A day photographing the superb Ragged Victorians re-enacting group at Blists Hill Victorian Town

About this event

We are delighted to offer you a full day of period re-enactment photography featuring the amazing Ragged Victorians set against the ideal backdrop of Blists Hill Victorian Town near Telford.

The Ragged Victorians Living History Group, also known as the Great Unwashed, represent characters from the lower/working classes of British life around the 1850s. With superb costume and make-up, they tell the story of the difficult and often dangerous life on the streets in the nineteenth century where hardship was commonplace and life, on many occasions, just a simple fight for survival. The group represents the harsh social realities that faced many of the poorer members of the population as they battled poverty and disease and struggled to keep body and soul together in any way practicably possible. 

The creation of Blists Hill as a museum began in 1967 at the same time that a brand new town, Telford, was being built on the former East Shropshire Coalfield. The industrial archeology that had so defined the region during the Industrial Revolution and beyond was gradually disappearing and it was felt that efforts should be made to preserve the buildings and artefacts that were so much a part of the area’s history. Located on a fifty-acre site, Blists Hill incorporates some of the location’s original industrial features which have been restored. In addition to these, other buildings have been constructed to create a small town reminiscent of the area at the turn of the Nineteenth Century. The town is now one of ten museums that together form the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. Period buildings from a variety of different areas have been accurately researched and then constructed using new heritage bricks and, with the exception of the post office, all are copies of an original structure from the area of the East Shropshire coalfields.

Our event will start at 10.00 and run until 16.45 with a break for lunch. The tearooms will be open during the day so food, drink and light refreshments are catered for. These are always extremely popular events and we hope you will want to join us for what promises to be an excellent day packed with many fine photographic opportunities.

Images for illustrative purposes only.

Event requirements

Equipment

• Spare batteries
• Camera
• Lense cloths
• Lenses

Knowledge

• All levels welcome

Fitness

• Low

Other essentials

• Sturdy outdoor shoes
• Warm clothing
• Wet weather gear