1. Coal, Coke, and Clay: Blists Hill’s Industrial Past

    In 2023, Blists Hill Victorian Town is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Since it opened in 1973, the museum has grown significantly as local buildings have been rebuilt or copied at Blists Hill to recreate a small industrial town. The museum aims to show what life was like living and working in the East Shropshire Coalfield around 1900, but what can be seen at Blists Hill today is very different to how the site looked in the 19th century.

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  2. The Owners

    The Anstice Family

    The Anstice family played an important role in the life and prosperity of Madeley throughout the 19th century.

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  3. WORKSHOP OF THE WORLD

    The ironworkers of Coalbrookdale helped to develop innovations that revolutionised industry, power, and transport across the globe.

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  4. DANGERS, DISASTERS AND DEATH

    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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