Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site in Shropshire has added a new visitor centre, illustrating the development of mining and hot metal industries in the West Midlands via massive projected images.
The £12m development includes a replica Victorian street, lined with a parade of shops typical to the period – such a drapers and outfitters where visitors can have their photograph taken dressed in traditional clothes, a post office, a sweetshop selling Victorian treats and a fried fish dealers.
From the Victorian town, guests can enjoy views of the gorge while being transported down a steep slope on the new Incline Lift to The Green below.
Additional attractions include the Clay Mine Railway, featuring a short journey into a blacked out replica clay mine featuring an audiovisual show depicting the story of the miners, as well as an Artisans' Corner demonstrating plumbers, tinsmiths and decorative plasterers at work.
Barrie Williams, chair of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: "We have already received a favourable response from our visitors and have seen a considerable upsurge in people visiting this year as the new developments have come on stream."
Funding came from Advantage West Midlands (AWM) and the European Regional Development Fund.
Brendan Connor, board member at AWM, said: "Blists Hill Victorian Town is the biggest of the ten museums in the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. Visitor numbers to the ten Ironbridge Gorge Museums last year were around 477,000. That figure is on course to grow by a further 20 per cent this year."
