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44-551: Blists Hill Victorian Town is an open-air museum built on a former industrial complex located in the Madeley area of Telford , Shropshire , England. The museum attempts to recreate the sights, sounds and smells of a Victorian Shropshire town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is one of ten museums operated by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust . Originally Blists Hill was an industrial region consisting of

88-561: A UNESCO World Heritage Site (which covers the wider Ironbridge Gorge area) and has since become a major tourist attraction within Shropshire. Most industries in Ironbridge are now tourist-related; however, the Merrythought teddy bear company (established in 1930) is still manufacturing in Ironbridge and has a small museum there too. Amongst other things, the centre of Ironbridge is host to

132-409: A bank, bakery, bicycle shop and post office. An industrial district that provided various employment from a blast furnace and wrought iron works and a countryside district with buildings such as a squatter's cottage and tin roof church. The museum has been used as a venue for various television programmes and films, including Doctor Who and Blue Peter . In the 18th and 19th centuries, Blists Hill

176-434: A brick and tile works, blast furnaces and coal, iron and fire clay mines. The museum was opened in 1973 and has been growing ever since. The museum's buildings fall into one of three categories, buildings that were already part of the industrial site, buildings that represent a generic type and original buildings that have been relocated to the museum. The museum has three districts, a town area with Victorian era shops such as

220-578: A depth of one metre (3 ft 3 in) against the barrier. On 26 February 2020, after large amounts of rainfall brought by storms Ciara and Dennis , the portable barrier was compromised; it required an evacuation of all residents from the wharfage. Ironbridge flooded again in February 2022. The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust owns and operates 10 museums throughout the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site ; they collectively tell

264-634: A different time and place and perform everyday household tasks, crafts, and occupations. The goal is to demonstrate older lifestyles and pursuits to modern audiences. Household tasks might include cooking on an open hearth , churning butter , spinning wool and weaving , and farming without modern equipment. Many living museums feature traditional craftsmen at work, such as a blacksmith , pewtersmith , silversmith , weaver , tanner , armorer , cooper , potter , miller , sawyer , cabinet-maker , woodcarver , printer , doctor, and general storekeeper . The North American open-air museum, more commonly called

308-587: A living-history museum, had a different, slightly later origin than the European, and the visitor experience is different. The first was Henry Ford 's Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan (1928), where Ford intended his collection to be "a pocket edition of America". Colonial Williamsburg (opened in 1934), though, had a greater influence on museum development in North America. It influenced such projects through

352-460: A new World Heritage Visitor Centre, a 2 ft ( 610 mm ) narrow gauge Mine Railway, and a 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge Inclined Lift supplied by WGH Ltd . The mine railway is intended to represent a 1920s clay mine, although the rolling stock is modern and the mine is formed by a concrete bunker. The inclined lift is entirely modern, and enables visitors with restricted mobility to access

396-467: A post office, pharmacy , various pubs , cafés and many small independent shops. Ironbridge was struck by an F1/T2 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day. On Thursday 10 July 2003 The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh made a visit to Shropshire which included a visit to Ironbridge, and a walk over the bridge itself. An annual Coracle Regatta

440-455: A shoeing smith , bootmaker, locksmith , decorative plasterer (with equipment from Burton upon Trent ), builder , and sawmill . Premises in Quarry Bank include a tallow candle manufactory (from Madeley ), a bakery (from Dawley ), a physician's surgery (in a Sutherland Estate cottage from Donnington ), and a Board School (from Stirchley ). Recent new developments have included

484-567: A square facing the hotel, stands Ironbridge's war memorial, which was erected in 1924. It is a bronze statue of a First World War soldier in marching order, sculpted by Arthur George Walker , whose signature appears as does that of A.B. Burton, the foundry worker who erected it. On the hillside above the river are situated the stone-built 16th-century hunting lodge at Lincoln Hill, many 17th- and 18th-century workers' cottages, some imposing Georgian houses built by ironmasters and mine and river barge owners, and many early Victorian villas built from

