The image of a plump, jolly man who delivers presents wearing a red suit and sporting a bushy white beard is one of the best-known symbols of the Christmas season. This familiar figure goes by many names: Father Christmas, Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas. But what are the origins of this figure and why does he have so many names?
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Discover what life was like for disabled working class people in the East Shropshire Coalfield during the 19th century in this blog post, which was guest written by Melanie Williamson, a freelance researcher, as part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust’s ‘Hidden Histories' project.
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To celebrate the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust have collaborated with Wolverhampton Wanderers Foundation to produce a replica 19th-century women’s football kit.
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The role of women in industrial history has often been hidden, overlooked, or forgotten. However, research carried out by social historian Ruth Goodman, on behalf of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, has revealed new insights into the fascinating and vital contributions that women have made to the industrial history of the Ironbridge Gorge. In this interview, Ruth Goodman discusses her research with the Trust's Interpretation Curator, Lauren Collier.
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Census records are often associated with family or house history research but they can be used to investigate the social history of Britain and reveal the diversity of households and family units that existed in the past. The release of the 1921 census opened many new avenues of research and has provided revelations about the lives of many historic individuals and their families, including the family of Cecilia Maw (1876-1942), a locally born artist, and Florence Amy Thursfield (1867-1948).
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This is the story of a team of working class men from a small mining community in the East Shropshire Coalfield, whose attempts to retain the Shropshire FA Cup had been, in their eyes, thwarted by the unscrupulous ‘County Townites’ of the Shropshire FA. The story of St. Georges expulsion from the 1886-87 Cup is an extraordinary one.
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Holidaying by the sea first became fashionable in the mid-18th century when sea bathing for health reasons became popular. However, this was only affordable to the wealthy in society, and it wasn’t until the Victorian era that a day out to the seaside became affordable for working people.
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’Many workmen and boys were dubbed with nicknames; here are just a few: Raspass, Magpie…Iron Mike, Teddy-lol-lol, Cottage Tom, Spot Tom and 6ft Tom…’ [Charles Peskin, c. 1900]
By the middle of the 19th century, the Coalbrookdale Company employed between 3,000 and 4,000 men. Little is known about them, although census and archival research has shed light on a handful. Below, you can meet a few of the workers who were directly referenced in the order archive.
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The Coalbrookdale Company relied on a team of skilled draughtsmen to produce special drawings called technical drawings. These drawings were used to make, display, and record the Company’s products.
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The Coalbrookdale Company was working with photographers as early as 1855 and had a dedicated photographic studio from at least 1862. The photography department took photographs of new iron products being made at the ironworks, as well as dealing with other printed material such as blueprints and trade catalogues.
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The school at Blists Hill was moved brick-by-brick to its present site from its original location in Stirchley, where it had been built in 1881. One of its many headteachers over the years was Margaret McCallum.
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William was an ordinary labourer at a colliery who made the ultimate sacrifice 'for King and country'.
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The story of Caroline York and her family shows just how easy it could be to lose everything in the late 19th century, and how hard families had to work to stay together.
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