Ironbridge Gorge
Encyclopedia
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...
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.
Originally called the Severn Gorge, the gorge now takes its name from its famous 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...
, the first iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
of its kind in the world, and a monument to the industry that began there. The bridge was built in 1779 to link the industrial town of 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...
with the smaller mining town of 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...
and the growing industrial centre of 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...
.
There are two reasons the site was so useful to the early industrialists. The raw materials, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, iron ore, limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, for the manufacture of iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, 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 and porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
are exposed or easily mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
d in the gorge. The deep and wide river allowed easy transport of products to the sea.
Formation
The gorge carries the River SevernRiver 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...
south towards the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
. It was formed during the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
when the output from the previously north flowing river became trapped in a lake (Lake Lapworth
Lake Lapworth
Lake Lapworth existed in England in the Ice Age when ice from Wales and the north blocked the outlet of the River Dee near the site of Chester. The Dee backed up, forming Lake Lapworth, until it overflowed southwards and cut the Ironbridge gorge, permanently diverting part of the Dee drainage into...
) created when the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
ice sheet dammed the river. The level of the lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
rose until it was able to flow over the hills to the south. This flow eroded a path through the hills forming the gorge and permanently diverting the Severn southwards.
The Gorge parish
The Gorge is a civil parish of Telford and WrekinTelford and Wrekin
Telford and Wrekin is a unitary district with borough status in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. The district was created in 1974 as The...
borough. It covers the part of Ironbridge Gorge that falls within the Telford and Wrekin Council area, which is most of it, and includes settlements such as 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 Coalport
Coalport
Coalport is a village in Shropshire, now part of the new town of Telford. It is located on the River Severn at , a mile downstream of Ironbridge...
(but not Buildwas
Buildwas
Buildwas is a village and civil parish in Shropshire, England, on the north bank of the River Severn at . It lies on the B4380 road to Atcham. The Royal Mail postcodes begin TF6 and TF8Buildwas Primary School is situated on the Buildwas bank road...
or 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...
) and part of 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...
.
Conservation in the Gorge
Green Wood Centre is a national leading body on the revival of the coppicingCoppicing
Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which takes advantage of the fact that many trees make new growth from the stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level...
industry and has spent over twenty years training new coppice and woodland workers.
Severn Gorge Countryside Trust manages most of the woodland, grassland and other countryside within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, around 260 hectares (700 acres) in all. Working with Severn Gorge Countryside Trust is BTCV's Green Gym which assist them on woodland work.
Severn Gorge Countryside Trust and The Green Wood Centre run a joint volunteer project enabling local people to work local land in activities such as coppicing, scrub removal, deer fencing, step building and woodland management. Areas where you'll be able to see the kind of work done are Benthall Edge, Lloyds Coppice and Captain's coppice. All within walking distance of the Ironbridge.
See also
- Ironbridge Gorge Museums
- Geology of ShropshireGeology of ShropshireShropshire's Geology is very diverse and most rock types found in the British Isles can be found in the county too. There is also a large amount of mineral wealth, including lead, coal and iron in the county, which perhaps helped the area develop the first industry of the industrial revolution, in...
- Ironbridge Power StationIronbridge Power StationThe Ironbridge power stations refers to a series of two coal-fired power stations which have occupied a site on the banks of the River Severn at Buildwas in Shropshire, England. The current Ironbridge B power station is operated by E.ON UK...
External links
- Ironbridge Gorge Visitor Information
- Telford Culture Zone
- Tourism Website for Ironbridge
- Ironbridge Gorge.com
- Ironbridge Pub Locations
- Ironbridge Gorge Tourism website
- ITV Local footage at Ironbridge Gorge
- Photo of the Gorge from the air
- The Ironbridge Gorge by Virtual Shropshire
- World Heritage Site information from UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
- Map of UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Ironbridge Archaeology
- Green Wood Centre
- Severn Gorge Countryside Trust
- Green Gym
- Landslides in the Ironbridge Gorge by the British Geological Survey
