Broseley
Encyclopedia
Broseley is a small town in Shropshire
, England
with a population of 4,912 (2001 census). The River Severn
flows to the north and east of the town. Broseley has a town council
and is part of the area controlled by Shropshire Council
. The first iron bridge
in the world was built in 1779 to link Broseley with Coalbrookdale
and Madeley
. This led to the development of the Ironbridge Gorge
, which is now part of a World Heritage Site
.
.
The town is located on the south bank of the Ironbridge Gorge
and so shares much of the history of its better known, but more recent, neighbour, Ironbridge
.
In 1600, the town of Broseley consisted of only 27 houses and was part of the Shirlett Royal Forest. The area was known for mining; some of the stone used to build Buildwas Abbey
was taken from Broseley and there is evidence that wooden wagonways existed in Broseley in 1605 http://www.stephensonloco.org.uk/time_line.htm, giving Broseley a serious claim to the oldest railways in Britain. The wagonways were almost certainly constructed for the transport of coal and clay and it was these resources that led to the huge expansion of the town during the Industrial Revolution
.
Many of the developments celebrated by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum's collection of preserved industrial heritage sites either started in Broseley or were connected to the town. Broseley was a centre for ironmaking, pottery and clay pipes http://www.broseleypipes.co.uk/; the earliest recorded pipemaker was working in the town in 1590.
John Wilkinson
constructed the world's first iron boat whilst living in the town, and the plans for the Iron Bridge
were drawn up in Broseley. Abraham Darby I
, who developed the process of smelting iron using coking coal, is buried here.
In the latter half of the nineteenth century the area suffered a decline, as industries moved elsewhere. This left a legacy of uncapped mineshafts, derelict buildings, abandoned quarries, spoil heaps and pit mounds.
In the last thirty years of the twentieth century Broseley experienced a modern revival with the development of Telford
across the River Severn
. New estates were built to the east of Broseley centre, whilst many older properties were developed or renovated, but the town is still less populated now than it would have been two hundred years ago, when population figures were over five thousand.
World Heritage Site
and evidence of involvement in the Industrial Revolution
can be seen throughout the town. These include the railways, mines, ironworks, brickworks, kilns, houses and fine buildings associated with the area's industrial past.
The jitties (lanes and paths) of Broseley Wood on the western boundary of Broseley are the remains of cottage settlements built for miners. At the other end of the social spectrum the town has many examples of Ironmaster
houses, dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
There are two wildlife areas maintained by local groups. The Hay Cop http://haycop.org/ between Dark Lane and Ironbridge Road was the site of the town's water supply and was developed as a nature reserve in 2007. Penns Meadow http://philrevell.co.uk/thisnthat/pennsmeadow/ on the border between Broseley and Benthall is a five acre ancient meadow and is also being managed to protect and develop wildlife diversity. Both projects have been supported by The Broseley/Barrow Local Joint Committee http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/communityworking.nsf/open/9DE9E3CE1F3B9FB5802575B30043AFAC, a Shropshire Council initiative to encourage devolution of decision making to local people.
Britain in Bloom
competition for the second year running, also gaining first place in the Best Small Town category.
Broseley has a large amateur dramatics society, BroADS, which performs a number of plays every year. Every month, the Birchmeadow Centre is used by Broseley Cinema, which shows well rated films on its own large screen. There is also a thriving arts and crafts community, who form a group known as the Broseley Artists.
The town has a number of historic pubs and eateries, mostly located towards the town centre. Broseley also has a "Broadplace" facility, a small centre for community usage of laptop computers, help & guidance, and free Internet access. It is open Monday mornings in the Birchmeadow Centre (slightly north of the town centre). The library was also proposed for a possible host for the broadplace but eventually lost out to the Birchmeadow Centre. The library is located to the south of the town centre by the doctors' surgery.
s and tile
s once produced in abundance in Broseley have become synonymous with any product of their type, regardless of where they were made. Broseley bricks are notable for their brown and red mottled nature, a sign of their cheap production, and Broseley tiles are of a strawberry red to light brown hue.
The pipeworks in Broseley were responsible for producing millions of clay pipes which were shipped worldwide, and are invaluable in dating archaeological sites, as they survive without decay and their maker's stamp reveals their date of origin.
Works pioneered here and across the Ironbridge Gorge went on to set the stage for the mass production of iron products in the later Industrial Revolution which drove the expansion of the British Empire
. This is in part due to the work of John Wilkinson and his construction of precision-engineered steam engine
s and weaponry.
(or Dark Lane) School and John Wilkinson School, named after the famous ironmaster whose residence is nearby. For secondary education, most pupils travel to William Brookes School in Much Wenlock
or to Bridgnorth Endowed School, Bridgnorth
.
