Besides great sights, an interesting history and many exciting destinations, Telford has a lot more to offer. Here you will find many helpful tips to enjoy your vacation in Telford.
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Sights in Telford
Telford is a town located in the ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It’s situated between Birmingham and Liverpool, making it the perfect place to explore all that England has to offer. The town is home to a number of historic sights, including the Iron Bridge, which was the first ever bridge made from cast iron. The bridge was completed in 1779 and spans the River Severn. Today, it’s a World Heritage Site and well worth a visit. Other notable sights in Telford include the Wrekin, a hill that offers stunning views of the surrounding area, and Telford Town Park, which is a great place to relax and take in the sights of the town.
History of Telford
Telford is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, in Shropshire, England. With an estimated population of 170,300 in 2010, it is the largest town in Shropshire Council’s area.
The town was created in 1968 as a new town. Telford was named after Thomas Telford, the civil engineer who built many roads and canals in Shropshire, although the modern town incorporates other existing settlements, which now make up its residential and industrial quarters. These include Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, Much Wenlock, Broseley and Wellington. Telford Shopping Centre, a spacious indoor shopping mall, was constructed at the new town’s centre. The M54 motorway was completed in 1983, connecting the town to the national motorway network.
On 1 April 1998, the Borough of Telford and The Wrekin was formed, a unitary authority taking over from the former boroughs of Wellingborough, Newport and Telford & Wrekin. The town is now governed by Telford and Wrekin Council.
The town of Telford was created in 1968, incorporating existing towns, villages and hamlets, in an area designated as The Telford New Town Development Corporation. Commercial properties were then developed to the north of the town centre. The first developments were in South Telford, with the construction of Telford Town Park, and Honda UK Telford, a factory making motorcycle engines. Much of the housing in Telford was privately built, with advantages such as doubleglazing and central heating included. A mixture of council estates and privately owned housing were built.
The Wrekin Retail Park, Telford Forge Retail Park and Telford Ice Rink were also developed. In the 1980s, a retail park and cinema complex called Telford Centre was developed. The town has two railway stations; Telford Central in the town centre, and Telford Steam Railway to the east.
Despite being a relatively new town, Telford has a long history. The first recorded use of the name Telford is in a charter of 1406 which granted certain privileges to the feoffees (trustees) of Telford manor. This manor was located in the parish of St. Leonards and Telforddescribes the extent of the lands in the charter as “fourteen bovates of land with divers appurtenances in the vill (settlement) of Telford”.
The manor was held by the Chetwynds, one of the most prominent families in Shropshire during the medieval and early modern periods, from the late 13th century until 1795. A market charter was granted to Hugh Chetwynd V by Charles I in 1632. Chetwynds held the manor until 1795 when it was sold to Francis Wolfe of Llawr y Cwm.
The name Telford grows out of the old English ford by the ffrwd, or ford by the road. The ford probably crossed the small stream on the banks of which Telford is built, which is known as The Wrekin Brook. The first part of the name, Tel, is derived from the Welsh word for end or top, while the second part, ford, comes from the Old English word for crossing. So the name Telford means ‘the upper ford’.
A charter to hold a market in the manor was granted by James I in 1623. Telford market was held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It was a thriving market, with stalls set up along High Street, up to as many as 200 according to some estimates. Some of the produce that would have been sold there includes wheat, barley, oats, hay, wool, cheese, bacon, poultry, eggs, milk, butter, honey, cider, perry, lamps, tallow, soap, firewood, coal, iron and steel.
A general fair was also held twice a year, on 23 April (St. George’s Day) and 29 October (St. Michael and All Saints’ Day). These were larger events, attracting traders from much further afield, and would have included a wider range of goods on sale, such as livestock, cloth, leather goods, and metalware.
The Heywood family were important landowners in the Telford area in the 18th and 19th centuries. They were based at Wickham House, a neoPalladian mansion just to the south of the town centre, which was rebuilt in 1750. The house was demolished in 1953, but the stable block, gateway and gate piers survive and are Grade II* listed.
The family owned coal mines in the Coalbrookdale area, and were major employers in the town
Vacation in Telford
Telford is a town in the Borough of Telford and Wrekin and county of Shropshire, England, about 13mi east of Shrewsbury and 30mi west of Birmingham. The town had a population of 170,371 in 2010.
The borough was created in 1974 and includes other towns such as Wellington, Dawley and Madeley. Much of the borough was previously undeveloped farmland or forest until the early 19th century when the developing industry of Coalbrookdale in the south of the area attracted workers from all over Britain.
Today Telford is still a major industrial centre with the Ironbridge Gorge Museum being a popular tourist destination. However, there are also many other attractions for visitors including The Hawkstone Park Follies, Telford Town Park, Attingham Park, The Wrekin and Telford Ice Rink.
For those interested in a more active holiday, Telford has a wide range of sports facilities including golf courses, a ski centre, climbing walls and an Olympicstandard swimming pool. The town is also home to Telford United Football Club.
There are several hotels in Telford, as well as bed and breakfasts and selfcatering accommodation options.
Telford is a great base for exploring the rest of Shropshire with its scenic countryside, quaint villages and towns such as Ludlow and Ironbridge.
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