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Design by Brigitte Winsor: www.icedesignbox.com. Reproduced from Ordnance Survey map data by permission of the Ordnance Survey © Crown copyright 2010.

THE ENLIGHTENMENT LANDSCAPECromford Mills,

MatlockSite of Richard Arkwright’s

water-powered cotton spinning mill

Soho House, Handsworth

Home of Matthew Boulton and meeting

place of the Lunar Society

Erasmus Darwin House, Lichfield

Home to the eighteenth-century polymath and Lunar

man, Dr Erasmus Darwin

Pickford's House, Derby

Family home and workplace of Joseph

Pickford, architect

Derby Museum & Art Gallery

Houses an internationally important collection of

paintings by Joseph Wright Wrexham

The Infirmary, WorcesterEighteenth-century hospital now dedicated to the history of medicine

Bersham Heritage Centre, WrexhamOne of John ‘Iron Mad’ Wilkinson’s ironworks

Black Country Living Museum, DudleyHome to a working replica of the Newcomen Engine

Wedgwood Museum, BarlastonTells the story of Josiah Wedgwood and the company he founded

Ironbridge, ShropshireCentre of iron production and site of the world’s first cast-iron bridge

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Close by the Museum are the formerhomes of the Darby family, packed withfamily belongings, from which there is aview of the restored Furnace Pool thatonce helped power the ironworks.

The Ironbridge Gorge Museums,Coalbrookdale TF8 7DQEnquiries are dealt with by email ratherthan phone and should be sent toinformation@ironbridge.org.ukWebsite: http://www.ironbridge.org.uk

It has been said of Erasmus Darwin that noone since has rivalled him forachievements in such a wide range of fields- physics, chemistry, geology, meteorologyand all aspects of biology.

Erasmus Darwin House is run by TheErasmus Darwin Foundation and aims toraise awareness of the life and achievementsof this great eighteenth-century polymath.The house is situated close to the cathedraland can be accessed through the herbgardens, which are formally dividedinto Mrs Darwin’s culinary herb gardenand Dr Darwin’s medicinal herb garden.

PLACES TO VISIT

Bersham Heritage Centre near Wrexham hasthe remains of John Wilkinson’s East Works,part of the Bersham Ironworks complex.There are two exhibits: ‘John Wilkinson, Walesand the Wider World’ concerning the historyof Bersham Ironworks and the career of JohnWilkinson, and ‘Sharp as Steel’ about thehistory of Brymbo Steelworks and itsconnection to Wilkinson. Admission is free and the Centre is open fromJanuary to October. Check the website foropening times.Bersham Heritage Centre, Wrexham LL14 4HTPhone: +44(0)1978 261 529Website: http://www.wrexham.gov.uk andenter ‘Bersham Heritage Centre’ into thesearch box

Cromford Mill, the world’s first successfulwater-powered cotton spinning mill, was builtin 1771 by Sir Richard Arkwright. The sitepresents a remarkable picture of an earlytextile factory complex, which was quicklycopied by mills in Lancashire, Germany andthe United States. Although under threat ofdemolition in the early 1980s, CromfordMills have been restored and granted Grade Ilisted status.

The Cromford Mills site is open daily from09.00 to 17.00 (except Christmas Day).Admission is free. There are three toursavailable, details of which can be found onthe Cromford Mills website. It should benoted that, owing to the nature of the site,access for visitors with disabilities andwheelchair users is restricted.

Cromford Mills, Matlock DE4 3RQPhone: + 44 (0)1629 825995Website: www.cromfordmill.co.uk

The Black Country Living Museum offers visitorsa chance to experience what it was like to live inthe area as it became industrialised. The ‘village’ hasbeen reconstructed brick by brick, and has, amongother attractions, a working bakery, a nailshop…and a traditional pub. You can also take atrip along the canal and go down a coal mine. Ofparticular interest is the full-size working replica ofThomas Newcomen’s ‘atmospheric’ engine. 2012marked the tri-centenary of the invention of this'fire engine', as it was known, the first one ofwhich was installed in 1712 at Lord Dudley’sConeygre Colliery in Tipton.

Black Country Living Museum, Dudley DY1 4SQPhone: + 44 (0)121 557 9643Website: http://www.bclm.co.uk

Joseph Wright was born in Derby, the son of a locallawyer. Among his patrons were Josiah Wedgwoodand Richard Arkwright. Although some of hispaintings have been associated with the IndustrialRevolution of the eighteenth century, Wright'sprincipal interest was in the dramatic rendering oflight and shade offered by such subjects. There is amajor collection of his work to be found in theJoseph Wright Gallery at Derby Museum and ArtGallery.

