Volunteering at Ironbridge
We are lucky to have lots of wonderful volunteers supporting our Museum, and we’d love you to join the teams and help us tell our world-changing story.
It’s easy to get involved and you can give minutes, hours or days as a Volunteer and still make an enormous difference…
- Meet new people, make new friends
- Improve your skills or learn brand new ones
- Give your time and share your passion
Take a look where you can volunteer, or apply now with our application form.
If you want to find out more you can always call 01952 601037 or email volunteering@ironbridge.org.uk.
We're looking for people to dress up in Victorian costume to help enhance the visitor experience at Blists Hill Victorian Town over the summer season.
Grocers' Delivery Demonstrator
This role, playing the part of the delivery boy/girl for the Grocer's Shop, is suitable for younger volunteers. It will fun and will involve riding a vintage bike, moving around the Town 'delivering' goods to other shops and businesses. We ask that you commit to at least one day a week for this role.
Find out more about the role here.
Street Seller DEMONSTRATOR
This role, playing the part of a street seller, is suitable for volunteers of all ages. You will walk around the Town interacting with visitors and staff. We ask that you commit to at least one day a week for this role.
Find out more about the role here.
chimney sweep DEMONSTRATOR
This role, playing the part of a chimney sweep, is suitable for volunteers of all ages. it will involve walking around the Town talking to visitors about life as a chimney sweep. We ask that you commit to at least one day a week for this role.
Find out more about the role here.
summer visitor experience DEMONSTRATOR
This role is a key one for the museum over the busy summer season. You will welcome visitors to Blists Hill Victorian Town, encourage participation in activities, hand-out programmes and demonstrate some historical activities.
We ask that volunteers for this role commit to at least 10 days over July & August. It's a role suitable for volunteers of all ages.
Find out more about the role here.
Blists Hill Meet & GreetERS
We love to welcome visitors to Blists Hill Victorian Town personally, introducing them to the Museum and our activities as they enter the Town. It’s a great way to meet people and show off your knowledge of the site and the area’s history.
Hours are 10am-12.30pm each day and we’d like volunteers to commit to once a week or more, especially over the Summer Holidays. Feel free to blend into costumed townsfolk once lunch is over, and add to our population meandering around the town on errands and visits.
Butcher's Shop Demonstrators
In our Butcher’s Shop exhibit we want to tell the story of food and diet in the Victorian era.
Notably we want to talk about the sort of food and meat available in 1900 and the cost to everyday Victorians.
We’d like our Volunteer Demonstrators to commit to one shift a week, hours are 10am–4.30pm with a break. Lunch is provided.
For all these roles you’ll need to be confident and outgoing, and with an interest in the subject matter. Please let the Volunteer Centre know if you are interested in any of these roles. Call 01952 601037 or email volunteering@ironbridge.org.uk
Costumed Townsfolk
Confident, cheerful and love dressing up? Join Blists Hill’s Victorian population! If you like to stand out, we can fit you in.
Our costumed Townsfolk add real character to the Town, looking after the shops and houses, demonstrating traditional crafts and pastimes and mingling with our visitors.
Museum Guides
Could you welcome visitors to the Ironbridge Gorge and share exciting stories from the past?
Do you enjoy sharing information in an accurate and interesting way?
We need keen, confident speakers with an interest in local history to meet and greet or lead tours at several of our Museum sites.
Museum Support
Are you a handy-person? Could you help us look after our buildings and objects?
For the green-fingered, there are lots of outside places to keep tidy and looking good, or if you prefer the indoors, we have Archaeological and Curatorial Collections to help look after.
Not seen anything that takes your fancy? Drop us a line to talk through your perfect role, call 01952 601 037 or email volunteering@ironbridge.org.uk
Please download our Volunteer Application Form (Word document).
You'll need to complete all sections so that we can process your application to become a volunteer at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust.
All information will be held by the Trust and will remain confidential.
Please return to:
Volunteer Coordinator
Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust
Coalbrookdale
Telford
Shropshire
TF8 7DQ
Feel free to get in touch to find out more
Call 01952 601037
Email volunteering@ironbridge.org.uk.
Corporate Volunteering is a great way to build teams, deliver on your CSR targets and for your colleagues to learn new skills and have lots of fun.
Employer Supported Volunteering allows for groups of employees to support the charitable work of the Trust by helping deliver larger projects and supporting activities.
Each project is different and can be matched to your needs and objectives. Activities can either be physical or desk based, indoor or outdoors but are always fun and rewarding.
We welcome groups of any size and for any duration, from half a day to a regular commitment over the year. Full operational and administrative support will be given throughout the project, including risk assessments and all health and safety training.
In the past Corporate Volunteers have helped us:
- Catalogue our costume collection
- Create a new sensory garden at Coalport
- Steward events
- Test a new App
- Build a new greenhouse
For more information about Corporate Volunteers, please get in touch with the Volunteer Coordinator on 01952 601 037.
Corporate Membership Scheme
You can also help out by joining our Business Club, where your business will not only enjoy the status and prestige of being associated with one of the largest independent museums in the world but you will receive a range of exclusive benefits and fantastic offers. Click here for more details.
If you are another museum
Volunteers are a vital resource for many museums. Employer Supported Volunteers in Museums have been so useful to the Ironbridge Gorge Museums that we have produced a useful toolkit aimed to encourage Museums and Heritage Sites to work with their local business community through volunteering. To help you on this journey download the toolkit here.
Hayley is one of our costumed demonstrators who volunteers in the cottages.
She was very hesitant when she first came to us two years ago, but loves learning about and sharing the history of the area, and enjoys dressing up.
She tells about her journey:
“When I first started I was shy with the visitors, and I was very quiet. But since I started coming out of my shell I have more confidence. I like making the visitors laugh. I enjoy meeting different people and learning to do rag rugs. On Wednesdays we toast some crumpets on the fire. We call them Pikelets.”
Sheila volunteers once a fortnight with the Curatorial Team and also weekly with the Archaeology team.
Here she is in the warehouse (where some of the artefacts in the Museum collection are stored) sorting old coins according to the monarchs on them.
She describes what it has been like since she began volunteering five years ago:
“It’s all sorts of cleaning up and sorting out, photographing and recording. It’s surprising what interesting things you can find, actually.
It’s quite horrendous when you find things here that you recognise from your childhood,” She laughs, “That’s a bit of a shock to the system!”
Watch this quick video and meet Paul who volunteers at Blists Hill Victorian Town as a gardener.
He looks after the pleasure gardens and all the other ornamental planting around the site.
in this quick video you will meet Thelma who is a Volunteer Guide at Rosehill House.
Thelma helps bring to life the story of how members of the Darby family lived there hundreds of years ago.