You rarely see a clock in a pub for the best ones live in their own alternate reality where time passes convivially and unnoticed. The Boat Inn on the bank of the River Severn welcomes the visitor into its door with the boast that it is "Unspoilt by Progress".
First licensed in 1840 the pub's landlady thinks that some of the building is much older and could go back as far as 1740, or earlier, as a fireplace and interior timbers have been dated back to Tudor times. Wondering why there is a lifebelt by the entrance?
It may come in handy. This is its famous 'flood door' that records past flooding events. The most catastrophic flood in the Ironbridge Gorge occurred in 1795, but that was before records began, so I'll start with the highest recorded flood marked on the top of the list which is that of 1st November 2000 at 19 ft 6" (6 metres). The next one down is 19th February 1946 - 19 ft 5" followed by the 21st March 1947 19 ft 1". The BBC Shropshire slide show on "Flooding through the Ages" has a photo of the Boat Inn in the flood of 1947
here ( See Image 4 on the link). I think the building also looks longer in the photo the BBC have used. Lets go inside.
and indeed the bar area is unspoilt by progress. Typically Victorian pubs would consist of many rooms but in modern times walls were knocked down to make a larger overall area and original features removed. Notice the quarry tiled floor, the first appearance of flood water will not be through the door but bubbling through the tiles from the raised water table below.
An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at U
here
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