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Ironbridge Gorge
| Site number: | 371 |
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| Type of site: | Cultural | |
| Date: | 18th century | |
| Date of Inscription: | 1986 | |
| Location: | Europe, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, England, Shropshire | |
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| Description: | Ironbridge is acknowledged across the globe as the symbol of the Industrial Revolution. It holds all the constituents of progress that were a factor in this industrial region’s rapid development in the 18th century, from the mines themselves to the railway lines. The adjacent blast furnace of Coalbrookdale (built in 1708) is a testimony to the discovery of coke. The world's first iron constructed bridge is found on this site: the bridge at Ironbridge presented a significant influence on developments in the fields of technology and architecture. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available. | |
| The Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge formed by the river Severn in Shropshire, England. Originally called the Severn Gorge, the gorge now takes its name from its famous Iron Bridge, the first iron bridge of its kind in the world, and a monument to the industry that began there. The bridge was built in 1779 to link the industrial town of Broseley with the smaller mining town of Madeley and the growing industrial centre of Coalbrookdale. There are two reasons the site was so useful to the early industrialists. The raw materials, coal, iron ore, limestone and clay, for the manufacture of iron, tiles and porcelain are exposed or easily mined in the gorge. The deep and wide river allowed easy transport of products to the sea. --Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. | ||
| Source: | http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/371 | |
| Reference: | 1. UNESCO World Heritage Center, Site Page. | |