Jackfield

– part of a large model of the wider gorge during the Industrial Revolution at the Museum of the Gorge in nearby Ironbridge.]] .]] Jackfield grew as a river port for nearby Broseley and Benthall (which are situated high above the Severn) and is a notable part of the area's famous early industrial activity. The first railway in Shropshire and second in Great Britain was built here – by 1605, the lord of the manor of Broseley, James Clifford, had constructed a wooden railway (usually termed a wagonway) from his coal mines to the river at Jackfield. It has recently been suggested that this is older than the Wollaton Wagonway which is generally thought to be the earliest such wagonway. There…

Less than a mile upstream is the world-famous Iron Bridge. In Jackfield itself, there is the Jackfield Tile Museum, housed within the former Craven Dunnill factory. Tile manufacturing still takes place there today, by the same company albeit on a smaller scale. Today, Craven Dunnill Jackfield manufacture hand made wall and floor tiles in true Victorian fashion. A number of historical sites in Jackfield comprise waypoints on the South Telford Heritage Trail. The Maws Craft Centre, formerly a part of the area's tile works, is located on Salthouse Road between the Tile Museum and the Memorial Bridge, and houses a large number of small businesses as well as the offices for The Gorge parish…