Bridgnorth and environs

Our overnight stopover during our Ironbridge visit was in the Shropshire town of Bridgnorth

Bridgnorth is named after a bridge over the River Severn that was built further north than an earlier bridge at Quatford. The earliest historical reference to the town is in 895, at which time it is recorded that the Danes created a camp at Cwatbridge, and subsequently in 912, Æthelfleda constructed a mound on the west bank of the River Severn, or possibly on the site of Bridgnorth Castle, as part of an offensive against the Danes. Earliest names for Bridgnorth include Brigge, Brug and Bruges, all referring to its position on the Severn

Bridgnorth is split into High Town and Low Town, named on account of their elevations relative to the River Severn, which separates the upper town on the right bank from the lower on the left.

High Town is dominated by two Church of England churches. St. Leonard's (above) was formerly collegiate, and Bridgnorth was a Royal Peculiar until 1856. It was subsequently largely rebuilt but is no longer used for regular worship. St. Mary's Church, a church built in the classic style of the late 18th century, was designed by Thomas Telford; and is still used for worship.

Bishop Percy's House on the Cartway was built in 1580 by Richard Forster and has been a Grade 1 listed building since 18 July 1949. It was one of the few properties of its type to survive the great fire of Bridgnorth in April 1646, and was the birthplace of Thomas Percy (Bishop of Dromore), author of ‘Reliques of Ancient English Poetry’

 Low Town

Part of the attraction of Bridgnorth is likely to have been the presence of the up-and-coming engineer, John Urpeth Rastrick. Rastrick was from Morpeth in Northumberland, the son of a millwright and engineer of some ability in his own right.

Bridgnorth Foundry was at its most productive in the early years of the 19th Century. It was during this period that it came to the attention of Richard Trevithick, the pioneer of high-pressure steam engines. Trevithick placed regular orders for engines with Bridgnorth from 1802/3 onwards. Mostly these were stationary engines but in 1807/8 the locomotive Catch-me-who-can was built at Bridgnorth.

For further details of the Foundry see Hazeldine Foundry

Bridgnorth is home to a funicular railway that links the high and low towns, the Castle Hill Railway, which is the steepest and only inland railway of its type in the country.

It was opened on 7 July 1892. Between July and September 1892 over 50,000 passengers used the railway.

The railway ran continuously for the next 41 years, until April 1933. In May 1934 it was reopened by new shareholders.

In 1943, the gas engines were reaching the end of their working life, and this prompted a major rebuild of the railway. The hydraulic system of counterbalanced cars was replaced with an electrically operated mining type motor

 
For further details see Cliff Railway

For further information about Bridgnorth see Bridgnorth

Bridgnorth is also home of the Severn Valley Railway which runs south to Kidderminster. Although we didn't travel on the line on this occasion, we did visit one of the stations a few miles to the south - Hampton Loade

Hampton Loade railway station is close to the hamlet of Hampton on the western bank of the River Severn

Hampton Loade station was first opened in 1862. After opening, the station possessed only one siding on the eastern side, the passing-loop and second platform being added in 1883. Trade at Hampton Loade was usually quiet, with most business being from fishermen.

Although closed by British Rail during the implementation of the Beeching Axe in 1963, plans for its closure had already been made before Beeching's report was published. Following closure all signalling equipment was removed from Hampton Loade, and the signal box was almost completely demolished after purchase from BR by the residents of Station House for use as a chicken coop.

When preservationists first arrived at Hampton Loade from Bridgnorth, signalling was reinstated as a priority during the early days. A legacy of Hampton Loade's former guise as the SVR's southern terminus is the now rarely used down starting signal No. 13 at the north end of the up loop. The platforms at Hampton Loade can only accommodate four coaches at one time

Some of the exotic places you could travel to by train

For further details see Severn Valley Railway

Whilst at Hampton Loade we could not leave without a visit to the "historic foot ferry" as the Brown Sign described it.

Hampton Loade Ferry is a pedestrian cable ferry linking the villages of Hampton Loade and Hampton across the River Severn and providing a link to Hampton Loade village from Hampton Loade station

The crossing has been in use for around 400 years, and may have provided a route across the Severn during the Middle Ages. In 2004 a new ferry was built by the nearby Ironbridge Gorge Museum to the design of the previous boat, which had seen 38 years' service. The new craft is of wooden construction, measures 20 feet by 9 feet, and carries up to 12 passengers

The ferry was affected by the floods of 2007, which damaged the river banks and access roads and also affected the Severn Valley Railway, with a consequent loss of tourist revenue to the ferry. As a result the ferry did not operate during the remainder of 2007 or during 2008, and the owner put it up for sale. Local people created the Hampton Loade Community Trust, a charitable trust, to reopen the ferry. This was achieved in April 2009.

The Hampton Loade Ferry is a reaction ferry, propelled by the river current. An overhead cable is suspended across the river, and the ferry is tethered by a second cable, to a pulley block that runs on the suspended cable. To operate the ferry it is angled into the current, causing the current to move it across the river.

For further details see Historic Foot Ferry

Before leaving the area we visited Daniels Mill

Daniels Mill is a working water mill used for milling flour, located near Bridgnorth

The mill has the largest cast iron waterwheel in England, spanning a 38 feet (12 m) diameter.

The mill stands below the Oldbury Viaduct of the Severn Valley Railway which runs close by

The present mill worked until 1957 grinding all kinds of grain for animal feed, but ceased operation upon the death of the miller, who is the present owner's father. After a great deal of restoration work, the mill was re-opened in 2008.

For further details see Daniels Mill

Finally on our way home we called in at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford. It is a museum dedicated to the history of aviation, and the Royal Air Force in particular. It is part of the Royal Air Force Museum and is spread over two sites - the other site is at the Royal Air Force Museum London at Colindale in north London.

This site was opened in 1979 and includes several developmental aircraft such as those that led to the English Electric Lightning and the second prototype of the BAC TSR-2. 

We spent most of our time in the National Cold War Exhibition. This opened at Cosford in February 2007. The exhibition houses the museum's V bombers and other Cold War aircraft in a newly constructed exhibition building.The exhibition includes theatres which depict the key tensions of the Cold War period.

 For further details see Cosford RAF Museum