A bimbler plans ahead, particularly when
small fry are in tow. My daughter
requires comfort and diversion. Interesting
accommodation is amply provided by one of the UK’s least best kept secrets, the
YHA. Like the train they can easily take the strain out of bumbling with little
ones. I was looking forward to this YHA
as it provided a base for exploring the Ironbridge Gorge. Coalport is
fascinating in terms of its industrial heritage and the converted China factory
to be found there, literally, offers a window onto the home of the industrial
age. The power of the River Severn and its cooling properties allowed furnaces
and foundries to spring up by the river. These Satanic mills, belching fumes
and flames, were fuelled with wood from the forested banks and later with coal
delivered by canal and river. The ‘China Works’ was a factory positioned by the
bank of the River Severn. A relic of the industrial revolution it has been converted
into a youth hostel which sits next to the China Museum. The museum is another
old factory replete with conical kilns.
You awake in the restored factory into a scene from the 19th
Century.
The coal often came from the mines above
the valley and was delivered via the Shropshire canal. Its final journey
involved transporting goods down to the river on a hill inclined plane which is
a wonder of engineering. It looks like a giant ladder laid up against the
hillside. A full truck would pull an empty truck up the incline using gravity
to assist this feat. A short stretch of
canal at the bottom ends at the China factories in Coalport. Once the ceramics
had been fired they would be transported by river to the Severn estuary and
beyond. The Victorian museum at the top of the hill has a restored trow boat
called ‘Spry’ that used to ply its trade up and down the river using sails. The
museums provide an insight into the industry and endeavor in the region and one
is constantly reminded of the rich history in such an arena of calm.
The China museum allowed our creative
juices to flow as we observed how bone China was made and then painted
intricate flowers on hand made clay models. Ash from real bones was used in the process
and must have added to the industrial odour of the times. The eerie fairy chimneys of the kilns were
brought to life in an audio installation allowing an insight into the noisy,
dusty, hot environment endured by the working classes. The kilns were a common
site in industrial areas such as Stoke and the ones in Coalport are preserved
to explain their ingenious design. An
idyllic location by the river would have been a seamy hotbed of industrial fire
and brimstone in Victorian times with coal and dust lining lungs and danger in
every industrial process. The potters
shed looked the safest area and the cladder making the casts for the china to
be fired in, now looks on safer ground make cutesy planters for the garden. Beware
guides in Victorian dress as they are always keen to scare 8 year olds about
working conditions and the middle aged about mortality rates and ages.
This Victorian theme is expanded upon at
Blists Hill Museum.
At the top of the hill behind Coalport, a
Victorian town has been recreated out of a former iron smelting foundry
complete with blast furnaces. We have
been returning here for a couple of years on an annual pass and throughout the
year there are a number of special events such as Bonfire night and most recently
a visit from the Man Engine. There is enough to keep a child occupied until the
first wave of tiredness or cold kicks in; candle dipping in a darkened room
smelling of tallow with a pig in its outhouse is a favourite followed by fish and chips in beef dripping and spending
shillings and pence in ‘ye olde’ sweet shop. Some stern Victorian types dole
out harsh truths about life such as working as an apprentice and the Master
keeps the kids in line in a school-house that reminded me of my haunted primary
school where one of the old radiators fell on my leg. I came
away with souvenir iron beer bottle openers made on site which make a handy
birthday present trove.
The YHA always do a great value breakfast
in buffet style which makes bringing your own cornflakes seem a little
mean. It means no washing up either so
it is up and out, hiking along the Severn Way, or getting a piggy back, as the
Jackfield Tile Factory comes into view.
Before you scoff and wonder how I subjected my daughter to a morning
looking at tiles, there is something for everybody here and they have worked
hard to make this seemingly hard sell as attractive to our attention deficient
youth as historically inclined gents. Indeed there were some beautifully tiled ‘Gents’
that will shift your perceptions when next in the pub. Even the London
Underground is tiled in Jackfield products.
These museums are all housed in their own buildings proving that living
history is becoming the leisure activity we do best. There are some interesting tiles in glass
cabinets. I liked the Minton tiles and some arts and crafts ones with William
Morris themed glazes. However, the building is the real star, resplendent on
the banks of the Severn, utilising the natural resources of the area and the
excellent transport routes which made the area the centre of the industrial
revolution. Richly blessed with minerals,
the Gorge heads a navigable waterway for the rest of the 220 mile River Severn.
Canals and railways improved routes to the limestone, ironstone and coal needed
to fire the bellies of the furnaces which litter the Gorge; not to mention the
forests of the Marches that succumbed to this voracious appetite for progress
and profit.
We spent an idyllic day making our own tiles
and it felt like therapy for me. We
stopped and concentrated on this one creative activity and came back after
lunch to make another. We could choose
from a selection of templates or could go off piste and make our own. I had
come prepared with an Octupus design whilst my daughter went freestyle with a
kaleidoscope of colours. A simple idea
but what a great bonding activity; choose a tile, draw an outline with an icing
bag filled with wet clay and fill in the spaces with a range of coloured
glazes. We were then left wondering what our finished pieces would look like
for a couple of weeks until they arrived at our door. They are now being
cemented into our own Victorian hearth at home.
The Ironbridge itself is currently under
mysterious wraps as it gets a make-over but is a wonder to behold. I would
recommend fish and chips overlooking the river as you wonder whether to push it
and visit the other museums or save it all for another trip. Even I think
Broseley Pipe factory might be one museum too many for today!
Instead I made a to do list for next time;
·
Benthal Hall National trust
·
Broseley Pipe factory
·
The Broseley jitties
·
Iron Museum
·
Enginuity
·
Bike ride from Ironbridge to
Bridgnorth
