May 23, 2003

May 23, 2003

We continue our tour of the Iron Bridge, UK area today. The local museum trust has ten museums and Blists Hill was only the first.  We start today at the Museum of the Gorge where we learn the industrial history of the area. Because of the ready availability of coal, iron ore, and trees, this area had been a center of iron production by smelting iron ore with charcoal (pure carbon made from wood). The area was quickly denuded of trees to meet demand. In 1709, Abraham Darby perfected the use of coke (pure carbon made from coal) as a substitute for charcoal. This cleared the way for cheap plentiful cast iron that drove the Industrial Revolution.

We next tour the Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron where we learn about iron production and see the remains of Darby’s iron smelting operation. In the gift shop we buy some trivets of cast iron to remember our visit.

Midday we visit the Iron Bridge and Tollhouse. It was completed in 1779. Being the first cast iron bridge, it is thick and meaty but elegant. Our ticket lets us walk across the bridge and see the building that collected crossing tolls. I guess politicians have always found a way into the pockets of their citizens.

Before leaving town Aimee convinces me to stop at the Coalport China Museum. It is on the site of an old fine bone china factory and is about the manufacture of decorative porcelain. Interestingly bone china really is made from animal bones mixed with clay.

Our vacation is nearing an end, so in the afternoon we turn around and head back south. The city of York will have to wait till our next visit. This time we take the highway thru Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare. He was born here in 1564. His Tudor-style house is still intact. Next-door is a Visitor Center that contains a history of his life and works. He was the most prolific bard ever. We can’t leave without attending one Shakespearean play. We get tickets for tonight’s performance at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. We eat dinner alfresco at the Opposition Restaurant and then stroll along the Avon River watching the swans. Afterwards we watch “Measure for Measure” reset in modern times. I have always wanted to be a bigger fan of Shakespeare, but I have such a struggle understanding the poetic lines. It is even harder when the actors have a British accent. We spend the night in town at the Woodstock B&B.