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Blists Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge Museum Trust
The largest site is Blists Hill Victorian Town, a fifty-four acre site which interprets life in a typical town of the East Shropshire Coalfield around 1900. Blists Hill is brought to life through a unique mix of first and third-person interpretation, combining the efforts of costumed museum staff, professional actors and volunteers.
The development has greatly enhanced the Trust’s award-winning schools’ work, and its engagement with local communities and groups. Since the completion of the development, visitor numbers to Blists Hill Victorian Town have been 30% up on 2008. Total project costs: £12 million, funded by Advantage West Midlands and European Regional Development Funding, with support from Renaissance in the Regions, DCMS/Wolfson Foundation, British Postal Museum & Archive and the private sector. Some of your comments: This is living history, children get to see history in action rather than just reading about it in books. The staff and volunteers really live their parts and are extremely knowledgeable. The buildings including the working areas like the foundry bring everything to life. This is the way learning should be, it is such an inspirational, enjoyable experience for young and old. All the facilities, car park, restaurant etc are excellent. Blists Hill Victorian Museum also has an international reputation and draws tourists from all round the world. This is a real boost to the Midlands. As a parent of three children it is a remarkable resource and a thoroughly enjoyable and varied place to visit. In this fast-paced and technologically packed world it is a joy to see children inspired, enthused and totally engrossed in this alien world of ‘the past’. I took a party of 4 kids and 3 adults there a couple of weekends ago and every single one of them came away talking about it. It is so laid-back. With top staff and a real diversity of things to see. Top stuff. It's the best exhibition of its kind that I've ever visited, partly because of what's there but also because of the friendliness and expertise of the volunteers. Brilliant for all ages and so much to see that you can go back over and over again. The industrial part of the culture is so very important for the life we live today. The industrial heritage should be much more visible in our culture. And this particular heritage site is splendid in doing so. All the entries are very worthy but Blists Hill for me is a winner because it involves people who might not otherwise ever visit a museum and gives them a sense of pride and identity which is particularly important in the West Midlands where the traditional economy is shrinking. It combines showmanship with learning without ever descending to the false Disney style of many similar living museums. I think that Blists Hill is fantastic because you get to ride on the donkeys and they have furry coats and they take you on a lovely journey and it is bumpy. I like the fish and chip shop too. Amazing learning experience - finest facet in my opinion is that it feels nothing like a MUSEUM - the brand for museums is somewhat tarnished in 21st century Britain and Blists Hill Victorian Town sets a standard for other heritage education centres to follow. Blists Hill was always the most popular and imaginative of the 10 Ironbridge Gorge Museum sites, but the recent major investment has enhanced the attraction of the site even further. The new canal street is just amazing. And don't forget it's all part of the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. This is the best re-creation of this form of museum. I was actually born within half a mile (many years ago) of this wonderful museum. My mother was born in a cottage within the area of the Victorian Town and her father was the fireman at the brick and tile works, now part of the exhibits.
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Founded in 1967, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust is one of the largest independent museums in the UK. It operates ten museum sites within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site which collectively tell the story of the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. These museums receive around 570,000 visits per annum, including 70,000 school visits.
In 2009, the Trust completed a transformational development of Blists Hill incorporating a landmark Visitor Centre, a new street of shops – including a Post Office, Fried Fish Dealer, Draper’s Shop, Sweet Shop, Photographers and Artisans’ Quarter – a clay-mining experience and narrow gauge railway and an Incline Lift. Substantial conservation work has been completed on the historic wrought ironworks on site which offers one of the most powerful live demonstrations of any museum in Britain.
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