Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Ironbridge Gorge Museums

After visiting the rose gardens, we took a trip to the Ironbridge Gorge Museums.  Our visit included the Blists Hill Victorian Town, the iron bridge, and the Coalport China Museum.

The bike store...


pharmacy...


steam power which ran the "lift" that took mine workers up and down...
and we got an awesome demonstration!


candle makers....


doctor's office - within his home...


the kitchen in the doctor's house (this is a pretty fancy one)...


what remains of the iron works...


A two room cottage, which an elderly lady lived in until 
the late 1900s!  No running water or electricity!  ...


Wood working studio, with an artisan at work...


the butcher shop...



the iron bridge...



and a view from the iron bridge.  


It was fun to see everyone reenact what a day in a life would have been then.  The policeman even stopped in the post office and read the daily poem while we were there.  He was a character - he even stopped tourists with their dog to discuss cleaning up after the dog.  I'd better add a picture of him...


Some of the gorgeous china....



Inside the kiln - HUGE!  The first picture is the chimney and the inner furnace, 
the second is the coal pit,
and the third is inside the furnace.
Dishes were stacked in the molded clay containers to fire.




And some beauties in one of my favorite colors...



More information about this area can be found at www.ironbridge.org.uk.

As you can see, this was a chilly day.  Most of the trip was just that - but it didn't slow us down!

More later!


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