Motor Racing in The Gorge

The steep banks of the Severn Gorge briefly became a stage for cutting-edge Edwardian motorsport. Between 1908 and 1911, both sides of the river hosted hill climbs that drew local amateurs, factory-backed drivers, and vast crowds.

1908 – Coalport Hill

The Wolverhampton & District Automobile Club held a hill climb on Coalport Hill, the road rising from Coalport Bridge toward Broseley.

• Reported in the Birmingham Daily Gazette (13 July 1908)

• Distance: 1,000 yards

• Gradient: as steep as 1 in 7.7

• 32 entrants, in five classes

• Cars included De Dion, Clement-Talbot, Humber, Austin, Napier, and Sunbeam

• Winners included E. Lisle jun. (Royal Starling), G. A. Phillips (Coventry-Humber), R. Croskery (Belsize), and W. H. Cook (Sunbeam)

1910 – Benthall Bank (Ironbridge Hill)

On 10 September 1910, the Wolverhampton Club switched to the Benthall Bank climb out of Ironbridge.

• Covered in the Shrewsbury Chronicle (16 Sept) and Bridgnorth Journal (17 Sept)

• Fastest time: C. A. Bird (Napier) in 1 min 9.2 secs

Other winners:

• A. J. Cox (Riley)

• K. Lisle jun. (Briton)

• L. Coatalen (Sunbeam, multiple classes)

• A. E. Ryder (Humber)

• H. Bradley (Briton, trade class)

Special trophies included the Star Trophy (presented by Sir Alfred Bird MP), the Sunbeam Trophy, and the Coatalen Medal.

Dr. J. L. Kirk ran in a Talbot, captured in period photos. Getty/Hulton Archive images show R. Lisle finishing on a bare rim, Bird’s Napier climbing, and crowds pressed against the walls of Ironbridge.

1911 – Coalport Hill (Sutton Coldfield AC)

In May 1911, the Sutton Coldfield Automobile Club held their own event on Coalport Hill.

• Announced in the Wellington Journal & Shrewsbury News (13 May 1911)

• Results printed 27 May

• Featured cars and motorcycles

The course:

• A toll road with a skew bridge partway up

• A vicious 120° hairpin near the summit

Conditions were described as “inches deep in dust,” with many spills. “Half the lightweight class fell.”

Motorcycle winners included H. V. Colver (Enfield), H. Waldren (Triumph), J. Woodhouse (Precision), and W. D. South (Indian).

1911 – Benthall Bank (Wolverhampton AC)

By July 1911, the Wolverhampton Club returned to Ironbridge for another climb.

• Reported in the Ludlow Advertiser (29 July 1911)

• Described as “a stony and somewhat tricky hill”

Notable winners:

• C. J. Newey (De Dion)

• L. Coatalen (Sunbeam)

• A. J. Hancock (Vauxhall)

• H. G. Barford (Humber)

• C. A. Bird (Napier, fastest time again)

Aftermath

These climbs likely ended before the First World War. By 1925, all public-road racing in Britain was banned after the Kop Hill crash, so the Gorge’s brief but spectacular racing era was over.

For a few summers, though, the streets of Ironbridge and Coalport echoed with the bark of Sunbeams, Napiers, and Triumphs, and the Gorge became one of the country’s most dramatic motorsport stages.