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with a population of 4,912 (2001 census). The River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
flows to the north and east of the town. Broseley has a town council
Town council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
and is part of the area controlled by Shropshire Council
Shropshire Council
Shropshire Council is a unitary authority in Shropshire, United Kingdom.It replaced the former two-tier local government structure in the non-metropolitan county of Shropshire on 1 April 2009, which involved its immediate predecessor, Shropshire County Council, and five non-metropolitan districts -...
. The first iron bridge
The Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge crosses the River Severn at the Ironbridge Gorge, by the village of Ironbridge, in Shropshire, England. It was the first arch bridge in the world to be made out of cast iron, a material which was previously far too expensive to use for large structures...
in the world was built in 1779 to link Broseley with Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides...
and Madeley
Madeley, Shropshire
Madeley is a town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, now part of the new town of Telford. The parish had a population of 17,935 at the 2001 census.Madeley is recorded in the Domesday Book, having been founded before the 8th century...
. This led to the development of the Ironbridge Gorge
Ironbridge Gorge
The Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge formed by the River Severn in Shropshire, England.Originally called the Severn Gorge, the gorge now takes its name from its famous Iron Bridge, the first iron bridge of its kind in the world, and a monument to the industry that began there...
, which is now part of a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
History
A settlement existed in 1086 and is listed as Bosle in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
.
The town is located on the south bank of the Ironbridge Gorge
Ironbridge Gorge
The Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge formed by the River Severn in Shropshire, England.Originally called the Severn Gorge, the gorge now takes its name from its famous Iron Bridge, the first iron bridge of its kind in the world, and a monument to the industry that began there...
and so shares much of the history of its better known, but more recent, neighbour, Ironbridge
Ironbridge
Ironbridge is a settlement on the River Severn, at the heart of the Ironbridge Gorge, in Shropshire, England. It lies in the civil parish of The Gorge, in the borough of Telford and Wrekin...
.
In 1600, the town of Broseley consisted of only 27 houses and was part of the Shirlett Royal Forest. The area was known for mining; some of the stone used to build Buildwas Abbey
Buildwas Abbey
Buildwas Abbey is located along the banks of the River Severn in Buildwas, Shropshire, England, about two miles west of Ironbridge.-Early history:...
was taken from Broseley and there is evidence that wooden wagonways existed in Broseley in 1605 http://www.stephensonloco.org.uk/time_line.htm, giving Broseley a serious claim to the oldest railways in Britain. The wagonways were almost certainly constructed for the transport of coal and clay and it was these resources that led to the huge expansion of the town during the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
.
Many of the developments celebrated by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum's collection of preserved industrial heritage sites either started in Broseley or were connected to the town. Broseley was a centre for ironmaking, pottery and clay pipes http://www.broseleypipes.co.uk/; the earliest recorded pipemaker was working in the town in 1590.
John Wilkinson
John Wilkinson (industrialist)
John "Iron-Mad" Wilkinson was an English industrialist who pioneered the use and manufacture of cast iron and cast-iron goods in the Industrial Revolution.-Early life:...
constructed the world's first iron boat whilst living in the town, and the plans for the Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge crosses the River Severn at the Ironbridge Gorge, by the village of Ironbridge, in Shropshire, England. It was the first arch bridge in the world to be made out of cast iron, a material which was previously far too expensive to use for large structures...
were drawn up in Broseley. Abraham Darby I
Abraham Darby I
Abraham Darby I was the first, and most famous, of three generations with that name in an English Quaker family that played an important role in the Industrial Revolution. He developed a method of producing pig iron in a blast furnace fuelled by coke rather than charcoal...
, who developed the process of smelting iron using coking coal, is buried here.
In the latter half of the nineteenth century the area suffered a decline, as industries moved elsewhere. This left a legacy of uncapped mineshafts, derelict buildings, abandoned quarries, spoil heaps and pit mounds.
In the last thirty years of the twentieth century Broseley experienced a modern revival with the development of Telford
Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
across the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
. New estates were built to the east of Broseley centre, whilst many older properties were developed or renovated, but the town is still less populated now than it would have been two hundred years ago, when population figures were over five thousand.
Environment
Broseley borders the Ironbridge GorgeIronbridge Gorge
The Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge formed by the River Severn in Shropshire, England.Originally called the Severn Gorge, the gorge now takes its name from its famous Iron Bridge, the first iron bridge of its kind in the world, and a monument to the industry that began there...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
and evidence of involvement in the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
can be seen throughout the town. These include the railways, mines, ironworks, brickworks, kilns, houses and fine buildings associated with the area's industrial past.
The jitties (lanes and paths) of Broseley Wood on the western boundary of Broseley are the remains of cottage settlements built for miners. At the other end of the social spectrum the town has many examples of Ironmaster
Ironmaster
An ironmaster is the manager – and usually owner – of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain....
houses, dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
There are two wildlife areas maintained by local groups. The Hay Cop http://haycop.org/ between Dark Lane and Ironbridge Road was the site of the town's water supply and was developed as a nature reserve in 2007. Penns Meadow http://philrevell.co.uk/thisnthat/pennsmeadow/ on the border between Broseley and Benthall is a five acre ancient meadow and is also being managed to protect and develop wildlife diversity. Both projects have been supported by The Broseley/Barrow Local Joint Committee http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/communityworking.nsf/open/9DE9E3CE1F3B9FB5802575B30043AFAC, a Shropshire Council initiative to encourage devolution of decision making to local people.
