Discover what life was like for disabled working class people in the East Shropshire Coalfield during the 19th century in this blog post, which was guest written by Melanie Williamson, a freelance researcher, as part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust’s ‘Hidden Histories' project.
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Sir Arthur Elton was a pioneering documentary film maker, collector of material relating to the Industrial Revolution, and early supporter of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. His collection, which came to Ironbridge in 1978, has been described as ‘the best in Europe and perhaps the most important in the world’.
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Many of the leading industrialists who were connected with Coalbrookdale and the development of the Industrial Revolution were members of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers.
We sat down with Professor Ben Pink Dandelion, Honorary Professor of Quaker Studies in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham and Director of The Centre for Postgraduate Quaker Studies, to ask some common questions about Quakers and their approach to life, business and religion.
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The role of women in industrial history has often been hidden, overlooked, or forgotten. However, research carried out by social historian Ruth Goodman, on behalf of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, has revealed new insights into the fascinating and vital contributions that women have made to the industrial history of the Ironbridge Gorge. In this interview, Ruth Goodman discusses her research with the Trust's Interpretation Curator, Lauren Collier.
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Henry Williams perfected an engineering design that connected Blists Hill with the River Severn, and ultimately the rest of the world, for the first time.
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6 February 2018 marked 100 years since the passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which allowed women to vote in parliamentary elections for the first time.
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These are the names, ages and occupations of the 37 women working in the ceramic and iron industries across the Ironbridge Gorge, who gained the right to vote in 1918.
However, women could only vote if they were over the age of 30, and if they or their husband owned a certain amount of property. These strictures meant that more than 120 of their direct contemporaries were still denied the right to vote.
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Following the passing of the 1918 Act of Parliament approximately 40% of women in the UK gained the right to vote. These women were mainly older, wealthier, married women, and millions of younger, poorer women were still excluded, including all of these women who were known to be working in the ceramic and iron industries across the Ironbridge Gorge at the time.
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Whilst the abundance of raw materials and the innovations of industrialists and entrepreneurs sparked industry in the Gorge, it was the ordinary workers who drove it forward and made it possible for this area to become ‘the most extraordinary district in the world’.
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In the heat of ironworks, the darkness of the mines, and the toxic and dusty clay industries, danger, disaster, and death were the constant companions of industrial workers in the Gorge.
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