Ironbridge Gorge museums
- Last updated:
- 19 March 2026
From spring 2026 we have taken on the care and management of the places that represent the birthplace of the industrial revolution within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site in Shropshire.
Ironbridge Gorge
The Ironbridge Gorge is a globally-important UNESCO World Heritage site, meaning it is recognised internationally as being ‘of outstanding value to humanity’, comprised of buildings, structures and artefacts of international, national and local significance.
Ten museum sites within the Gorge, including Blists Hill Victorian Town and Enginuity, have transferred into our care from their previous custodian, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (IGMT).
Investment
The transfer has been made possible thanks to £9 million investment provided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). We are also grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England for funding and ongoing support throughout the process.
Our goal is to grow the number of people that visit Ironbridge Gorge’s sites, tackle the barriers that often prevent people from engaging with heritage and continue and deepen the site’s strong appeal for families through events, programming and storytelling that bring its unique history to life.
Ironbridge Gorge is widely regarded as the birthplace of the industrial revolution, which paved the way for the scientific and technological innovation that defines our world today. The site is an example of British ingenuity, a source of immense national and community pride and a distinct and much-loved icon of our shared heritage. I cannot think of something more at home in the National Trust's care - an institution built to protect and preserve the things our nation loves on behalf of everyone, everywhere.
Partnership
We worked closely with the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust during the transfer period and will continue to work with partners up and down the gorge to care for the area, its buildings and collections, creating a fantastic experience for every visitor and a sense of renewal to the local community.
Visiting
As with any transfer of this nature and complexity, the transition to the National Trust will take time. The sites are currently closed as we carry out the necessary assessments and works to enable us to open. This includes the complex operation of installing new IT infrastructure which is needed to operate our tills, membership and ticketing systems. We are also welcoming staff and volunteers from from IGMT into the National Trust and working alongside them to benefit from their extensive knowledge of the special places that have entered our care.
Reopening
Our project team is working hard to be able to open each site in a phased approach over the coming months. Whilst we are unable confirm our exact plans, due to the complexity of the works involved, we anticipate the reopening timeline to be as follows:
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Museum of the Gorge and Toll House from late April 2026
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Blists Hill, Museum of Iron and The Old Furnace from mid-May 2026
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Enginuity from summer 2026 (school visits from April 2026)
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Coalport China Museum, Jackfield Tile Museum, Darby Houses, Tar Tunnel and Broseley Pipeworks will follow with phased opening.
We look forward to being able to welcome visitors and will update details of our opening timeline as soon as we know more.
School visits
School visits have always been a huge part of the work at Ironbridge and we are keen to continue that in the future.
It will take us a little time to develop our plans for school visits, which we know is frustrating for school staff and pupils. We'd love to be able to contact schools as soon as we have finalised our approach, so if you are a school that has visited Ironbridge in the past, or would like to do so in the future, please follow this link to provide some contact details.
The future
We are busy working on our plans for the museums and collections at Ironbridge Gorge and will update this webpage with information timelines, access and our plans for this amazing site over the coming months.
