I have the pleasure of both working for the Ironbridge Gorge Museums and being a local resident, so I hope that you can accept my short review!
Founded in 1967, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust is a registered charity whose twin aims are education and heritage conservation.
The Trust cares for 36 scheduled monuments and listed buildings within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site and operates 10 museums which collectively tell the story of the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. These museums received 567,000 visits in 2010, including around 70,000 school visits.
The largest of our sites is Blists Hill Victorian Town, which in 2009 saw the completion of a £12m development, supported by Advantage West Midlands and European Regional Development Funding. Following this generational investment, Blists Hill Victorian Town received 9 major regional and national awards including reaching the final of the Art Fund Prize for Museums & Galleries 2010, the largest arts prize in the United Kingdom.
As well as 10 museums, the sites in the Trust’s care include a research library, a tourist information centre, two youth hostels, archaeological monuments, historic woodlands, housing, two chapels, and two Quaker burial grounds.
In 2011 Ironbridge celebrated its 25th anniversary as one of the UK's first World Heritage Sites. We hope that many people take the opportunity to discover the many charms of this beautiful and historic site for themselves.