Explore

The tunnel. The 594 yard S tunnel is excavated underneath the town through red-sandstone, with the south portal bricked-off opposite the northern end of the station, and the north portal visible at The Ropewalk near Stanley Lane.

The town footbridge. First mooted in 1865 by the Town Council, and finally built in 1895. After closure of the railway in 1963 it fell into disrepair and was dismantled. After many years fundraising the current bridge was built in 1994.

The scheduled ancient monument. Panpudding Hill is a ringwork and bailey castle overlooking the station, and scheduled by Historic England in 1946. Panpudding Hill: a ringwork and bailey castle 100m south of Bridgnorth Station, Bridgnorth, Shropshire

The listed buildings. The main station building was Grade II listed in 1974 “Circa 1840 Rusticated stone with tiled roof; single-storeyed; 2 advanced wings having shaped gables with ball head and obelisk finials, the left wing having doorway with semi-circular head, keyblock and segmental fanlight, and the right-hand wing an eight-light mullioned and transomed canted bay window. Centre has a recessed doorway with semi-circular head, keyblock and segmental fanlight. Moulded cornice; tall stone stacks. A single-storeyed parapeted wing at each side. No longer in general use but operated by the Severn Valley Railway Society.” A gentle walk around the town’s ancient streets will pass dozens more beautiful listed buildings – houses, pubs, hotels, churches, artefacts, a castle, a chapel, almshouse, and more.

The conservation area. bridgnorth.pdf the conservation area was designated in 1971, and is one of 81 such areas in South Shropshire. It incorporates all the older areas of the high town and low town, including the station. This brings restrictions to control the character of the area, often requiring planning permission to be obtained.

The castle walk. Running around the castle gardens south of the ruins of the castle, set high above the River Severn with panoramic views over the low town and across to the station.

The cliff railway. Opened in 1892, England’s oldest and steepest inland electric funicular railway, with two cars on parallel tracks running up and down the 111ft sandstone cliffs to connect the low town opposite the quayside to the high town at the south end of the high street.

The coal staiths. Wagons of coal were pulled by steam engines from the coalfields to the south, and onto these elevated platforms to discharge it into the waiting carts. There were eight shoots with six cast-iron beams supporting the rails. They are marked Brymbo 1861 and similar beams from this Welsh foundry were used for a number of bridges along the route of the Severn Valley line. George Eveson’s depot was on site for his horse and cart delivery business.

The town hall. In the high street since the 17th century this comprises an oak framed hall on top of stone pillars to provide a covered market place. Upstairs is the town council chamber, the court room and the waiting room, panelled in oak and furnished with church benches and custom made carved chairs and with stained glass installed for Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee in 1887.

The riverside. Once one of the busiest river ports in Europe, the river divides the town into high town and low town, and can be reached by any of the seven sets of ancient donkey steps and the ancient Cartway leading to the flower filled Quayside, the cliffs and caves of Lavington Gardens, and on to Severn Park over the bridge.