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Ironbridge Gorge
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How it came to be
The gorge of the River Severn in Shropshire, western England, was cut at the end of the last ice age when water from a lake dammed by ice overflowed. Its sides exposed coal, iron ore, limestone and fireclay, and the river carried goods to the sea.
In 1709 Abraham Darby I smelted iron with coke at Coalbrookdale. His grandson Abraham Darby III made the ironwork for a cast-iron arch with a main span of 100 feet, put up across the gorge in 1779 and opened in 1781. It was the first major bridge made of cast iron, and the town of Ironbridge takes its name from it.
Late in the 18th century industry spread downstream to Coalport, known for its china works. The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust was set up in 1967, and the gorge was inscribed in 1986.
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