Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust
Encyclopedia
Industrial heritage
Industrial heritage is an aspect of cultural heritage dealing specifically with the buildings and artifacts of industry which are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations, often forming a significant attraction for tourism.The...
organisation which runs ten museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s and manages 35 historic sites within 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...
in Shropshire
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, widely considered as the birthplace of 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...
.
Located at 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...
, 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 Broseley
Broseley
Broseley is a small town in Shropshire, England with a population of 4,912 . 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...
on 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...
, the area is 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...
and an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage
European Route of Industrial Heritage
The European Route of Industrial Heritage is a network of the most important industrial heritage sites in Europe. The aim of the project is to create interest for the common European Heritage of the Industrialisation and its remains...
(ERIH).
Museums
The ten museum sites run by the Trust, collectively known as the Ironbridge Gorge Museums are:- Blists Hill Victorian TownBlists Hill Victorian TownBlists Hill is an open air museum, one of ten museums operated by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, built on a former industrial complex located in the Madeley area of Telford, Shropshire, England...
, including the Hay Inclined PlaneHay Inclined PlaneThe Hay Inclined Plane is a canal inclined plane in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, with a height of 207 feet . It was located on a short stretch of the Shropshire Canal that linked the industrial area of Blists Hill with the River Severn. The inclined plane was in operation from 1792 to 1894... - Broseley Pipeworks
- Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron
- Coalport China MuseumCoalport China MuseumThe Coalport China Museum is one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums based in the village of Coalport within the Ironbridge Gorge at Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale on the bank of the River Severn in Shropshire, England...
- Coalport Tar Tunnel
- Darby Houses
- EnginuityEnginuityEnginuity is an interactive design and technology centre in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, England. It is the newest of the ten museums operated by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and was opened in 2002. The museum's exhibition floor is divided into four zones: Materials & Structures, Systems &...
- Iron Bridge and TollhouseThe Iron BridgeThe 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...
- Jackfield Tile MuseumJackfield Tile MuseumThe Jackfield Tile Museum is one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums based in the village of Jackfield on the south bank of the River Severn in the Ironbridge Gorge, in Shropshire, England...
- Museum of the Gorge
Also associated with the ten Trust museums are the Maws Craft Centre at Jackfield
Jackfield
Jackfield is a village in Shropshire, England, bordering the small town of Broseley.-Location:It lies on the south bank of the River Severn, in the Ironbridge Gorge, and opposite the village of Coalport...
and the Merrythought
Merrythought
Merrythought is a toy manufacturing company established in 1930 in the United Kingdom. The company specialises in children's soft toys, especially teddy bears. It is the last remaining British teddy bear factoryDean's Rag Book Co. is an older British teddy bear company however their products are...
museum at Dale End.
The Trust
Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust was established in 1967 to preserve and interpret the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in the Ironbridge Gorge. It is an independent educational charityCharitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
.
Its present CEO is Steve Miller, who took over from Glen Lawes in 2007. Previous CEOs have included Stuart Smith
Stuart Smith
Stuart Smith may refer to:*Stuart Lyon Smith , politician, psychiatrist, academic and public servant in Ontario, Canada*Stuart Saunders Smith , American composer and percussionist*Stuart Tyson Smith, American Egyptologist...
and Sir Neil Cossons, both well-respected experts on industrial history and archaeology.
The museum staff manage 35 historic sites within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, including ten museums. The sites also include archaeological sites, two chapels, housing, two Quaker burial grounds, a research library, a tourist information centre, woodland, and two youth hostels.
For over 20 years the museum also had a wide-ranging and innovative archaeology unit which undertook archaeological work within the Ironbridge Gorge and throughout the country. This was disbanded in 2009 along with the loss of many curatorial and other staff.
In recent years the academic and curatorial roles of the Trust have been reduced in favour of its role as a heritage tourism
Heritage tourism
Cultural heritage tourism is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring...
attraction.
Ironbridge Institute
The Trust also runs the Ironbridge InstituteIronbridge Institute
The Ironbridge Institute is a centre offering postgraduate and professional development courses in heritage and is a partnership between the University of Birmingham and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. It is located just outside Ironbridge in Coalbrookdale near Telford, Shropshire, in the United...
in Coalbrookdale, a centre offering postgraduate and professional courses in heritage, in partnership with the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
.