Ironbridge museums offer free entry to NHS workers
NHS, care and emergency workers and their families are to be given free entry to some of Shropshire's major museums as a thank you for their work during the coronavirus lockdown.
The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust is inviting all NHS staff, workers from the care sector and those with the emergency services to its newly reopened sites each afternoon next week as a sign of its gratitude.
Each worker will be able to bring up to three guests from their household who will all gain free entry at either the 3pm or 4pm entry times.
Trust chief executive Nick Ralls said they were delighted to be able to recognise the ‘heroic’ work of the workers during the coronavirus crisis.
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He said: "There is no way that the country can ever properly say thank you to all those who carried on working on our behalf during the pandemic, often placing themselves in direct contact with the virus to try to keep us all safe.
“But we thought we could show our appreciation by inviting these heroes to come and spend some time with us for free and catch up on some much needed family time. They don’t need to be from Telford or Shropshire – we just want to say thank you to as many as possible.
“The offer runs all week from July 22 to 26 and all we ask is that qualifying workers book to arrive at either 3pm or 4pm and bring a work ID card with them to show when they arrive. They can bring along three people who live with them in the same house.
“We are staying open until 7pm throughout the summer, so there will be plenty of time for everyone to have a fabulous time with us and make the most of the longer summer nights.”
The trust has created a special web page giving more details of the offer and on which workers can book an arrival slot.
It can be found at ironbridge.org.uk/plan/healthcare-emergency-workers-days
The trust has reopened Blists Hill Victorian Town, Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron and The Iron Bridge Tollhouse, while the Museum of The Gorge, which suffered damage during the floods of February, has also opened as a free entry visitor centre.
The museum – in a World Heritage Site and Shropshire’s most important visitor attraction – was closed for three months during the national lockdown.
The trust, a registered heritage conservation and education charity which cares for 36 listed buildings in the Gorge, has been awarded Good To Go status by England’s national tourism body for its work in meeting all the Government’s safety guidelines.