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528-525: A steam locomotive designed and built by Richard Trevithick in 1802 runs on a short segment of 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge track. The original locomotive was the world's first steam locomotive on rails and was commissioned by the Coalbrookdale Company , which was located nearby (however, no record exists of this locomotive ever being successfully run). In 2015, the Trevithick Shed

572-416: Is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum . Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings". In the loosest sense, an open-air museum is any institution that includes one or more buildings in its collections, including farm museums, historic house museums , and archaeological open-air museums . Mostly, "open-air museum" is applied to a museum that specializes in

616-778: Is held in August on the River Severn at Ironbridge, along with many other events throughout the year. This is mainly because the coracle-making family of Rogers lived in Ironbridge for several generations. Just outside Ironbridge in Coalbrookdale is the Ironbridge Institute , a partnership between the University of Birmingham and the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust offering postgraduate and professional development in heritage . Ironbridge has an annually reoccurring problem of flooding from

660-590: The union with Sweden . Most open-air museums concentrate on rural culture. However, since the opening of the first town museum, The Old Town in Aarhus , Denmark , in 1914, town culture has also become a scope of open-air museums. In many cases, new town quarters are being constructed in existing rural culture museums. Living-history museums, including living-farm museums and living museums , are open-air museums where costumed interpreters portray period life in an earlier era. The interpreters act as if they are living in

704-540: The Ironbridge Gorge , it lies in the civil parish of The Gorge . Ironbridge developed beside, and takes its name from, The Iron Bridge , a 100-foot (30 m) cast iron bridge that was built in 1779. The area around Ironbridge is described by those promoting it as a tourist destination as the "Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution ". This description is based on the idea that Abraham Darby perfected

748-698: The Nordic Museum in Stockholm , to establish his own open-air museum Skansen , adjacent to the Nordic Museum. Skansen, opened to the public in 1891, was a more ambitious undertaking, including farm buildings from across Sweden , folk costumes, live animals, folk music, and demonstrations of folk crafts. The second open-air museum in the world to open its doors was also in Sweden: Kulturen in Lund in 1892 . In 1894

792-513: The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History ( Norsk Folkemuseum ) was founded in Oslo by Hans Aall , inspired by Skansen. Aall bought a large tract of land adjacent to King Oscar's royal collections, probably with a merger between them in mind. The open-air Norsk Folkemuseum was opened at Bygdøy in 1902. In 1907 the royal collections were incorporated after the death of King Oscar and the dissolution of

836-519: The River Severn , as do many other parts of Shropshire. Flooding has previously caused much damage and disruption to the Wharfage, which accommodates both The Swan and White Hart pubs, and various private homes. Starting in February 2004, DEFRA , in association with the Environment Agency , implemented a portable barrier which is erected at times of floods. At its peak, the flood water has reached

880-594: The Blists Hill Victorian Town and is also a waypoint on the South Telford Heritage Trail . In operation box-shaped tub boats 20 feet long were taken up and down the plane on twin railway tracks, an empty boat would be loaded into the river at the bottom and a full boat would be loaded into the canal at the top, a rope would connect the two so that gravity would drop the loaded boat down to the river counterbalanced by an empty boat being raised to

924-673: The Norsemen". He believed that traditional peasant houses should be preserved against modernity, but failed to attract support for the idea. The first major steps towards the creation of open-air museums was taken in Swedish union ruled Norway in 1881, when the Swedish union King Oscar II transferred four historic farm buildings and the stave church from Gol to the royal manor at Bygdøy near Oslo (Christiania) for public viewing. This, in turn, in 1884 and 1885 inspired Artur Hazelius , founder of

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968-547: The Rani . The 1995 film Feast of July was shot at Blists Hill. An episode of Antiques Roadshow was filmed at the location in September 2009. In 2010, Victorian Pharmacy , which was a historical documentary looking at life in the 19th century, used Blists Hill to recreate the scene at an everyday pharmacy. Open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It

