Nearly Knowledgeable

 There is something quite special about Jackfield. The whole area hums with its history, it’s a tangible, accessible thing. As you walk past Lloyd’s Head, past the old tileworks and onto the Boat Inn, it’s hard not to consider the lives of those who came before us. Their footsteps match our own, we walk in tandem together, a journey through the centuries. What were their lives like? What were the defining factors of their world? What would they want us to know about them? The answers feel achievable here, as if they sit on the tip of your tongue.  The village of Jackfield grew from the original river port and like so much of the area, it owes much of its existence to the birth of Industry. We are told that in the 1690s several large cauldrons were set up on the riverbank for the extraction of pitch, tar, and oil. These resources were indispensable and served the factories nearby. There were a number of trades active in the area, including pottery, brickmaking and coal mining. ...