Forge of the future, bridge to the past

 

 

Top: The Iron Bridge spans the River Severn in the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Bottom: Ironbridge Gorge, a World Heritage site, includes the cast-iron bridge and Blists Hill Victorian Town, an open air museum which features costumed actors selling apparel and household goods, and other attractions such as a Victorian carnival with rides and games.

For more than two centuries, the world’s first cast-iron arch bridge has attracted tourists, artists, writers, architects, and even industrial spies. Today, it’s the centerpiece of a 2-square-mile UNESCO World Heritage site. Despite its 378 tons, the Iron Bridge is elegant, almost delicate. “The bridge looks as good as it did the day it was built” in 1779, says Barrie Williams, a member of the Rotary Club of Ironbridge, England, and executive director of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.

The Ironbridge Gorge area once boasted more furnaces and forges than anywhere else in the world. The Silicon Valley of the late 18th century, this was the most technologically advanced place in the world, with factories churning out glass, ceramic, and cast-iron goods. Now the Ironbridge Gorge has 10 museums and 35 historic sites, including the world’s first blast furnace, marking the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Here, iron was first forged from coke instead of charcoal.

One of the museums, Blists Hill Victorian Village, is unveiling a US$19 million development in time for the 2009 RI Convention in Birmingham, about 30 miles to the southeast. At the outdoor village, you can learn to cure “drunkness” at the chemist, watch the printer and candlemaker at work, converse with the hatmaker (“No gossiping!” she admonishes a visitor, “only listening!”), and watch Shakespeare as it was often performed – in the street. “Our goal is not just to preserve the buildings but to keep the skills alive,” Williams says.

Rotarians headed to the 2009 convention, slated for 21-24 June, can make the trip to the Ironbridge Gorge museums directly from the National Exhibition Centre. Other destinations that showcase the heart of England region include Coventry Cathedral, bombed during World War II and now a monument to peace; the Shakespearean mecca, Stratford-Upon-Avon; and the picturesque Cotswolds, home to evocatively named villages such as Wotton-under-Edge and Chipping Campden. Rotarians can also sign up for several postconvention day trips, including one to London. Find details at www.rotaryconvention2009.com.