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Blists Hill is an open air museum, recreating a Victorian town on an industrial site that included mines, blast furnaces and a section of the Shropshire Canal. Some of the buildings are original, others have been relocated and some are replicas. It's a 52 acre site. There's a fascinating range of things to see, from shops, a bank and public house, to industrial premises. Costumed staff keep the whole thing themed and there are various demonstrations and events etc. It's a good day out for all ages.
Blists Hill is one of 10 museums in the area run by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
Madeley
Ironbridge, named for the world's first cast-iron bridge, built in 1779, that spans the River Severn and its beautiful gorge, is a charming, colourful and now relatively peaceful Shropshire town. You would hardly know that it had been at the heart of the Industrial Revolution, century iron bridge. Part of a World Heritage Site, there are many museums in the town and nearby, as well as walks.
Ironbridge, named for the world’s first cast-iron bridge, constructed there across the Severn in 1779, has a unique part in the story of the Industrial Revolution and, to many, is a symbol of it. It was here that Abraham Darby I pioneered using coke to smelt iron ore. The area contains examples of many of the components of progress, from mines to factories to housing to transport, that resulted in it being the most technologically advanced place in the world by the end of the 18th century. Today, the town of Ironbridge itself is peaceful and charming, but the reminders of its noisier and dirtier past are all around, including the Iron Bridge itself, Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron, the Museum of the Gorge, Blists Hill Victorian Town, Jackfield Tile Museum, Coalport China Museum, the Broseley Pipeworks, intriguing Tar Tunnel and the houses the Darby family lived in.
The bridge has been painted red since this photo was taken.
The Battle of Worcester, the last battle of the inaccurately named English Civil Wars, took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city. It was a decisive engagement; Parliament's New Model Army outnumbered and outclassed the Royalist, mainly Scottish, troops and Charles II went into exile.
Much of the battlefield is now covered by later development, though Perry Wood, where Cromwell and his army camped before the battle, is still relatively unspoilt. Within the city are several buildings and monuments associated with the battle. Charles II got the best view of the battlefield from the top of the tower of Worcester Cathedral, there is a museum in the Commandery (used as a Royalist HQ and scene of some of the fighting nearby) and the adjacent Fort Royal Park was a Royalist earthwork, stormed by Parliament. Powick Bridge just outside the city is accessible and Powick Church still bears the scars of battle.
Address and post code is for the tourist information centre. See separate listings for the Cathedral, Powick Bridge, the Commandery and Fort Royal.
High Street
Worcester
Worcester’s current Guildhall is an impressive Queen Anne style building, completed in 1723. It is home to the Council Chamber, the City’s former Court Rooms and the Mayor’s Parlour and an impressive and imposing Assembly Room, described by King George III as "a handsome gallery" when he visited in August 1788. Praise indeed (George was obviously not prone to excessive enthusiasm). Statues of King Charles I and King Charles II were erected either side of the main entrance, lest anyone doubt Worcester’s Royal allegiance, and above is a statue of Queen Anne. The building is open to the public – though check before visiting because some rooms may not be open. The City’s tourist information office is also located in Worcester's Guildhall and has its own entrance, on the left.
Worcester
The Commandery is a historic building in Worcester which possibly dates from the 11th century, and which has had a variety of uses over the centuries, right up to the 1950s. Traditionally it is claimed to have been an almshouse and medieval hospital, the hospital of St Wulfstan, administered by the Knights of St John. The name ‘Commandery’ dates from this time. The building was acquired by Thomas Wylde, a clothier, after the dissolution of the monasteries, and stayed in the Wylde family until the late 18th century. In the 1950s it was being used as a printer’s workshop.
However, the Commandery is best known as the Royalist Headquarters of Charles II during the Battle of Worcester in 1651. It is situated outside the site of Sidbury Gate, scene of heavy fighting. One of the Scottish commanders of the Royalist army, the Duke of Hamilton, died of wounds in the building. The Commandery is open to the public as a museum and houses an interactive exhibition about the battle, and the wider context of the Civil War. The building also contains a number of architectural features, including a remarkable painted chamber dating from the 15th century.
Worcester
The medieval Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Mary the Virgin, Worcester, perches beautifully over the river Severn. It was founded in the 7th century, rebuilt by St Oswald in the 10th century and the present building was begun by St Wulfstan in 1084. The Norman crypt is particularly worth seeing. Worcester Cathedral was badly damaged during the Civil War in the 17th century and has been subsequently restored, notably by the Victorians. It is the burial place of King John, Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales (Henry VIII's older brother) and Stanley Baldwin, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
8 College Yard
Worcester
Powick Bridge over the River Teme near Worcester was the scene of two battles of the so-called English Civil War (1642-1651). The first, known as the Battle of Powick Bridge, took place on 23 September 1642 and was the first significant engagement of the war. It was more of a noteworthy skirmish than a full-scale battle - a force of about 1,000 Royalist cavalry, well led by the 22-year old Prince Rupert, routed a similar-sized force of better-equipped Parliamentary cavalry under Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes.
A much larger engagement took place at Powick on 3 September 1651, as part of the more extensive Battle of Worcester – the last battle of the Civil War. The Royalist forces under Charles II were mainly Scottish and fighting was hand-to-hand. There is a memorial at the bridge which commemorates the “thousands of Scots, highland and lowland, who fought here far from home, so well and so bravely against insuperable odds and gave their lives in devoted loyalty to each other and to their leaders.” It was unveiled by Tam Dalyell MP on 2 September 2001. Worcester was a decisive victory for Oliver Cromwell and Parliament – the only downside for them was that Charles II evaded escape.
A water mill next to the bridge was converted to a combined steam/hydro-electric power station in 1894 - the world's first. Electricity generated from the power station met about 50% of Worcester's needs. It is now residential apartments.
off Malvern Road
Powick Mill
Worcester
Edward Elgar was one of England’s greatest musical composers; his works include the Enigma Variations and Land of Hope and Glory. He was born on 2 June 1857 in Lower Broadheath, about three miles from Worcester, and died at his home, Marl Bank, in Worcester on 23 February 1934. He is said to have been inspired by the countryside around Worcester and the Malvern Hills. Elgar's birthplace, a cottage called the Firs, is now a museum with a garden and visitor centre owned by the National Trust. Elgar's father William had an established music business in Worcester, some three miles from Broadheath and only spent weekends at the cottage. Apparently, the cottage in the countryside was his mother’s choice, rather than his father’s. However, they later moved to 10 High Street in the city, living above the music business. The shop is no longer there, but a plaque on the Gifford Hotel marks the approximate location. Sadly, and inexplicably, his house at Marl Bank was demolished in 1969. Next to Cathedral Square is a bronze statue of Elgar, situated so that he is looking at the Cathedral he loved. The statue was the work of Kenneth Potts and was unveiled by HRH Prince of Wales on 2 June 1981.
Crown East Lane
Lower Broadheath
Fort Royal is a public park in Worcester that served as a Royalist redoubt overlooking the city during the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The defences were earthworks and little trace of them remains visible. The fort was stormed and captured by Parliamentary forces.
Future US presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson visited the site in 1786. Adams wrote that he asked local people, who seemed unaware of the significance of the place, “And do Englishmen so soon forget the ground where liberty was fought for? Tell your neighbors and your children that this is holy ground; much holier than that on which your churches stand. All England should come in pilgrimage to this hill once a year."
The occasion was commemorated in 2009 by a Virginian oak being planted nearby, by the Defence Attaché to the Embassy of the USA, Rear Admiral Ronald H Henderson.
Post code is for a small car park. Pedestrian access is off Wylde’s Lane.
Worcester
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