At the end of 2024, the Trust, a heritage conservation and education charity, had 330 registered volunteers who had given a total of 17,712 hours of their time during the year. By the end of April 2025 volunteers had already given another 5,472 hours.
During the last 18 months volunteers have worked in roles including welcoming visitors to the Trust’s temporary exhibition, From Stars to Cells: The Life of Iron, in Coalbrookdale; acting as stewards or elves at Blists Hill Victorian Town’s Christmas Weekends; sewing textiles to appear in museum exhibits; leading guided tours at the Trust’s museums; and decorating Blists Hill’s Sunflower Room, a calm space for visitors with SEND. Volunteers with experience of engineering or steam engines also gave 330 hours of their time to conserve two Sentinel Engines at Coalbrookdale, in a project funded by the Association of Industrial Archaeology
Karen Davies, Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: “We are extremely grateful to the volunteers who regularly give their time to support our museums. They are essential for everything from ensuring our visitors have a brilliant experience to carrying out research in our archives or keeping our estates tidy. Like many charities, we would not be able to do what we do without them and every hour of someone’s time helps us achieve our objectives as a heritage conservation and education charity.”
Sharon Sinclair, Volunteer Officer at the Trust, said: “I would like to give a big thank you to everyone who has volunteered with us over the last year. We are delighted to be able to offer volunteers a wide range of roles across our museums, in which they can make use of past experience and skills or learn new things, and meet new people. I would encourage anyone who would like to consider joining us a volunteer to get in touch.”
The Trust welcomes individuals as volunteers as well as corporate groups. Anyone who would like to volunteer for the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust can find out more on the Trust’s website or email volunteering@ironbridge.org.uk