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Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project focuses on promoting the culture and heritage of the craft of coracles and coracle making in the Ironbridge Gorge and on the River Severn.
The project will help secure the future of the historic craft coracle making. It will halt the decline of the Roger’s family shed, the last historic coracle maker's shed in England, and the creation of a coracle trail through Ironbridge.
The project will be supported by a parallel project, funded through the Visit England and the Arts Council England, which will see the creation of a Coracle Centre at the Green Wood Centre, Coalbrookdale.
There is a 300-year old tradition of making and using coracles on the River Severn in Ironbridge, which is in danger of being lost. The Coracle Trust has been successful in raising a national grant of £333,000 will help secure the future of the coracle heritage of the Gorge. This adds to significant investment committed by the council, national bodies and industry to the major improvements in the Gorge including the bridge painting, High street refurbishment and the stabilising work in Jackfield.
Dating from the 1920s, the Rogers’ family shed is situated on the bank of the Severn within the World Heritage Site (WHS) of the Ironbridge Gorge and clearly visible from the Iron Bridge itself. It was bought by the Trust in 2017 with the help of funding from Telford & Wrekin Council’s Community Pride Fund.  Since then the Trust has been working tirelessly to preserve it for the future.
The contents from the original shed, however, cannot be safely displayed or stored within the existing shed and it would not be accessible to visitors, so a new Coracle Centre will be built on a site donated by the Small Woods Association at the Green Wood Centre in Coalbrookdale to show the collection.
This intangible heritage is not just about a shed and a strange mode of river transport, it is about the people who used and made coracles, and their connection to the River Severn and the various communities of the Ironbridge Gorge.
Alongside the conservation of the Shed, the Ironbridge Coracle Trust will also work with the local community of Ironbridge to document and record some of the memories of those who knew the last coracle men.  There will also be an exciting programme of activities to enable young people to discover and acquire the traditional skills of coracle making.

Terry Kenny, Chair of the Ironbridge Coracle Trust says
‘Thanks to the support of players of the National Lottery we have the opportunity to really tell  the story of the coracle's place in Ironbridge through the conservation of the coracle shed, an exciting programme of activities and imaginative interpretation within the Rogers’ family shed and the creation of the coracle trail’

Anne Jenkins, Director, England: Midlands & East, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, says:
“The coracle makers of Ironbridge are integral to the heritage of the area, and this important project will ensure that their stories and legacies are not lost to future generations. We’re delighted that money raised by National Lottery players will enable the safeguarding of the craft and its history and allow young people to discover more about their local heritage.”

Councillor Carolyn Healy, Telford & Wrekin Council’s cabinet member for the World Heritage Site, says: “This is fantastic news and a real testimony to the hard work of the Trust. It has been a privilege to support them in their work to preserve such an important part of our community’s history.”