Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution

Recently we had a short break in Shropshire. We had been promising ourselves for some time that we would visit Ironbride where, it is claimed, the Industrial Revolution Began. Perhaps thinking of the Industrial Revolution is not politically correct, what with all the issues surounding global warming, and it is true to say that people were exploited, but it has determined how we live today. For that reason alone it is worthwhile examining our roots.

The following are some of the notes I made at the time, to which I have added a few comments.

10/04/06

Away on the first day of a short break to Telford, Shropshire.

We traveled down this morning, stopping at Stafford Services for coffee before taking the A Roads into Telford and the Iron bridge Gorge.

Our first stop was the Gorge Museum, where we purchased a years pass to all the museums for 14. We toured the museum which gave us a brief history of the area, and then walked alongside the Severn to the Iron bridge itself. A marvel of its day, it was the first structural use of cast iron.

After a sandwich, which we eat overlooking the bridge, we made our was to the open air Victorian Town. A bit like Beamish, it tries to portray life and work in 1900. It was quite good, if not 100% accurate. However, there were many interesting things to see and do. Children would enjoy changing their modern coins for Victorian pennies, half-pennies and farthings to spend in the shops, which are obviously quite different from the ones they know today.

At closing time we made our way to the hotel in Telford and, after booking in, had our meal in the adjoining pub.

11/04/06

The second day of our short break. We were not promised good weather but in the end things were not too bad. There was light rain in the morning but it cleared up after lunch and the afternoon was very pleasant.

We spent most of the day visiting more of museums on the pass we had bought. First, was the Museum of Iron, were we saw more of the history and plenty of exhibits showing the range of items produced over the years. Obviously, I was interested in the items to do with early steam engines, but many of the items made for the Great Exhibition were also fascinating.

Next we visited the "hands on" museum called Enginuity. The focus here was on children with lots of interactive displays. It's the sort of place our grandson Callum would like. However, I think it would be a good idea to get there early as it seems to be very popular.

On the same sight one can find the protected remains of Abraham Darby's blast furnace where the iron for the bridge was first cast into ingots. The importance of this sight is immense, here was the real beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the start of the modern world. Whatever people may think about this change ( and it had many bad points, including bringing about global warming ) Despite that, I could not help feeling a just a little emotional - the furnace stands a ruin, as does Britain's industrial past and the way of life it represented.

Moving on from the furnace we took a short walk up the hill to visit the two houses built by the Darby family. Although grand for their time, they were modest compared with the later houses of the mill owners. Whether this was due to the Darbys being Quakers is hard to say.

Next stop on our tour saw us at a different site looking at a different industry - tile making. The Jackfield Tile Museum has a fabulous collection of decorative tile spanning the centuries. I must admit there were some I would have liked at home. All the tiles we saw would have put the kind bought from places like B&Q to shame. One time there were tiles everywhere, shops, offices, factories, railway stations etc. Yet another thing that has gone, perhaps for good.

The last visit of the day was to the National Trust property at Benthall Hall, a 16th century house. We were particularly pleased that the sun was shining, which made walking in the Hall gardens a pleasant end to the day. We had been out for seven hours and it was tine to return to our hotel in Telford for a short rest before our evening meal.

12/04/06

The last day of our short break, and we decided that we would fans off with the museums we had not yet visited, before returning via Bridgenorth and the Severn Valley Railway.

Our first stop was the Tar Tunnel. This was a tunnel that was dug into the hillside to carry a canal. However, during the construction streams of bitumen were found and, being profitable, the tunnel was never finished for its original purpose. At its height over 1000 gallons of bitumen per week was extracted. The bitumen still seeps out of the walls. There was no way one could ever get Gill in such at tunnel, so I went down on my own whilst she sat and read in the car. I found it quite fascinating as I had never seen a natural pool of tar in my life.

Our last visit in the gorge was to the Coalport Museum. Here, over the centuries, exquisite pottery was made. Most of it is now quite collectible and very valuable. The collection in the museum must be worth millions of pounds. Like all the museums, there are things for the children which are both entertaining and educational. I'm sure Callum would like it down here, as there is so much for him to see and do.

As mentioned earlier, we made our way home via the Severn Valley Railway. We had lunch there and watched one of the trains depart, before heading home via Shrewsbury. The only incident on the way back was a hold-up getting onto the Runcorn Bridge because of an overturned lorry.

What I would like to do now is spent some quiet time reflecting on what I have seen and learned, as I feel that hidden in all the history is a message for today. Whether that is the attitude of the Quaker families like the Darbys, or something else, time will tell.