1. QUESTIONS ABOUT QUAKERS

    Many of the leading industrialists who were connected with Coalbrookdale and the development of the Industrial Revolution were members of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. 

    We sat down with Professor Ben Pink Dandelion, Honorary Professor of Quaker Studies in the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham and Director of The Centre for Postgraduate Quaker Studies, to ask some common questions about Quakers and their approach to life, business and religion.

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  2. LETTERS FROM THE TRENCHES, MAURICE DARBY 1894-1915

    Discover the story of Maurice Darby (1894-1915), the son of Alfred Darby II who fought and died in the First World War. His letters, written from the trenches on the Western Front, provide an insight into the realities of warfare in the early 20th century.  

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  3. Coal, Coke, and Clay: Blists Hill’s Industrial Past

    In 2023, Blists Hill Victorian Town is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Since it opened in 1973, the museum has grown significantly as local buildings have been rebuilt or copied at Blists Hill to recreate a small industrial town. The museum aims to show what life was like living and working in the East Shropshire Coalfield around 1900, but what can be seen at Blists Hill today is very different to how the site looked in the 19th century.

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  4. The Owners

    The Anstice Family

    The Anstice family played an important role in the life and prosperity of Madeley throughout the 19th century.

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  5. The Engineer

    Henry Williams (1753-1842)

    Henry Williams perfected an engineering design that connected Blists Hill with the River Severn, and ultimately the rest of the world, for the first time.

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