Wender·Vista
Telford
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited Kingdom
in Shropshire, an hour west of Birmingham

Telford

— — the town that grew up around the first iron bridge.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A new town in Shropshire designated in 1968 and named for the Scottish engineer Thomas Telford, who built much of the surrounding canal and road network. South of the town centre the River Severn passes through Ironbridge Gorge, a UNESCO site where Abraham Darby III's iron bridge has crossed the river since 1779. Telford holds the working memory of the early Industrial Revolution.

from the studio
Telford
— bring it home

Telford, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Telford

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Telford is a town of roughly 155,000 people in the unitary authority of Telford and Wrekin, in the English county of Shropshire. It was designated a new town in 1968 and named for the Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford, whose canals and roads still cross the surrounding country. The town sits about 50 kilometres west of Birmingham. South of the centre the River Severn flows through Ironbridge Gorge, an industrial landscape inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1986.

— the year

The Severn Gorge below the town carries the working memory of the British Industrial Revolution. Abraham Darby I smelted iron with coke at Coalbrookdale from 1709 onwards; in 1779, his grandson Abraham Darby III built the world's first cast-iron bridge across the river, a 30-metre span that gave the gorge and later the town their reputation. Ten museums along the gorge, run by the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust since 1968, hold the surviving furnaces, china works, tile works, and worker housing.

— informed by Ironbridge Gorge Museums
— the visit

The Iron Bridge itself is free to walk across; the village of Ironbridge sits below it on the north bank. The ten Ironbridge Gorge Museums share a single Passport Ticket valid for twelve months across all sites. Blists Hill, a recreated Victorian town three kilometres upstream, is the most visited of the ten. Trains from London Euston run direct to Telford Central in roughly two and a half hours; the gorge is a short bus or taxi ride from the station.

— informed by Ironbridge Gorge Museums
— where
United Kingdom · Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire
— elevation
90 m · 295 ft
— position
52.6766° N · 2.4469° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
8 km S
Ironbridge
village
10 km W
The Wrekin
hill
10 km S
Blists Hill Victorian Town
open-air museum
25 km W
Shrewsbury
town
N
Telford
Ironbridge
The Wrekin
Blists Hill Victorian Town
Shrewsbury
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Telford — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

In the English county of Shropshire, about 50 kilometres west of Birmingham. Telford Central station has direct trains from London Euston, journey time around two and a half hours.

It was named for Thomas Telford (1757-1834), the Scottish civil engineer whose roads, canals, and bridges shape much of the surrounding county. The new town designation was made in 1968.

The world's first cast-iron bridge, built by Abraham Darby III across the River Severn in 1779. The 30-metre single-arch span is still standing and remains open to pedestrians.

Yes. UNESCO inscribed Ironbridge Gorge as a World Heritage Site in 1986, recognising it as one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution and the location of the first iron bridge.

The Ironbridge Gorge Museums run ten sites along the river, including the Iron Bridge, Coalbrookdale's Museum of Iron, Blists Hill Victorian Town, and the Coalport China Museum. The town centre also has Telford Town Park.

The town has a population of roughly 155,000 people and forms the main settlement of the Telford and Wrekin unitary authority. It is one of the largest of the post-war new towns in England.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for both. The artwork keys on the iron bridge over the Severn, a recognisable image for anyone from the West Midlands or anyone trained as a civil engineer. A Medium suits an office wall.

The river greens and rust-red ironwork sit well in Industrial-modern, English-country, and warm Mid-century rooms. Brick walls and leather furniture echo the gorge; pale plaster reads it as a clean focal piece.

A single Large reads across a standard sofa. For a wider wall, a 4-tile Mural carries the gorge horizon; a 9-tile Mural anchors a long hallway or stair landing.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle steam without trouble. The Glossy finish belongs on framed walls away from daily moisture.

A soft microfibre cloth with water. No cleansers, no abrasives, no ammonia sprays. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin finish, so dust wipes off without affecting the artwork.

Yes. Every WenderVista painting is original to the studio, drawn in our stained-glass and alcohol-ink visual language by Reid Wender. Nothing is licensed in or resold from another source.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.