Close your eyes and think what it would have been likeliving in a mining town in Shropshire at the end of the19th century. Imagine yourself walking down thestreets full of shops, offices, workshops, houses,factories, the school and bank.

The 19th century was a time of great innovation andchange with advances in medicine, science, transport,technology and communication. Even something ascommon place today, as a bicycle, in those days wasconsidered a very expensive, high tech luxury.

The grocer’s shop sold most of the things we buy nowfrom our supermarkets, but the choice was far morelimited. Goods did not arrive in a large delivery lorrylike they do today, instead most dry goods would arrivein large sacks to be weighed and packed into smallerquantities by the shopkeeper.

Interestingly the Chemist was also called a Druggist asthey made the pills, ointments and medicines on site aswell as selling them to customers. Here you would beadvised on health matters, have your eyes checked andsee the dentist. You could even buy cures for your sickanimals. How many different shops do we need today tooffer all of these services?

There were a wide variety of skills required to meetthe increasing demands of the people living in BlistsHill. Obviously printers had to be able to read andwrite, but when they were typesetting they had to beable to read upside down and back to front.

The candle maker created candles in white to sell topeople to light their homes, but he also made them ingreen especially for the Madeley Wood Company forthe miners working underground. If a green candle wasfound in someone’s home they were clearly guilty ofstealing it and could be punished!

The bank at that time would have been staffed only bymen, as women were not thought suitable for such aresponsible job. In fact there were few businesseswhich were acceptable for women to set up and run,but dress making and millinery were consideredappropriate. By using new lace, ribbons and fancytrimmings old clothes could be transformed, as buyinga new outfit was often too expensive for most workingclass people.

Having wandered the streets of Blists Hill, now use thelines below to say which shop you liked best and why?

Duke of Sutherland CottageSo how did people livein Blists Hill around1900? The Duke ofSutherland cottage isbrick-built and looks veryneat and tidy from the outside. This would have beenthe home of a lower middle class family. You may havenoticed that the back two rooms have been used as adoctor’s surgery and waiting room. The doctor wouldhave paid the family rent for the rooms, which was avaluable source of income.

Many of the doctor’s patients were children sufferingfrom illnesses brought on by poor hygiene, lack of goodfood, overwork and terrible injuries suffered in thefactories and mines.

It is a cosy cottage with gas lighting, running water andpretty wallpaper. The parlour is the main room in thehouse dominated by the cooking range. Guests wereentertained here with songs accompanied by musicalinstruments like the piano and harmonium. Lace andchina decorate the shelves and upstairs there arethree good sized bedrooms.

The scullery is at the back of the house and this iswhere the washing and food preparation were carriedout. The privy, or toilet, is outside.

The Squatter CottageThis is a fascinating little cottage. Built of stone andonly one storey high it was the home of a working classfamily. The people who built the cottage did not ownthe land it was built on, they simply ‘squatted’ there.An ‘encroachment’ or fine was paid yearly to thelandowner and they were then allowed to stay. As longas someone in the family paid 30 shillings a year for 60years the cottage belonged to them.

In some areas if you could build a fireplace andhave smoke coming out of the chimney before youwere evicted you could stay and build the rest of

your cottage.

People think living in such a cramped little cottagewould be impossible, especially with a family of ninepeople, but that is exactly what happened. Sevenchildren were born here and only one died in infancy,which was much less than the national average of onein every four. Consider what it would be like living inthis tiny space with just one bedroom to share! Wherewould you put all your clothes?

You may have noticed that there are very fewornaments or pictures because the family were so poor.They had a pantry, or cellar to keep their food cool andmeat such as rabbit, hare, pork and chicken would beprepared in this room ready for making into stews andpies on the cooking range.

Vegetables in the little plot outside the cottage wouldhave been fertilised with the contents of the earthcloset. Drinking water was carried from a well half amile away.

The Toll HouseThe toll house was built in 1829 anda respectable working class familylived here. A toll or fee wascollected from travellers as theypassed through the gate on theroad outside. The toll paiddepended on the number of horsesor oxen pulling the coach or cart.The design of the house meant thatthe keeper could see people coming inboth directions and the four roomsmake it a spacious home.

The cooking range is in the kitchen or scullery and thefront room was only used for sewing, reading andrelaxing. The children in this home were lucky to havetoys to play with and a separate bedroom from theirparents. The shelves have been lined and decorated withnewspaper cleverly cut out with patterns, as this familywould not have been able to afford lace or linen cloths.

The small garden would have provided much neededvegetables and the toilet is housed in a small buildingoutside. Wash day would have been a cold affair as thedolly tub and mangle were used outside.

None of the three homes has a bathroom. Do youknow how our families took a bath? Use the linesbelow to describe what happened at bath time

in our Victorian homes.

Word SearchSee below a list of items found atBlists Hill. Can you find them in thegrid?Mining TownShopsBankCandle MakerMillineryChemistBicycleMedicinesDuke of SutherlandSquatter CottageToll HouseHarmoniumDoctorGrocerPrinterCooking RangePrivyChimney

S Q U A T T E R C O T T A G E Z

D O C T O R E E S D E B L G T R

H A H B L B O C K C A S N S T T

A L H I L W A O S N M A S T C S

R M Y C H R I R K E R P O A H E

M I R Y O Y A G S G O G N R I N

O N E C U Q U B N H K D F E M I

N I N L S R I I S I L L A T N C

I N I E E E K C P E A S E N E I

U G L H X O E X M O N R A I Y D

M T L H O N I A U E S E P R E E

I O I C Q E K V A Y V I R P E M

W W M H X E L P C H E M I S T X

D N A L R E H T U S F O E K U D

Here we are in the Grocer’s shop which is full of goods we need every day.

Colour in the picture, but look closely as there are 12 items hidden in the

picture, which would not be found in a Victorian Grocer’s shop.

Ironbridge Gorge Museum

Trust, Coach Road, Coalbrookdale, Telford TF8 7D

QTel: 01952 435900info@

ironbridge.org.uk www.ironbridge.org.uk