The Malt House (formerly The Talbot Inn)

The riverside building we know today as The Malthouse (formerly the Talbot Inn) hides centuries of history behind its whitewashed frontage. Concealed within is a 16th-century timber frame, later refaced in painted brick during the late 18th century. Beside it stands the tall three-storey warehouse with gabled end and loading doors — probably the original malthouse that has given the whole site its modern name.

The Talbot Inn became a familiar landmark in the age of the industrial pioneers. A tunnel cut into the embankment behind in 1800 by Reynolds is still remembered, and in 1804 the Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick — famous for his high-pressure steam engine — lodged at the inn during a visit to Ironbridge. Telford, Wilkinson and other ironmasters are also thought to have gathered here.

In 1885 the inn saw the founding of the Ironbridge Angling Society, led by Theobald Jordan and William Waghorn. By the 1970s more than a thousand anglers regularly fished the Severn between Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury. The Society was later revived and thrives again today.

The Talbot even brushed with Hollywood. In 1949, the courtyard was used during the filming of Mary Webb's Gone to Earth, starring Jennifer Jones, with locals drafted in as extras.

Through the mid-20th century the pub remained a community hub with a bowling green. In the early 1960s it was run by Percy and Violet Morris, later by Thelma Bidgood. By the 1970s, conservationists described the Talbot as an "important historical component of the built environment", and it was Grade II listed in 1974.

A new chapter opened in the 1980s when Bernard and Gladys Littleford relaunched the premises as The Malthouse Restaurant — "Old meeting place now an eating place." By 1987, Davenports Brewery had refurbished the function space as the Talbot Suite for weddings and events.

From the early 2000s, The Malthouse gained a fresh identity as one of the Gorge's best-known live music pubs. By 2018 it was promoted as a "world street food restaurant and live music venue." For many in Shropshire, memories of nights at The Malthouse are as much about the music as the food or drink.