Late last year I had chance to visit Ironbridge in Shropshire. This stretch of the River Severn runs just south of Telford, and holds a lot of history. Coalport with it’s famous pottery is just down the road, in the other direction is Coalbrookdale, where the process of smelting iron was pioneered. It was this that lead to the building of “Iron Bridge” in 1779. It became so popular that today the whole area is just known as “Ironbridge”, and in 1987 it became a World Heritage Site.
I had my Nikon F3 with the 35mm f2 ready to go, and in it a roll of Delta 100. It’s a combination that is fast becoming a favourite. It was developed in Ilford’s DDX developer at the recommended 10.5 mins at 20°. With these scans I had to pull a bit more out of the shadows, but that’s easy enough in good old photoshop. Nothing that couldn’t be done in a darkroom!
About 5 years ago English Heritage spent 3.6 million on repairs and restoration, but the bridge is still going strong! There is a plaque at one end that commemorates its 200 years, unveiled by the then Prince Charles.
At the other side of the bridge, what was once the toll house is now a museum, the cost of tolls still above the door! Just out of curiosity I made a tight crop of the image, from 35mm it’s not too bad.
Just two exposures left on the roll I made one of the war memorial with the church in the background and a display of pottery in a shop window that caught my eye!
S.H.O.U.T. 
It’s a beautiful location that I’ve never had the chance to visit. I wonder what it would have been like in it’s industrial prime? Not as pretty, but I bet the photos would have been just as good!
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Hello, Sorry for the delay in response – it’s been a busy week! I suspect that unless you were a wealthy land owner that lived a suitable distance away, it was pretty hellish! The reasonably famous painting “Coalbrookdale by Night” gives a clue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalbrookdale_by_Night if you fancy a view! Mind you, if you’ve ever seen “Manufactured Landscapes” the documentary about photographer Edward Burtynsky, it seems there are plenty of places in the world today, as bad or even worse. Human history seems a pretty pointless exercise if nothing is leaned from it!! I’m feeling deep this morning!! lol – Hope you have a good weekend- Cheers Andy
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Oh, definitely. It would be the hellishness of the place in it’s prime industrial era that would make for great photos. Before scurrying off to somewhere more pleasant. 🙂
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