1012-663: The Severn Valley line ( GWR ) from Hartlebury to Shrewsbury, was situated on the south side of the Iron Bridge until 1966. Ironbridge was the birthplace of England National Football Team captain Billy Wright . By the 19th century, Ironbridge had had many well-known visitors, including Benjamin Disraeli , but by the mid-20th century, the settlements and industries of the gorge were in decline. In 1986, though, Ironbridge became part of

1056-466: The Victorians as "they" or "them" (rather than in the first person "I" or "we" which some similar museums employ): the museum management believes that this allows greater scope for comparing modern techniques with those re-enacted at the museum. Staff may also be seen performing such diverse tasks as operating stationary steam engines , iron founding and mucking out pigs. The first building visitors see in

1100-466: The addition of 'Canal Street', which was a new build closely modelled on extant and historic buildings in the Telford area. This area includes a new Fish and Chip Shop, Drapers shop and Post Office, as well as an enlarged Sweet Shop. A walkway is located at the end of Canal Street, which leads visitors to the ruins of the brick and tile works. Adjacent to the ruins, and on select days, an operational replica of

1144-399: The canal. At the bottom of the incline the rails went underwater allowing the boats to float free. Blists Hill has been used as a filming location on several occasions. In 1979, the children's television series Blue Peter included an item shot at the museum. The director of the piece subsequently chose it to be the principal filming location for the 1985 Doctor Who serial The Mark of

1188-474: The collection and re-erection of multiple old buildings at large outdoor sites, usually in settings of recreated landscapes of the past, and often including living history . Such institutions may, therefore, be described as building museums. European open-air museums tended to be sited originally in regions where wooden architecture prevailed, as wooden structures may be translocated without substantial loss of authenticity. Common to all open-air museums, including

1232-534: The continent as Mystic Seaport , Plimoth Patuxet (formerly Plimoth Plantation), and Fortress Louisbourg . The approach to interpretation tends to differentiate the North American from the European model. In Europe, the tendency is to usually focus on the buildings. In North America, many open-air museums include interpreters who dress in period costume and conduct period crafts and everyday work. The living museum is, therefore, viewed as an attempt to recreate to

1276-458: The darker aspects of the American past (e.g., slavery and other forms of injustice). Even before such critiques were published, sites such as Williamsburg and others had begun to add more interpretation of difficult history. Ironbridge Ironbridge is a riverside town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. Located on the bank of the River Severn , at the heart of

1320-512: The earliest ones of the 19th century, is the teaching of the history of everyday living by people from all segments of society. The idea of the open-air museum dates to the 1790s. The first proponent of the idea was the Swiss thinker Charles de Bonstetten , and was based on a visit to an exhibit of sculptures of Norwegian peasants in native costumes in the park of Fredensborg Palace in Denmark ,"Valley of

1364-422: The few which have survived to the present day – remains an important symbol representative of the dawn of the industrial age. The grandson of the first Abraham Darby, Abraham Darby III , built the bridge – originally designed by Thomas Farnolls Pritchard  – to link the two areas. Construction began in 1779, and the bridge opened on New Year's Day 1781. Soon afterwards the ancient Madeley market

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1408-508: The fullest extent conditions of a culture , natural environment , or historical period . The objective is immersion, using exhibits so that visitors can experience the specific culture, environment or historical period using the physical senses. Performance and historiographic practices at American living museums have been critiqued in the past several years by scholars in anthropology and theater for creating false senses of authenticity and accuracy, and for neglecting to bear witness to some of

1452-581: The lower part of the site. The project did not fund the restoration of the Scheduled Ancient Monuments and associated archaeological features on the site. The Hay Inclined Plane is a canal inclined plane with a height of 207 feet that is 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 and can be visited as part of

1496-474: The museum ( e.g. The New Inn public house , which originally stood between Green Lane and Hospital Street in Walsall ). Each building is staffed by one or more costumed demonstrators, who have been trained in the skills and history of the profession they re-enact. For example, in the printshop, visitors can watch posters and newssheets being printed. The demonstrators normally talk in the third person, referring to

