| Telford is a town in the county of Shropshire although | | | | coat hanging on the 'D'. |
| it is no longer under the authority of Shropshire County | | | | Telford's most famous land mark is the iron bridge at |
| Council. It forms its own administrative borough of | | | | the Ironbridge Gorge. The iron bridge was constructed |
| Telford and Wrekin. It is part of the central English | | | | by Abraham Darby III in 1777 to provide a crossover |
| region known as the West Midlands. Telford is the | | | | for the River Severn.. The iron bridge is remarkable for |
| largest town in Shropshire, the rest of the county is | | | | two reasons. Firstly, it was the largest construction |
| mostly rural. | | | | ever to be made out of cast iron. Secondly, it was built |
| Telford is one of England's New Towns. It was built in | | | | at the ironworks reputed to be the birthplace of the |
| the 1960's mainly as an over spill town for Birmingham | | | | Industrial Revolution. Abraham Darby's grandfather, |
| and Wolverhampton. Most of the town consists of | | | | who established the forge, was the first to use coal |
| new architecture although the town did absorb the | | | | instead of charcoal to smelt iron. The iron bridge is |
| existing settlements of Madeley, Oakengates and | | | | today a Grade 1 listed building and is perhaps, Telford's |
| Wellington when it was created. Modern Telford is | | | | most important tourist attraction. |
| characterised by gleaming shopping centres and | | | | Telford's local economy was traditionally based on |
| groomed housing estates. | | | | mining thanks to the rich coal and iron ore deposits of |
| The town is named after the civil engineer Thomas | | | | that region. The villages of Madeley and Wellington had |
| Telford. There is a memorial statue for him in the | | | | significant ironworking industries during the 19th century.. |
| central district of Telford Square. The statue was | | | | Today, neither mining or ironworking are important |
| crafted from steel by the artist Andre Wallace in 1987. | | | | industries in Telford. The town's main employers are |
| It comprises of giant letters spelling TELFORD, with the | | | | the local authority as well as American and Japanese |
| figure of Thomas Telford leaning on the 'O' and his | | | | hi tech industries. |