Editing Ironbridge (section)

==Present day==
[[File:Iron Bridge east side in February 2019.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|[[The Iron Bridge]] following the 2018 restoration]]
By the 19th century, Ironbridge had had many well-known visitors, including [[Benjamin Disraeli]],{{cn|date=March 2023}} but by the mid-20th century, the settlements and industries of the gorge were in decline. In 1986, though, Ironbridge became part of a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] (which covers the wider Ironbridge Gorge area) and has since become a major tourist attraction within Shropshire. Most industries in Ironbridge are now tourist-related; however, the [[Merrythought]] [[teddy bear]] company (established in 1930) is still manufacturing in Ironbridge and has a small museum there too. Amongst other things, the centre of Ironbridge is host to a post office, [[pharmacy]], various [[pub]]s, [[café]]s and many small independent shops.

Ironbridge was struck by [[1981 United Kingdom tornado outbreak|an F1/T2 tornado]] on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide tornado outbreak on that day.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eswd.eu/cgi-bin/eswd.cgi|title = European Severe Weather Database}}</ref> On Thursday 10 July 2003 [[Elizabeth II|The Queen]] and the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]] made a visit to Shropshire which included a visit to Ironbridge, and a walk over the bridge itself.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/features/2003/07/queen_visit.shtml|title=Royal visit timetable|date=9 July 2003|access-date=9 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050311115032/http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/features/2003/07/queen_visit.shtml|archive-date=11 March 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref>

An annual [[Coracle]] [[Regatta]] is held in August on the [[River Severn]] at Ironbridge, along with many other events throughout the year. This is mainly because the coracle-making family of Rogers lived in Ironbridge for several generations. Just outside Ironbridge in Coalbrookdale is the [[Ironbridge Institute]], a partnership between the [[University of Birmingham]] and the [[Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust]] offering postgraduate and professional development in [[cultural heritage|heritage]].