Ironbridge
As the Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, Ironbridge Gorge is a designated World Heritage Site and a centre for industrial antiquities with 10 museums devoted to its unique heritage.
The picturesque setting of this Victorian town in a densely wooded gorge along the upper stretches of the River Severn in western England , belie its prominence and former life as the hub of the Industrial Revolution, that was to change the world.
It was here in 1709 that Abraham Darby pioneered a cheaper and more efficient way of smelting iron ore using coke rather than charcoal and transformed Coalbrookdale into one of the World’s foremost iron making centres. On New Year’s Day 1781 the World’s first iron bridge was opened across the Severn. The bridge was cast by Abraham Darby III, grandson of the first Ironmaster and designed by Thomas Pritchard. The ironwork alone weighs some 378 tonnes and the bridge was built to withstand around ten times the weight of loads that actually passed over it, the designers urging a little on the side of caution with the first ever bridge of iron.
The bridge still stands boldly today as a sterling monument to British engineering, its graceful arched girders held together by carpentry styled joints. On the south bank of the bridge, the former tollbooth, with its 18th Century charges remaining on view, is now an excellent interpretation centre with an exhibition charting the bridge’s construction.
Within the 6 square miles of the Ironbridge Gorge there are ten brilliant museums outlining the area’s rich industrial heritage. The Museum of Iron illustrates the history of iron making and the story of the Coalbrookdale Company, the Darby Museum is where Abraham Darby I developed the use of coke in Iron Ore extraction, the Museum of the Gorge outlines the evolution of the River Severn as an industrial highway and the Blasts Hill Museum brings the 1890s back to life with a recreation of a Victorian working community.
The town of Ironbridge itself is an undoubtedly attractive one with a selection of affluent Victorian houses, pubs, restaurants and cafes.
