IGMT marks 150th anniversary of first Channel swim by local man with temporary exhibition

To mark the 150^th anniversary of the first Channel swim, by Shropshire man Captain Matthew Webb, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust is hosting an exhibition in the Coalbrookdale Gallery telling the story of the swimmer’s life.

150 years ago on 25 August 1875, Captain Matthew Webb (1848–1883) made history as the first person to successfully swim the English Channel.

Captain Webb was born in Dawley and later lived in Coalbrookdale. The exhibition, Different Strokes, explores Captain Webb’s early years in the local area and life as a young man in the merchant navy, as well as his later extraordinary achievements and celebrity status as an exhibition swimmer. The objects on display belong to the collections of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, a heritage conservation and education charity.

On display are several personal objects once belonging to Captain Webb, including the trunks he is believed to have worn and the hip flask from which he drank brandy during his pioneering swim. They appear alongside commemorative items celebrating his legacy as a long-distance swimmer and national hero, including china tableware produced locally at Coalport and boxes of Bryant’s matches adorned with his image.

Kate Cadman, Collections Curator at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: “We are delighted to be celebrating the legacy of local lad Captain Matthew Webb. He is not only a local legend but a national hero whose feats continue to inspire endurance and open-water swimmers today. The exhibition demonstrates the extent to which he was a celebrity of his day.”

In a separate room, the exhibition explores the legacy of another man, Bob Rhodes (1946–2017), a local artist who captured the spirit and beauty of the Ironbridge Gorge in his stylistic paintings and who, on his death, bequeathed his paintings to the Trust.

Different Strokes, The Local Paintings of Bob Rhodes and the Life of Captain Matthew Webb, a free exhibition, runs from Wednesday 23 July until Sunday 2 November 2025 at the Coalbrookdale Gallery, near Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron. It is open daily during school summer and half-term holidays and 5 days a week, Wednesday to Sunday, during term time. It is open 11am until 3pm.