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:
Great shots of the Inn.
Unspoilt & interesting :)
Have a great week :)
So little is unspoiled...
ROG, ABCW
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.
You suppose they've got any ICE-COLD beer? :-)
Very interesting!
Lea
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.
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