Urbanicity – Page 41 – TRAVEL WORDS

A Lingering Look at The Pump Rooms

This weekly challenge is hosted by Dawn from ‘The Day After’ who invites participants to post pictures of any windows that they find curious, inviting, photogenic, or in some way tell a story. Visit her blog to see more windows and/or to join in with the challenge.

This unusual building is the ‘Pump Rooms’ in Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, built and designed by William Cranston of Birmingham in 1861.

It was built in oriental Chinese Gothic style (oh really?) and is one of the earliest examples of prefabrication. The metal prefabricated sheets were made in Birmingham and assembled on site.

It was built to promote Tenbury Wells as a spa town after a saline spring was found in the grounds of the Crow Inn. The 58 ft well is situated below the octagonal tower. It was aimed for middle and working classes, but never attracted the clientèle. The building fell into disrepair and in 1939 the well was filled in. It was later restored by the district councils of Leominster and Malvern Hills with the help of English Heritage. It is now used as an administrative office, by the community for events and also for weddings.

(click to enlarge)

Door finger plate

Lovely tiled flooring

(source of information from Tenbury Tourist Information Centre and information plaque)

I for Iron Bridge

frizztext hosts a weekly A – Z Challenge

Event Type: General Blogging

Start Date: Tuesdays, recurring weekly

Description: Every Tuesday I offer the “A to Z challenge”, walking step by step through the alphabet.

If you would like to join in then please click here.

Following on from my bridge last week is another iron bridge, this time from Shropshire and much closer to home. This Iron Bridge is in the Severn Gorge and has a town named after it. It was the first arch bridge in the world to be built from cast-iron and it opened on New Year’s Day 1781, the result of work by the architect Thomas Pritchard (whose work can be seen in many Shropshire towns including Ludlow) and Abraham Darby III.

It is one of the great symbols of the Industrial Revolution and visited by many. Directly across from the bridge is the Tontine Hotel.

The word Tontine is a noun “an annuity scheme by which several subscribers invest in a common fund out of which they receive an annuity that increases as subscribers die until the last survivor takes all!”.

The idea of building a hotel here started as soon as people realised the attraction of the Iron Bridge. Those involved in the venture included Abraham Darby III, Samuel Darby, William & Richard Reynolds, John Wilkinson, Joseph Rathbone and others who were involved in the construction of the bridge.

The hotel opened in 1784. Inside are Victorian fireplaces with the traditional tiles of the area, photographs showing the area in different stages, with coracle men and their coracles, people standing on the river under the bridge when it froze on the 5th February 1917, collections of old local bottles etc.

source: Ironbridge Tourist Information and Visitor Centre.

View from the bridge – Wharfside

Cast-iron railings

The Old Coracle Shed

If you ever find yourself in Shropshire, then try to make some time to visit this once heavily industrialised, now pleasantly picturesque, town, not just for the Iron Bridge, but also its many other attractions.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned

The weekly photo challenge from WordPress asks us to find something to illustrate Abandoned. Cheri says “You can go literal, as I have, and share a photo of ruins, a desolate place, or your idea of a wasteland. Or you can interpret it in other ways, from images of overlooked things to forgotten people.”

An arty effect – click to enlarge the image for clarity.

If you would like to see what others have come up with for this challenge then go to the Daily Post @ WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge

A Lingering Look at Broad Street

This weekly challenge is hosted by Dawn from ‘The Day After’ who invites participants to post pictures of any windows that they find curious, inviting, photogenic, or in some way tell a story. Visit her blog to see more windows and/or to join in with the challenge.

Broad Street (header photo) in Ludlow is renowned for its Georgian façades with lovely Georgian sash windows lining both sides of this wide street leading from the Buttercross down to the only surviving gate in the town walls – Broad Street Gate – a narrow medieval gate-passage.

From the north side you can see the Gothic crenellations and details probably by T F Pritchard, an architect from Shrewsbury, (better known for his involvement in the Iron bridge project.)

(Note the multi-paned sash windows all have twelve panes: 3 x 4 in varying sizes except for the central window top right which for some reason has twenty four panes: 4 x 6)

Built in the 13th century the gate was an important entrance into the town from the Ludford Bridge crossing. It is now partially encased by a large Georgian House.

(Note the lovely Regency gothic bay windows on the left of the gate)

From the south side you can see the Gate arch and twin round towers typical of Edwardian castle building. The west tower is hidden behind the house added in 1824 -1829.

H for Harbour Bridge (Sydney)

frizztext hosts a weekly A – Z Challenge

Event Type: General Blogging

Start Date: Tuesdays, recurring weekly

Description: Every Tuesday I offer the “A to Z challenge”, walking step by step through the alphabet.

If you would like to join in then please click here.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. Opened March 19 1932. Wikipedia

I have walked across it, driving across in a car, taken a train over and driven under in the tunnel. I have climbed up one of the towers you can see at either end to get some lovely photographs, but I have never climbed the bridge, and I never will!

If you have a spare AUS$200 then maybe you’d like to try it? Or perhaps you have.