Broseley
Broseley is a tiny English community in Shropshire, with a population of 4,929 at the 2011 Census. The River Severn streams to its north and east. The first iron bridge in the world was built in 1779 throughout the Severn, linking Broseley with Coalbrookdale and Madeley. This was part of the very early industrial growth in the Ironbridge Gorge, which is currently part of a World Heritage Site. A settlement existed in 1086 as well as is detailed as Bosle in the Domesday Publication. The town lies on the south bank of the Ironbridge Gorge and so shares much of the history of its far better recognized, yet much more recent neighbor, Ironbridge. In 1600, the town of Broseley included just 27 houses and was part of the Shirlett Royal Forest. The area was known for mining; some of the rock used to develop Buildwas Abbey was taken from Broseley and there is evidence that wood wagonways existed in Broseley in 1605, giving Broseley a serious case to the earliest trains in Britain. The wagonways were likely built for the transport of coal as well as clay and it was these sources that resulted in the significant growth of the community throughout the Industrial Revolution. A number of the growths celebrated by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust's collection of preserved industrial heritage websites either begun in Broseley or were connected to the community. Broseley was a centre for ironmaking, pottery as well as clay pipes; the earliest recorded pipemaker was operating in the town in 1590. The Broseley Pipeworks is among the count on's ten galleries, as is the Jackfield Tile Museum, which is positioned in Jackfield, simply north-east of the community. John Wilkinson constructed the globe's initial iron watercraft whilst residing in the community, and the prepare for the Iron Bridge were created in Broseley. Abraham Darby I, that established the process of smelting iron using coking coal, is hidden right here. In the latter half of the 19th century the location experienced a decrease, as markets moved in other places. This left a legacy of uncapped mineshafts, abandoned buildings, abandoned quarries, ruin lots and pit mounds. In the last thirty years of the 20th century Broseley experienced a contemporary resurgence with the development of Telford across the River Severn. New estates were built to the eastern of Broseley centre, whilst lots of older buildings were created or restored, but the community is still much less inhabited now than it would have been 200 years back, when population numbers mored than 5,000.
