Broseley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Broseley | |
  Broseley shown within Shropshire |
|
| Population | 4,912 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Bridgnorth |
| Shire county | Shropshire |
| Region | West Midlands |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BROSELEY |
| Postcode district | TF12 |
| Dialling code | 01952 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| European Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Ludlow |
| List of places: UK • England • Shropshire | |
Broseley is a small town in Shropshire, England with a population of 4,912 (2001 census). The River Severn flows to the north and east of the town. The area lies within the Bridgnorth district. The first iron bridge in the world was built in 1779 to link Broseley with Coalbrookdale and Madeley, and led to the development of Ironbridge, which is now part of a World Heritage Site.
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[edit] History
The settlement of Broseley appeared as far back as the Domesday Book.
The town is located above the Ironbridge Gorge area and so shares much of the history of its better known neighbour, Ironbridge. Ironmaster John Wilkinson lived in the town and his great rival Abraham Darby is buried here. In the Industrial Revolution, Broseley was a centre for ironmaking, pottery and clay pipes [1].
The town of Broseley, once part of the Shirlett Royal Forest, was to see enormous expansion during the Industrial Revolution - indeed, in 1600, the town consisted of only 27 houses.
It was in Broseley that John Wilkinson constructed the first-ever iron boat, and this is also where the plans for the Iron Bridge were designed. A clay pipe factory still exists as one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum's collection of preserved industrial heritage sites. In the past Broseley has also been heavily involved in coal mining and stone quarrying industries and the jitty-riddled lanes of Broseley Wood are attributed to the land given to miners to build their houses upon - many beautiful examples of 1700's houses still exist. It is also known that the stone out of which Buildwas Abbey was built was taken from Broseley.
The early industrial nature of Broseley has led to the development of the settlements to be haphazard, and would have seen the rich rubbing shoulders with the poor. Despite much modern development, the town is in fact less populated now than it would have been two hundred years ago, when population figures were over five thousand.
In the late Victorian era Broseley suffered a decline and during redevelopment in the 1960s a lot of its fine buildings were lost. Since the millennium, though, Broseley looks on track to restore its heritage and image to something closely resembling that of its past.
[edit] Culture
In 2007, Broseley won a Gold award in the Heart of England Britain in Bloom competition for the second year running, also gaining first place in the Best Small Town category.
Broseley has a large Amateur Dramatics society, BroADS, which performs a number of plays every year. There is also a thriving arts and crafts community, who form a group known as the Broseley Artists.
The town has a number of historic pubs and eateries, mostly located towards the Town Centre. Broseley also recently received funding for a 'Broadplace', a small centre for community ICT usage.
[edit] Legacy
The type of bricks and tiles once produced in abundance in Broseley have become synonymous with any product of their type, regardless of where they were made. Broseley bricks are notable for their brown and red mottled nature, a sign of their cheap production, and Broseley tiles are of a strawberry red to light brown hue.
The pipeworks in Broseley were responsible for producing millions of clay pipes which were shipped worldwide, and are invaluable in dating archaeological sites, as they survive without decay and their maker's stamp reveals their date of origin.
[edit] Education
There are two Primary Schools in Broseley: Broseley Church of England (or Dark Lane) school and John Wilkinson school, named after the famous Ironmaster whose residence is nearby. For secondary education, most pupils travel to William Brookes school in Much Wenlock or to Bridgnorth Endowed school, Bridgnorth.
[edit] Notable people
Shane Embury, the bassist in the Grindcore band Napalm Death, was born in Broseley[1], as was the film and theatre actress, Hermione Baddeley. John 'Iron Mad' Wilkinson, the eighteenth century industrialist, was a resident of Broseley, and it was here that he first mastered his unique art of boring cannons for increased accuracy. Abraham Darby I, an industrialist of the same period, is also buried there. Also Joe Kershaw of the Kershaw family lived there as a child. He was an advocate of the jewish religion in and around the Bridgnorth area. All three members of Shropshire rock/alternative band Complicaton were born and live in Broseley.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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