INDUSTRIAL EVOLUTION

The National Trust is taking museums, monuments and buildings at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ironbridge Gorge into its care, securing their future and proving once again that Europe's largest conservation charity isn't just about posh stately homes!

- Matt Nixson

IRONBRIDGE in Shropshire is famed throughout the world as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution and an enduring symbol of the technological progress that contributed to Britain's rapid development as an 18th century manufacturing powerhouse.

From the blast furnace of Coalbrookdale, where, in 1708, Abraham Darby perfected iron smelting powered by coke instead of charcoal, to the Iron Bridge itself - the world's first span constructed of iron to showcase new casting technology and opened in 1781 to traffic the region had a considerable influence on the fields of technology, architecture and manufacturing.

Today, Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site remains globally important, listed by UNESCO, meaning it's recognised internationally as being "of outstanding value to humanity", and the Trust's acquisition, made possible thanks to £9million in funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England, will safeguard its future for generations.