Coalport China Museum

Shropshire


As ironmaking fell into decline, Ironbridge diversified into manufacturing china pots, using the fine clay mined around Blists Hill. Dominated by a pair of towering bottle kilns, the atmospheric old china-works now contains an absorbing museum tracing the history of the industry, with demonstrations of traditional pottery techniques.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Shropshire attractions

1. Tar Tunnel

0.03 MILES

Along the canal, the 200-year-old Tar Tunnel is an artificial watercourse that was abandoned when natural bitumen started trickling from its walls. There…

2. Jackfield Tile Museum

0.65 MILES

Once the largest tile factory in the world, Jackfield was famous for its encaustic tiles, with ornate designs produced using layers of different coloured…

3. Blists Hill Victorian Town

0.72 MILES

Set at the top of the Hay Inclined Plane (a cable lift that once transported coal barges uphill from the Shropshire Canal), Blists Hill is a lovingly…

4. Bedlam Furnaces

1.2 MILES

By the River Severn, you can see the remains of the 1750s-built coke-fired blast furnaces, which remained in use into the 19th century.

5. Broseley Pipeworks

1.48 MILES

This was once the biggest clay tobacco pipe-maker in the country, but the industry nose dived after the introduction of prerolled cigarettes in the 1880s,…

6. Iron Bridge

1.55 MILES

The arching Iron Bridge, which gives the area its name, was built to flaunt the new technology invented by the pioneering Darby family. At the time of its…

7. Museum of the Gorge

1.87 MILES

An ideal place to kick off your Ironbridge Gorge visit is the Museum of the Gorge. Occupying a Gothic riverside warehouse, it offers an overview of the…

8. Enginuity

2.23 MILES

Kids will love this levers-and-pulleys science centre where they can control robots, move a steam locomotive with their bare hands (and a little…