Great Malvern.—A finely-situated watering-place; the abbey gateway; a Norman church, originally a priory church.
Ledbury.—Picturesque market town, with old market hall and several quaint houses; church, Norman, Early English, and Perpendicular; tower detached.
Hereford.—(See [p. 176].)
Loop 6. (NORTHERN PART INCLUDING SHREWSBURY).
Continued on [p. 239].
The route from Shrewsbury follows that to Uriconium for nearly a mile, when a bifurcation occurs, and the road to the right is chosen, passing through Sutton and Cound. The church at the latter place is chiefly of Early English architecture; it contains a carved early Norman font of great interest. The Wrekin, with Heaven's Gate Camp upon it, is a prominent feature in the distance, while the Severn indulges in sinuous windings by the side of the road. Buildwas Abbey is quite close to the road; it presents a beautiful aspect, and is one of the finest ruins in the county. The abbey was founded by Roger de Clinton, Bishop of Chester, in 1135, for Cistercians. Parts of it still remain roofed. Coalbrookdale is historically interesting as the cradle of the iron trade. It sprang into prominence when the Sussex ironfields had to be abandoned, owing to the shrinkage of the forests there. In 1700 members of the Darby family experimented upon iron ore smelted with coal and coke, and since then it has been a centre of the iron industry.
Ironbridge contains nothing of any particular interest. It is a town of foundries, forges, and furnaces, while hideous tiers of dirty cottages cluster on the steep hill-side. In the town is the iron bridge from which the place gains its name; it is a bridge of a single span, stretching 120 feet, and is the first on record. Its presence is due to the energy of Abraham Darby, of the Coalbrookdale Works, in 1779. From Ironbridge the road trends away from the Severn, passing through a well-wooded country, and eventually reaches
BRIDGNORTH