IRONBRIDGE

Having left Yorkshire we are now in Ironbridge Shropshire.  Ironbridge is famous for the Iron Bridge. The first iron bridge in the world.

We arrived at our B&B The Old Rectory and found a very jovial and witty host who showed us to our room.  A very Victorian room with a 4 poster bed draped in a lacy white chintz and heavy curtains, lots of pink and cream wall paper.  Floor to ceiling bookcases, gilded mirrors, dressing table, a sofa, 2 chairs and assorted chests of drawers, indoor plants, pictures and statues scattered here and there.  Enough here in one room to fill an entire house I should think.

The bathroom has a bath with a very fancy shower with overhead and sideways shower heads. A bit tricky to get in and out of too.

 



 

We set off this morning to visit the Coalport Museum.  The lady suggested we purchase the Museum Passport which we did.  It cost £42 and gave us entry to all the museums and if you don’t see all of them while you are here you can come back anytime within 12 months and see the ones you missed.

The Coalport Museum was terrific.  There is an extensive display of Coalport China and then you go outside and see the old kilns.  See how the china was made.  Watch a lady make saggers.  Saggers are containers made of rough clay that protected the fine china whilst it was being fired.  Saggers is derived from the word safeguard.  The people who made the base of the saggers were called bottom knockers.  You can still buy saggers today.

 

The pictures above are of a pile of saggers and then a close up of one.  They were made in several shapes to hold plates, platters, cups etc etc.

After the Coalport Museum we visited the tar tunnel.  A tunnel where there is still bitumen oozing out of the walls.

 From there we went to visit the Victorian Town.  That was fabulous.  It is a re-created Victorian Village with shops and actors re-creating Victorian life.  Dressed in Victorian costume they work in the shops making things.  There’s a fish and chip shop selling fish and chips.  The bakery bakes and sells bread and pastries.  We went into a printing shop and the man was telling us about the printing machine invented by a Mr Cropper.  It was quite dangerous and many people lost fingers in this machine.  Such an accident was called “coming a Cropper”. The photographer takes photos of you dressed in Victorian costumes.  The apothecary sells lotions and potions.  There are working steam engines.  Horse drawn carriages and so much more.  It was brilliant