Strike and Robin meet up in Ironbridge to interview Dilys Powell, Taylor Powell’s grandmother.
Ironbridge is a village located in Shropshire, about 150 miles north west of London. It takes its name from the Iron Bridge spanning the gorge of the River Severn which was built in 1779, and was the first bridge constructed from cast iron. Ironbridge Gorge was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, and is regarded as one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution.
Strike arrives in his hired Audi, having driven from Crieff in Scotland, and stopping overnight in the Travelodge at Penrith on the way.
“The small town of Ironbridge was beautiful, which Strike hadn’t expected. A dramatic arching iron bridge spanned the sludge-green River Severn, which was bordered by thick trees and foliage.” (Chapter 65)
“Buildings seemed to tumble down the steep hill on the north bank, where the High Street, parallel with the river, was bordered with shops, cafés and pubs that had a quaintly 1950s appearance, their signs illuminated by the wintry sunlight.” (Chapter 65)
Strike parks his car in the car park of the Swan Taphouse.
He spots Robin getting out of her own hire car a hundred yards up the street and walks over to join her.
As they have half an hour to spare before they are due to interview Dilys Powell, Strike suggests a coffee, and Robin “pointed towards the Tontine Hotel, a large Georgian building with pea-green shutters that overlooked the iron bridge” (Chapter 65).
Mr Galbraith has taken a little artistic licence with the geography here. It is not possible to see the Tontine from the spot that Robin and Strike are meant to be standing, as it is a good six or seven minute walk along the river and round a slight bend in the road.
After coffee in the Tontine, they set off up New Road towards Dilys’s house. It is a steep road which leads them up the hill behind the High Street. Strike finds it a hard and painful climb.
Robin “suddenly stopped of her own accord, staring at a circular blue plaque on a house in a short terrace” (Chapter 67).
The blue plaque reads:
BILLY WRIGHT CBE
1924–1994
LEGENDARY FOOTBALL CAPTAIN
OF ENGLAND AND WOLVES
LIVED AND GREW UP HERE
From outside this house, Robin points out Tyler Powell’s grandmother’s house, which “was rather smaller than those that flanked it, and painted a muddy shade of orange” (Chapter 67). There are no houses in the vicinity that fit this description; Galbraith has created a fictional house.
When there is no answer at Dilys’s house, Strike and Robin continue further up the hill towards Tyler’s parents’ house – “a white house larger than Dilys’s, outside which was a For Sale sign” (Chapter 67). This house, and Ian Griffiths’ house on the other side of the road, are also fictional. They are described as being at the crest of the hill, here:
After having spoken to Ian Griffiths and Dilys Powell in Griffiths’ house, Robin and Strike head back to their cars.
They notice a very steep footpath that would take them directly down to the High Street.
However, Strike rejects taking this path as it would be too painful on his knee, so they retrace their route down New Road to the Swan Taphouse.
Find Ironbridge on the map below.
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