Ironbridge, Shropshire

100' Cast Iron Bridge over the River Severn

The red dot - showing you where Ironbridge, Shropshire is

Ironbridge - A little southwest of Telford and down river from Shrewsbury
I know it's confusing, looking at the other places I circled on the map. Sorry.

I was just going to tell you that Ironbridge was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, then found this entry on Wikipedia:  'The area around Ironbridge is described by those promoting it as a tourist destination as the "Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution". This is a falsehood based on the idea that Abraham Darby smelting iron with coke, in Coalbrookdale, allowing much cheaper production of iron. However, the industrial revolution did not "begin" in one place, but in many. The growth of railways, spinning machines, weaving and other industrial inventions and activities were going on all over the country. Smelting iron by Darby was but one small part of this generalised revolution and was soon superseded by the great iron-smelting areas.'

It's not like I thought that Ironbridge could claim exclusive rights to the Industrial Revolution, but it was definitely part of it, and you can still feel the ghosts of the Industrial Revolution. In fact, it feels very recent.

'The Bridge Was Cast at Coalbrookdale and Erected in the Year MDCCLXXIX'
just 3 years after our Declaration of Independence

The Pay and Display parking lot

Along this street, we came to a little fish'n'chips shop where a tweedy looking old man with one fish eye sat at a lonely table, occasionally casting a furtive glance our way. He could have stepped right out of a Campion movie!  Maybe he did.

Some shots taken around town:

Two of the locals, perched above the river

I love the brick and ivy!!

Lime kilns, used in the making of fertilizer in days past

I could enjoy spending a summer (one measily summer) living in the upper story of one of those buildings and exploring more of the Iron Gorge area.

St. Luke's Church on top of the hill

I found this interesting little tidbit online at the Church of England website:  

'The position of Ironbridge church is the reverse of the majority of churches, the sanctuary being at the west end and the tower at the east end. This is due to the fact that it was discovered that the land at the west end would not bear the weight of a tower.'

The Tontine Hotel, which some think is haunted, stands below St. Luke's. I hadn't heard the word 'Tontine' since watching a Miss Marple movie, 4:50 From Paddington, the plot of which was based on the tontine, and explained. Here is the definition from askdefine.com:

'While once very popular in France, Britain, and the United States, tontines have been banned in Britain and the United States due to the incentive for investors to kill one another, thereby increasing their shares.'  You can see that the tontine would make a great murder mystery! 4:50 From Paddington, or What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw is one of my favorites.

Tunnel with steps down to the river bank

Walking, not driving, is permitted on the bridge

It's a pretty untidy looking town in March, but I suspect that summer leaves and flowers forgive much.

And whenever I think of the Industrial Revolution, my mind takes me to the 'dark, satanic mills' of this fascinating song:

See you all in September at Royal Albert Hall, London, for the Last Night of the Proms (don't I wish!).  And in case you were wondering about the words to that song, here they are:

 From Wikipedia

That song really sticks in my head!
Maybe it will become an ear worm for you too. :-) 

P.S. Yesterday morning it was -25 degrees F. here. This morning it was -27 degrees F.   If Al Gore ever dares show his face in this neck of the woods, he will be tarred and feathered!  Just sayin.' 

P.P.S. In fact, today we are expecting to see a 50 degree difference between our low and high temperature for the day.