Madeley Heritage Trail

The name Madeley means Madda's clearing - Madda being an Anglo-Saxon personal name. The first surviving reference dates from A.D. 727 when Madeley was purchased by St Mildburga of Wenlock Priory. Two curvilinear streets - Station Road and Church Street - probably relate to this early Saxon settlement.

Charter and Annual Fair

At the time of the Domesday Survey Madeley was valued at 50 shillings. In 1269 it achieved town status with the granting of a charter for a weekly market and an annual fair. This was probably sited at the eastern end of Park Avenue. The planned town was aligned on an axial street the Shifnal to Much Wenlock road. Other streets have been identified as medieval lanes giving access to the open fields. Madeley remained part of the Borough of Wenlock until 1966 when it was absorbed by Dawley (later Telford) new town.

Madeley Court

Wenlock Priory was dissolved in 1540 and its properties passed to the Crown. In 1544, Robert Brooke - later speaker of the House of Commons - bought the Manor of Madeley for £946 3s 8d. He built a new house, Madeley Court, on the site of an existing Priory Grange. The Brooke family owned the manor until 1727.

Safe Hiding Place

During the Civil War Madeley was garrisoned, briefly, by Royalists in February 1645. In 1650 Madeley provided a hiding place for the future Charles 11 during his escape after defeat at the battle of Worcester.

Industrial Expansion

Mining had been taking place locally since at least the middle of the 13th century. Between 1570 and 1670 the population increased tenfold because of industrial expansion. In 1620, Sir Basil Brooke (grandson of Robert) built the first cementation steel furnace in England at Upper Forge, Coalbrookdale. In the early 18th century Abraham Darby 1 leased Madeley Court for a while.

Methodism

In 1797 John Fletcher, friend of John Wesley and a leading light of the Methodists movement, became vicar of Madeley. The town became an important centre of non-conformism.

Mining Tragedy

The 19th century saw many changes as improved communications and industrial expansion encouraged prosperity. The Madeley China Works opened in 1823 and new leisure facilities arrived - such as the Cricket Club in 1853. There were tragedies too. An 1832 cholera outbreak killed many locals and 1864 saw the town's worst mining disaster. Nine miners, the youngest only 12 years old, fell to their deaths at the Brick Kiln Leasowe Pit.

Change of Status

The 20th century was a time of decline for the old industries. It brought about a change of status for the town. The last Madeley pit (Kemberton on Halesfield) closed in 1967. The same decade saw Madeley become part of Dawley (later Telford) New Town. In the 1960s the centre was rebuilt. It also saw the construction of the new estates of Sutton Hill and Woodside.

Leaflet

A Madeley Heritage Trail leaflet has been produced by The Madeley Living History Project. It displays a map and a key to places of interest, and is available from Jubilee House and libraries.

Reproduced by kind permission of Shelagh Lewis - Madeley Living History Project Manager.