Blists Hill celebrates Queen Victoria

The residents of Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Ironbridge, Shropshire will be celebrating the 81st birthday of their much-loved Queen Victoria with great style, pomp and pageantry over the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend, 23 – 25 May. Each day will be a fitting tribute to the gracious lady with an extravaganza of colour, music and street entertainment.

Shrewsbury’s Town Crier will be the master of ceremonies announcing the full programme, welcoming visitors and helping children follow a trail to find the lost toys, with a lolly reward for those who complete the trail. There will also be Morris Dancers, a barrel organ and performances by the Kaleidoscope Theatre and Prince Albert Players, while the 80th Regiment of Foot, Staffordshire Volunteers will recount tales of the Boer War.

An impressive collection of vintage bicycles, including the famous High Bicycle (or Penny Farthing), will be ridden around the town by the March Cycle Club; visitors to the New Inn can join in a lively sing-a-long with the pub’s music hall entertainers and, for a small charge, families can watch a traditional Punch and Judy show in the Goods Shed.

As festivities take place, local townsfolk will still be going about their daily life in the authentic houses and shops, baking bread, counting coins at the bank and serving Victorian remedies in the chemist. Visitors will also be able to watch craftsmen at their work.

Open 10am to 5pm daily, Blists Hill is one of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. A Passport to all ten museums valid for twelve months and multiple return visits costs £19.95 per adult, £15.95 for the 60 plus, £12.95 for students and children and £54.95 for a family of two adults and three children aged up to 18 years in full time education; under 5s free. Individual museum entry tickets are also available and activities and workshops vary day-to-day with some carrying an extra charge in addition to the museum admission fee.

For further information, visit ironbridge.org.uk. The Gorge is easily reached via the M6 and M54 motorways exiting at Telford (M54 junction 4 or 6).