The Gallery is open from 10.00 to 17.00 Tuesday -Saturday and 13.00 to 16.00 on Sundays. Admissionto the Gallery is free.

Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Derby DE1 1BSPhone: + 44(0)1332 641901 Website: www.derbymuseums.org

Often referred to as thebirthplace of theIndustrial Revolution, theIronbridge Gorge is aUNESCO WorldHeritage Site. Thecentrepiece of the Gorgeis the world’s first cast-iron bridge, built over theRiver Severn in 1779.Among the ten differentmuseums in the area isthe Museum of Iron at Coalbrookdale. It is housed in the Great Warehouseadjacent to the site and includes theremains of the water-powered blastfurnace where Abraham Darby Iperfected the smelting of iron with cokeinstead of charcoal. There are models,films and displays of domestic anddecorative ironwork that bring to life therevolutionary techniques that madeCoalbrookdale the most famousironworks in the world.

Home to industrialist, entrepreneur and LunarSociety member Matthew Boulton, SohoHouse contains an impressive collection oformolu and silver manufactured at Boulton’sSoho Works, as well as Georgian furniture,including items used by the Boulton family.The dining room where the Lunar menregularly met to talk, debate and carry outmany of their experiments is a highlight of thehouse.

Open during the Spring and Summer months.Soho House, Handsworth B18 5LBPhone: +44(0)121 554 9122Website: http://www.bmag.org.uk/soho-house

A short walk from Derby Museum and ArtGallery is Pickford’s House. Joseph Pickfordmoved to Derby in about 1760, after serving anapprenticeship with his sculptor and stonemasonuncle in London, and became acquainted with agroup of Midland intellectuals associated with theLunar Society. In addition to St Helen’s House inDerby and Etruria Hall in Stoke-on-Trent,Pickford designed and built several houses inDerby’s Friar Gate. Number 41 Friar Gate, builtin 1770, was the Pickford family home andworkplace.The house is open 10.00 to 17.00 Tuesday -Saturday, 13.00 to 16.00 on Sunday and Bank Holidays and closed onMonday.

Pickford’s House, Derby DE1 1DAPhone: + 44 (0)1332 715181Website: http://www.derbymuseums.org

www.historywm.comwww.historywm.com 3332

THE ENLIGHTENMENT LANDSCAPE

SOHO HOUSE, HANDSWORTH,BIRMINGHAM

IRONBRIDGE GORGE MUSEUMS, SHROPSHIRE

THE BLACK COUNTRY LIVING MUSEUM, DUDLEY

BERSHAM HERITAGE CENTRE AND IRONWORKS NEAR WREXHAM, POWYS

JOSEPH WRIGHT GALLERY, DERBYMUSEUM AND ART GALLERY

ERASMUS DARWIN HOUSE, LICHFIELD

PICKFORD’S HOUSE, DERBY

Housed in a new, purpose-built museumand visitor centre, the Wedgwood Museumtells the story of Josiah Wedgwood and hisfamily and explores their significance to the

THE WEDGWOOD MUSEUM, BARLASTON, STOKE-ON-TRENT

The former Infirmary, or Worcester RoyalInfirmary as it was later known, has a richand varied history spanning some 240years, with the impact of its staff extendingwell beyond the immediate area. Thebuilding has been restored by theUniversity of Worcester and now houses anexhibition financed by the HeritageLottery Fund, which explores that history.Scientific exploration is encouragedthrough a range of hands-on, interactivedisplays, which are intended to be as muchfun for adults as for young people.

Admission is free and the gallery is openfrom 09.00 – 17.00 Monday - Friday.School and group visits are welcome.The Infirmary, Worcester WR1 3ASPhone: + 44 (0)1905 542373 Website:http://www.facebook.com/TheInfirmaryWorcester

THE INFIRMARY, UNIVERSITY OF WORCESTER

CROMFORD MILLS, MATLOCK

pottery and ceramics industry of theWest Midlands. The Museum has awide range of exhibitions tracing thehistory of the Wedgwood family andbusiness from the eighteenth to thetwentieth century and offers innovativeways of exploring an important part ofthe region’s industrial heritage. Guidedtours of today’s factory are also on offer.

The Wedgwood Museum, Stoke-on-Trent ST12 9ERPhone: +44 (0)1782 371902Website:http://www.wedgwoodmuseum.org.uk

Erasmus Darwin House, Lichfield WS13 7ADPhone: + 44 (0)1543 306260Website: www.erasmusdarwin.org

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