Ironbridge, General View c.1960

Photo ref: I20055

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down, and nobody appeared to be very interest- ed in it. The bridge itself fell into disrepair; in 1931 it was closed to vehicular traffic, although people could continue to walk across it if they paid their penny. Believe it or not, the decision was even made to pull the bridge down. Fortunately this period was also to see the devel- opment of an interest in industrial archaeology, and efforts were made to save not only the bridge but other sites of interest locally. In 1967 the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust was established, and large sums of money were set aside for a project that was to give the town a degree of historical respectability. In the early 1970s the bridge was itself totally restored - this included a great deal of work under the river to secure its foundations. Today, the Ironbridge Gorge is a World Heritage Site attracting numer- ous visitors from all around the globe. The Trust continues to run a number of museums, and in 2002 a new museum called Enginuity, an inter- active technology museum, was opened - it explains many of the processes behind scientific principles and technology. This recent growth of the area around Telford has meant that today it competes with the tradi- tional county capital, Shrewsbury, in all respects. For example, in recent years both towns have applied for (and failed to acquire) city status. Telford has certainly long since taken over as the largest centre of population as well as of indus- try in the county. Things recently came to a head in 1998 when there was a decision to divide Shropshire into two areas, the county of Shropshire and the Borough of Telford and Wrekin, thus bringing to an end over 1,000 years of political unity.