Ironbridge Museums
- Last updated:
- 16 October 2025
From spring 2026 we will take on the care and management of the museums that represent the birthplace of the industrial revolution within the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site in Shropshire.
Ironbridge Gorge Museums
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.
There are ten museums within the Gorge site, including the Blists Hill Victorian Town and Enginuity museums all of which will transfer to our care.
Investment
This 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 museums, 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 will be working closely together with The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust during the transition period and will also 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
Currently, visitors should go to the Ironbridge Gorge Museums website for information on events and opening hours.
A National Trust project team is working hard behind-the-scenes to prepare to take on the care of the sites currently under the management of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust. As with any transfer of this nature and complexity, this will take time.
Once the transfer completes on 2 March 2026 there will be a transition period to allow us to implement our systems and processes, as well as welcome staff members into the National Trust. This will require a phased opening of the Ironbridge Gorge sites over the following months. We look forward to being able to welcome visitors and will share details of our opening timeline here as soon as we can.
School visits
Over the next few months, our priority is the successful transfer of IGMT and its assets, while supporting staff and volunteers through this process. We have therefore taken the difficult decision to pause school visits until after the transfer is complete.
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 in the Ironbridge Gorge and will update this webpage with information timelines, access and our plans for this amazing site over the coming months.
