Contrary Life

Contrary Life is a website covering quirky events across the UK.

  • Home
  • About
  • Events by region
    • North East
    • North West
    • Yorkshire
    • East Midlands
    • West Midlands
    • East
    • London
    • South East
    • South West
    • Scotland
    • Northern Ireland
    • Wales
Home > Heritage > Watch a wheelwright at work this weekend

Watch a wheelwright at work this weekend

By Caroline King - August 15, 2013Posted in : Heritage, Museum

Blists Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge

See life as it was over one hundred years ago at Blists Hill.

When: 17th – 18th August 2013

Where: Blists Hill Victorian Town, Ironbridge, Shropshire (the sat nav postcode is TF7 5DU)

£: Admission costs £15.95 for adults, £12.50 for the 60+ and £10.50 for children.  An annual Passport Ticket for all ten Ironbridge museums, with unlimited return visits, costs £24 for adults, £19 for the 60+, £15.25 for students and children and £65 for a family; under 5s go free.  There is a car parking charge of £1.50.

What is it?

Blists Hill Victorian Town, one of the ten Ironbridge Gorge Museums, where life is recreated as it was over one hundred years ago, will be hosting a spectacular demonstration of wheelwright skills this weekend.

Even in 1900 most road traffic was still horse-drawn and wheelwrighting was an essential trade in town and country.  Derbyshire wheelwright Chris Wright will be visiting Blists Hill Victorian Town and letting visitors in on the secrets of how wooden cart wheels are made with a combination of his intimate knowledge of timber and precise wood working skills.

The highlight of the display will be when the wheels are finished with a steel tyre.  Made slightly smaller than the wheel itself, first it has to be heated in an open wood fire to expand it just enough to fit over the wheel.  Once forced into position, cold water is quickly poured over the tyre which contracts as it cools, pulling the wheel tightly together.

Demonstrations will take place in the Saw Mill Yard at Blists Hill Victorian Town on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th August with tyre fitting taking place between 2pm and 3pm each afternoon.

More info: www.ironbridge.org.uk

Related Posts

  • Milling day at Cogglesford
  • Tykes, urchins and vagabonds take part in cycle race at Victorian Town
  • Ferret racing and jesters at Tullie House Museum Victorian Summer Fair
  • Step back in time to the 1800s with the Victorian Festival at Llandrindod Wells
  • Fly in and sample some local food and drink at RAF Museum Cosford
  • A chance to meet the neigh-bours at Blists Hill

Tagged With: Blists Hill Victorian Town, Family events, Ironbridge Gorge, Shropshire events, West Midlands

Curiosity of the Week

Woodhenge, Stonehenge’s lesser-known neighbour
Woodhenge - ©English Heritage, Historic England Photo Library

You have heard of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, but have you heard of its lesser known neighbour, Woodhenge? Find out more in our latest Curiosity of the Week…

Top Story

Make some noise for Whitby’s Krampus Run
Whitby Krampus Run 2018 - photo by Cassandra Sutton

As Father Christmas makes his annual visit to towns across the UK this weekend, there’s another, much darker character making his way to Whitby in North Yorkshire…

What are you looking for today?

  • Alternative Sport
  • Art
  • Cabaret and Circus
  • Cinema
  • Classes, Workshops & Talks
  • Club Night
  • Comedy
  • Dance
  • Exhibitions and Installations
  • Fairs and Markets
  • Festival
  • Food & Drink
  • Heritage and History
  • Interview
  • Literature
  • Museum
  • Music
  • Nature and Outdoors
  • Review
  • Science and Technology
  • Theatre
  • Walks and Tours

Sign up to our Newsletter

Copyright © 2023 · Contrary Life