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Ironbridge Gorge*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iv, vi
Reference	371
Region†	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription	1986  (10th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Map sources for Ironbridge Gorge at grid reference SJ672033

The Ironbridge Gorge looking east towards the Iron Bridge

The Ironbridge Gorge is a deep gorge formed by the river Severn in Shropshire, England.

Originally called the Severn Gorge, the gorge now takes its name from its famous Iron Bridge, the first iron bridge of its kind in the world, and a monument to the industry that began there. The bridge was built in 1779 to link the industrial town of Broseley with the smaller mining town of Madeley and the growing industrial centre of Coalbrookdale.

There are two reasons the site was so useful to the early industrialists. The raw materials, coal, iron ore, limestone and clay, for the manufacture of iron, tiles and porcelain are exposed or easily mined in the gorge. The deep and wide river allowed easy transport of products to the sea.

The gorge carries the River Severn south towards the Bristol Channel. It was formed during the last ice age when the output from the previously north flowing river became trapped in a lake (Lake Lapworth) created when the Irish Sea ice sheet dammed the river. The level of the lake rose until it was able to flow over the hills to the south. This flow eroded a path through the hills forming the gorge and permanently diverting the Severn southwards.

The Gorge is a parish of Telford and Wrekin borough. It covers the part of Ironbridge Gorge that falls within the Telford and Wrekin area, which is most of it, and includes settlements such as Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale and Coalport (but not Buildwas or Broseley).

Green Wood Centre is a national leading body on the revival of the Coppice Industry and has spent over twenty years training new coppice and woodland workers.

Severn Gorge Countryside Trust manages most of the woodland, grassland and other countryside within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site, around 260 hectares (700 acres) in all. Working with Severn Gorge Countryside Trust is BTCV's Green Gym which assist them on woodland work.

Severn Gorge Countryside Trust and The Green Wood Centre run a joint volunteer project enabling local people to work local land in activities such as Coppicing, scrub removal, deer fencing, step building and woodland management. Areas where you'll be able to see the kind of work done are Benthall Edge, Lloyds Coppice and Captain's coppice. All within walking distance of the Ironbridge.

• Ironbridge Gorge Museums
• Geology of Shropshire
• Ironbridge Power Station

• Ironbridge Gorge.com
• Ironbridge Gorge Tourism website
• ITV Local footage at Ironbridge Gorge
• Photo of the Gorge from the air
• The Ironbridge Gorge by Virtual Shropshire
• World Heritage Site information from UNESCO
• Map of UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Ironbridge Archaeology
• Green Wood Centre
• Severn Gorge Countryside Trust
• Green Gym

v • d • e World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom
England	Blenheim Palace · Canterbury Cathedral – St. Augustine's Abbey – St. Martin's Church · Bath · Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape · Derwent Valley Mills · Durham Castle and Cathedral · Ironbridge Gorge · Jurassic Coast · Frontiers of the Roman Empire (Hadrian's Wall) · Kew Gardens · Liverpool · Maritime Greenwich · Westminster Palace – Westminster Abbey – St. Margaret's Church · Saltaire · Stonehenge and Avebury · Studley Royal Park and Fountains Abbey · Tower of London
Scotland	Edinburgh Old Town and New Town · Heart of Neolithic Orkney (Maeshowe • Ring of Brodgar • Skara Brae • Standing Stones of Stenness) · New Lanark · St. Kilda
Wales	Castles and Town Walls of King Edward I in Gwynedd (Beaumaris Castle • Caernarfon Castle • Conwy Castle • Harlech Castle) · Blaenavon
Northern Ireland	Giant's Causeway
Overseas territories	Henderson Island · Gough Island and Inaccessible Island · St. George's Town

Coordinates: 52.62646° N 2.48600° W