Tuesday 2 December 2014

Unspoilt by Progress

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

 

7 comments:

Rajesh said...

Great shots of the Inn.

Anita Sabat said...

Unspoilt & interesting :)
Have a great week :)

Roger Owen Green said...

So little is unspoiled...

ROG, ABCW

Trubes said...

Hi Joy,
Would you believe that I was born on February the 19th 1946
? I remember my parents telling me of the dreadfully cold winter with so much snow, I guess the melting snow could have caused the floods.
I had family living in, and around Shrewsbury many years ago, and I can remember the river flooding regularly.
Such a beautiful place, walking along the river particularly in Spring and summer was delightful.

Berowne said...

You suppose they've got any ICE-COLD beer? :-)

Lea said...

Very interesting!
Lea

Joy said...

What amazing coincidences Di, you are spot on it was the melting snow.
Happily Berowne they did have cold beer - some things are better for progress! A lovely warm day meant we took our drinks out into the beer garden.