Young Brunette Girl Posing On The Iron Bench

Cast iron was first produced in China about 550 BC, but was hardly in Europe until the medieval period. During the medieval period, means were found in Europe of producing wrought iron from cast iron (in this context known as pig iron) using finery forges. For all these processes, charcoal was required as fuel.
Medieval blast furnaces were about 10 feet (3.0 m) tall and made of fireproof brick; forced air was usually provided by hand-operated bellows. Modern blast furnaces have grown much bigger.
In 1709, Abraham Darby I established a coke-fired blast furnace to produce cast iron. The ensuing availability of inexpensive iron was one of the factors leading to the Industrial Revolution. Toward the end of the 18th century, cast iron began to replace wrought iron for certain purposes, because it was cheaper. Carbon content in iron wasn't implicated as the reason for the differences in properties of wrought iron, cast iron and steel until the 18th century.
Since iron was becoming cheaper and more plentiful, it also became a major structural material following the building of the innovative first iron bridge in 1778.