Coracle

A boat one can pick up and carry, the ultimate in portable transportation.  We passed the time of day with this man carrying his coracle down to the River Severn in preparation for the annual Ironbridge Regatta in August which always includes a coracle race.  Despite the fact that Wales is the first place I think of  in association with coracles Shropshire seems to be a coracle hot spot with world championships and coracle making courses put on by the Small Woods Association.

This simple design of a flat bottomed boat made of willow and a waterproof skin has been used for thousands of years but they differ in style from place to place to accommodate different river conditions.  The Rogers family made coracles here by the River Severn for generations, the last of them, Eustace Rogers, died in 2003 and the shed where they were created lay empty and decaying, however the sum of money required to restore and repair the shed to tell the story of the Rogers family and coracle making was recently raised by the Ironbridge Coracle Society.  Until the volunteers put in the hours of work there is a website to browse called - the coracle shed.

These craft are notoriously difficult to control for the amateur as they sit on the water rather than in it and are known for being unstable, however a fisherman can row one of these with one hand while the other hand manages the net with ease.

Here is an old postcard of a rather full looking River Towy over the border in Wales and its coracle men in and out of the water.

         

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week mooring up at C here

Inclined Planes

Historically Inclined Planes were used extensively in the Ironbridge Gorge to move heavy objects up and down slopes but mostly all that endures are indentations and grooves running down forested hillsides; however for those interested in Industrial archaeology the Hay Inclined Plane remains to show the infrastructure required to move tug boats up and down a hill.  I believe from rail buffs that these are not the originally rails that would have been used from 1792-1894 but some British Rail cast offs from the national railway system.  Also we need a modicum of imagination for I have been unable to find photographs or drawings of the box shaped tug boats being moved the 207 feet (63m) by gravity, one ascending and one descending on roped up wheeled cradles on the rails from here -

the Blists Hill waterway down to the

Coalport Canal (part of the Shropshire Canal system)

 

This is the point the tug boats would have run down and into the canal, still on the tracks, which looks rather dishevelled today.  Although the loaded boats were travelling downhill by gravity the brakes were operated by a winding drum operated by a small steam engine in this engine house

And here is a view of the unreconstructed rail system of the other track

It would be nice to see it running but from the Blists Hill miners track you can take a ride down an other inclined plane in another direction  

from the upper waterway whatever the weather in comfort sat in a trolley which leads to a re-creation of a Victorian Fair where one can indulge in a variety of rides.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at I here

Iron Bridge

Erected in 1779 and opened in  1781 this is the first arch bridge in the world to be made of cast iron and spans the gorge of the River Severn whose nearby settlement takes its name, Ironbridge.  The area has a valid claim to be considered the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution for it is where Abraham Darby first smelted iron ore with coke in 1709 (rather than charcoal or coal) meaning  it could be produced in large economic quantities.  The bridge was closed to traffic in 1934 although tolls were still collected at the toll house until 1950 when the council took over its upkeep. 

The steepness and instability of the gorge was another challenge for the original constructors,  they also had to make the bridge high enough to allow sailing boats through and its 100 ft span is supported by 5 cast iron rib members. Both beautiful an functional it is thought that three forges provided the iron one, one of which is the nearby and aptly named Bedlam Forge.

The view from the bridge today is  very peaceful but I imagine in the past it would have looked very different with the rising smoke and fire of the furnaces.

   "Coalbrookdale by Night" by Philip de Loutherbourg 1801.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet this week sojourning at I here