1540-582: The museum (the gift shop at the museum entrance operates only in modern currency). The High Street area of the Upper Town has been developed around a London and North Western Railway interchange siding with a plateway which is an original feature of the site. Shops erected on the site include a chemist (with fittings from Bournemouth ), butcher (from Ironbridge ), grocer (replica of a building from Oakengates ), and printer (with equipment from Kington, Herefordshire ). Small crafts include an iron foundry ,

1584-461: The museum is the bank (modelled on the still-standing Lloyds Bank branch in Broseley ), at which they can change modern coinage into token coinage that represents the predecimal farthings , halfpennies , pennies , threepenny bits and sixpences , at an exchange rate of 40 new pence to 1 old penny. They can then use the token coins as an alternative to modern currency for buying goods whilst visiting

1628-505: The site demonstrate natural recolonisation of an industrial landscape. Amongst buildings re-erected in this area are a corrugated iron tin tabernacle , (St Chad's Mission Church from Lodge Bank), a squatter cottage (from Dawley ), and a toll house (designed by Telford for the Holyhead Road at Shelton ). In 2009 a £12 million programme of redevelopment was completed which included the previously discussed buildings on Canal Street,

1672-460: The technique of smelting iron with coke , in Coalbrookdale , allowing much cheaper production of iron . However, the industrial revolution did not begin in any one place. Darby's iron smelting was but one small part of this generalised revolution and was soon superseded by the great iron-smelting areas. However, the bridge – being the first of its kind fabricated from cast iron, and one of

1716-399: The various coloured bricks and tiles of the locality. St Luke's Church (1837) in simple Commissioners' Gothic by Samuel Smith of Madeley , has stained glass by David Evans of Shrewsbury . Its design is unusual in that the sanctuary is at the west-end and the tower at the east, in reverse to the majority of churches. This is because the land at the west-end was unstable and unable to take

1760-631: The weight of a tower. The bells in the church tower were installed in 1920 as a memorial to parishioners who died in the First World War, and the external church clock was illuminated in memory of those who died in the Second . The living was endowed as a rectory when the parish was created from Madeley in 1847, and is now a united benefice with Coalbrookdale and Little Wenlock , in the Diocese of Hereford . The former Ironbridge and Broseley railway station , on

1804-563: Was an industrial region consisting of a brick and tile works, blast furnaces and coal, iron and fire clay mines operated by the Madeley Wood Company . A short section of the Shropshire Canal ran across the site to the Hay Inclined Plane , which transported boats up and down the 207 ft (63 m) tall incline from Blists Hill to Coalport . Blists Hill Victorian Town , originally called Blists Hill Open Air Museum ,

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1848-665: Was built to house the locomotive when not in use. The original Madeley Wood Company blast furnaces produced pig iron from 1832 to 1911. Their remains have been conserved and a blowing engine from the Lilleshall Company 's Priorslee Ironworks installed in one of the houses. Nearby are displayed a pair of beam engines from the same location, alongside a wrought iron works using equipment from Thomas Walmsley's Atlas Forge in Bolton in an iron-framed building designed by Rennie for Woolwich Dockyard . The more remote parts of

1892-430: Was opened in 1973, and has been slowly growing ever since. The museum's buildings fall into one of three categories: buildings that were already part of the industrial site ( e.g. the brickworks ); buildings that simply represent a generic type ( e.g. the sweet shop), some adaptively reusing existing premises on site or being replicas of those still standing elsewhere; and original buildings that have been relocated to

1936-508: Was relocated to the new purpose-built square and Georgian Butter Cross. The former dispersed settlement of Madeley Wood gained a planned urban focus as Ironbridge, the commercial and administrative centre of the Coalbrookdale coalfield. The Iron Bridge proprietors also built the Tontine Hotel to accommodate visitors to the new bridge and the industrial sites of the Severn Gorge . Across

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