houses or bungalows, and 46 semi-detached or terraced houses. The average price of property which has been sold in Buildwas was valued at £218,114 which was well above the national average of £161,558 in April 2012. Visiting Buildwas Buildwas Abbey The preserved remains of a Cistercian abbey lie on the south bank of the River Severn. These include an unusually unaltered 12th-century church, a vaulted and tile-floored chapter house, and a re-opened crypt chapel. The stone abbey buildings were completed mainly during the abbacy of Ranulf, which began around 1155. The income for the abbey came mainly from a large portfolio of properties, concentrated around monastic granges in the surrounding areas of Shropshire and Staffordshire. The site is now cared for by English Heritage. Bridge A brick and stone bridge crossed the Severn from medieval times to the 18th century; in the floods of 1773 and 1795, it was irreparably damaged and finally swept away by severe flooding following an earthquake. After its destruction, Thomas Telford built a cast-iron arch bridge in 1796, which survived subsequent floods until its replacement by a steel Pratt truss in 1905, which itself was replaced in 1992. See also Listed buildings in Buildwas Ironbridge Gorge Buildwas Junction railway station Telford Steam Railway References Civil parishes in Shropshire Villages in Shropshire Populated places on the River Severn Ironbridge Gorge