff” they were given in light of their jobs ceasing to exist.

Little did they know that while they were forging history in iron, beneath their feet were timbers from recycled ships dating back 600 years.

They were uncovered in 1986 while clearing the site; the dig that would go on to be called “The Foundry Excavations” discovered the remnants of a mediaeval boatyard, a discovery of international importance in telling the story of Poole. 

It would be curious to hear thoughts of the past workers on the current site of their old foundry, which now sits in an exclusive gated housing development called “Barbers Gate,” where a townhouse will set you back over half a million pounds. 

John Bradshew, one of the photographers, said of the men in July 2024, “You know, even though we were documenting their sort of last days, we weren’t of any help to them, but they were very helpful to us. So it was really… they were just smashing people.

The foundry is gone, but their legacy lives on through their work across Poole today; the weathervane of St. James’s church and many lamp posts and drain covers are remnants of the fruits of their labour and won’t be soon forgotten.

A fellow photographer commented on the photos taken by Gary Norman, whose pictures are on display at the exhibition. “Gary Norman’s pictures show that he didn’t fall into the trap of over sentimentalising his fated cast of characters. Indeed he presents the young and old, not as relics in a working museum or as victims, but as individuals.

“Men of iron” is on show at the Lighthouse Poole from 14th January – 22nd February. Located just off the cafe, left of the main entrance. 

Admission is Free.

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