Culture
In 2007, Broseley won a gold award in the Heart of EnglandHeart of England
Heart of England may refer to:*English Midlands*Heart of England Business and Enterprise School*Heart of England Co-operative Society*Heart of England NHS Trust*Heart of England Way...
Britain in Bloom
Britain in Bloom
RHS Britain in Bloom, supported by Anglian Home Improvements, is the largest horticultural campaign in the United Kingdom. It was first held in 1963, initiated by the British Tourist Board based on the example set by Fleurissement de France. It has been organised by the Royal Horticultural Society ...
competition for the second year running, also gaining first place in the Best Small Town category.
Broseley has a large amateur dramatics society, BroADS, which performs a number of plays every year. Every month, the Birchmeadow Centre is used by Broseley Cinema, which shows well rated films on its own large screen. There is also a thriving arts and crafts community, who form a group known as the Broseley Artists.
The town has a number of historic pubs and eateries, mostly located towards the town centre. Broseley also has a "Broadplace" facility, a small centre for community usage of laptop computers, help & guidance, and free Internet access. It is open Monday mornings in the Birchmeadow Centre (slightly north of the town centre). The library was also proposed for a possible host for the broadplace but eventually lost out to the Birchmeadow Centre. The library is located to the south of the town centre by the doctors' surgery.
Legacy
The type of brickBrick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
s and tile
Tile
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
s once produced in abundance in Broseley have become synonymous with any product of their type, regardless of where they were made. Broseley bricks are notable for their brown and red mottled nature, a sign of their cheap production, and Broseley tiles are of a strawberry red to light brown hue.
The pipeworks in Broseley were responsible for producing millions of clay pipes which were shipped worldwide, and are invaluable in dating archaeological sites, as they survive without decay and their maker's stamp reveals their date of origin.
Works pioneered here and across the Ironbridge Gorge went on to set the stage for the mass production of iron products in the later Industrial Revolution which drove the expansion of the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. This is in part due to the work of John Wilkinson and his construction of precision-engineered steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
s and weaponry.
Education
There are two primary schools in Broseley: Broseley Church of EnglandChurch of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
(or Dark Lane) School and John Wilkinson School, named after the famous ironmaster whose residence is nearby. For secondary education, most pupils travel to William Brookes School in Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock
Much Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford...
or to Bridgnorth Endowed School, Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth
Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England, along the Severn Valley. It is split into Low Town and High Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left...
.
Notable people
- Hermione BaddeleyHermione BaddeleyHermione Baddeley was an English character actress of theatre, film and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Room at the Top and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here...
, the film and theatre actress. - John 'Iron Mad' WilkinsonJohn Wilkinson (industrialist)John "Iron-Mad" Wilkinson was an English industrialist who pioneered the use and manufacture of cast iron and cast-iron goods in the Industrial Revolution.-Early life:...
, the 18th century industrialist, was a resident of Broseley, and it was here that he first mastered his unique art of boring cannons for increased accuracy. - Abraham Darby IAbraham Darby IAbraham Darby I was the first, and most famous, of three generations with that name in an English Quaker family that played an important role in the Industrial Revolution. He developed a method of producing pig iron in a blast furnace fuelled by coke rather than charcoal...
, an industrialist of an earlier period is buried there. - John GuestGuest familyThe Guest family are a British family of the 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries who, among other things built a huge industrial business in the Dowlais Iron Company and later in Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds.-John Guest:...
, who started the legacy of GKNGKNGKN plc is a multinational automotive and aerospace components company headquartered in Redditch, United Kingdom. The company was formerly known as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds and can trace its origins back to 1759 and the birth of the Industrial Revolution.GKN is listed on the London Stock... - Shane EmburyShane EmburyShane Embury is a British bassist and member of Napalm Death.-Napalm Death:Embury is the only member left who has been in the band since the Scum tour, replacing previous bassist Jim Whitley in 1987...
, the bassist in the grindcoreGrindcoreGrindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....
band Napalm DeathNapalm DeathNapalm Death are a death metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1981. While none of its original members remain in the group, the lineup of vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera has remained consistent for most of the band's ...
. - John PritchardJohn Pritchard (MP)John Pritchard was an English lawyer, banker and Conservative Party politician from Broseley , near Bridgnorth in Shropshire....
(1797–1891), English lawyer, banker and Conservative MP for nearby BridgnorthBridgnorth (UK Parliament constituency)Bridgnorth was a parliamentary borough in Shropshire which was represented in the House of Commons of England from 1295 until 1707, then in the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until its abolition in 1885.It...
.