Madeley Heritage Trail - Methodist Heritage · Madeley remained part of the Borough of Wenlock...
4
Madeley Court. On site of Saxo-Norman Priory Grange. Present building dates from 16 th – 17 th century with later additions and alterations. Particularly fine gate house and interesting walled garden containing unusual ‘astronomical toy’ of probable 17 th century date. (Number 32 on the trail) The History of Madeley The name Madeley means ‘Mad(d)a’s clearing – Madda being an Anglo-Saxon personal name. The first surviving reference dates from A.D. 727 when Madeley was purchased by Mildburga of Wenlock Priory. Two curvilinear streets – Station Road and Church Street – probably relate to this early Saxon settlement. At the time of the Domesday Survey Madeley was valued at 50 shillings and, in 1269, it achieved town status with the granting of a charter for a weekly market (probably sited at the eastern end of Park Avenue) and an annual fair. The planned town was aligned on an axial street, the Shifnal to Much Wenlock road and 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 Urban District Council and became part of Telford New Town. 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 and the Brooke family owned the Manor until 1727. During the Civil War Madeley was garrisoned, briefly, by Royalists in February 1645 and in April 1645 the Church was occupied by a troop of Parliamentarian soldiers. In 1650 Madeley provided a hiding place for the future Charles II during his escape after defeat at the battle of Worcester. Mining had been taking place locally since at least the middle of the 13 th century but between 1570 and 1670 the population apparently 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 18 th century Abraham Darby I leased Madeley Court for a while. In 1759 John Fletcher, friend of John Wesley and a leading light of the Methodist movement, became vicar of Madeley and the town became an important centre of non-conformism. The 19 th 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 when nine miners, the youngest only 12 years old, fell to their deaths at the Brick Kiln Leasowe Pit. The 20 th century was a time of decline for the old industries and brought a change of status for the town. The last Madeley pit (Kemberton on Halesfield) closed in 1967 and the same decade saw Madeley become part of Dawley (later Telford) New Town. The end of the 1960s saw the rebuilding of the centre and the construction of the new estates of Sutton Hill and Woodside. At the beginning of the 21 st century yet another makeover is underway (2009). Madeley Heritage Trail MADELEY PARISH COUNCIL Woodside Sutton Hill Halesfield M A D E L E Y L i v i n g H i s t o r y P r o j e c t How to get to Madeley Madeley Living History Project would like to thank Maggie Humphry, who did the illustrations, and all the people who contributed information for the trail. June 2009
Transcript of Madeley Heritage Trail - Methodist Heritage · Madeley remained part of the Borough of Wenlock...
Ma
de
ley
Co
urt
. O
n s
ite
of S
axo-
Nor
man
Pri
ory
Gra
nge
. P
rese
nt
buil
din
g d
ates
fro
m 1
6th
– 1
7th c
entu
ry
wit
h la
ter
add
itio
ns
and
alt
erat
ion
s. P
arti
cula
rly
fin
e ga
te h
ouse
an
d in
tere
stin
g w
alle
d g
ard
en c
onta
inin
g u
nu
sual
‘ast
ron
omic
al t
oy’ o
f p
roba
ble
17th
cen
tury
dat
e.(N
um
ber
32 o
n t
he
trai
l)
Th
e H
isto
ry o
f M
ad
ele
yT
he
nam
e M
adel
ey m
ean
s ‘M
ad(d
)a’s
cle
arin
g –
Mad
da
bein
g an
An
glo-
Saxo
n p
erso
nal
nam
e. T
he
firs
t su
rviv
ing
refe
ren
ce d
ates
fro
m A
.D. 7
27 w
hen
Mad
eley
was
pu
rch
ased
by
Mil
dbu
rga
of W
enlo
ck P
rior
y. T
wo
curv
ilin
ear
stre
ets
– S
tati
on
Roa
d a
nd
Ch
urc
h S
tree
t –
pro
babl
y re
late
to
this
ear
ly S
axon
se
ttle
men
t.
At
the
tim
e of
th
e D
omes
day
Su
rvey
Mad
eley
was
val
ued
at
50 s
hil
lin
gs a
nd
, in
126
9,
it a
chie
ved
tow
n s
tatu
s w
ith
th
e gr
anti
ng
of a
ch
arte
r fo
r a
wee
kly
mar
ket
(pro
babl
y si
ted
at
the
east
ern
en
d o
f P
ark
Ave
nu
e) a
nd
an
an
nu
al f
air.
Th
e p
lan
ned
tow
n w
as a
lign
ed o
n a
n a
xial
str
eet,
th
e Sh
ifn
al t
o M
uch
Wen
lock
roa
d a
nd
oth
er s
tree
ts h
ave
been
iden
tifi
ed
as m
edie
val l
anes
giv
ing
acce
ss t
o th
e op
en fi
eld
s. M
adel
ey
rem
ain
ed p
art
of t
he
Bor
ough
of
Wen
lock
un
til 1
96
6 w
hen
it
was
abs
orbe
d b
y D
awle
y U
rban
Dis
tric
t C
oun
cil a
nd
bec
ame
par
t of
Tel
ford
New
Tow
n.
Wen
lock
Pri
ory
was
dis
solv
ed in
154
0 a
nd
its
pro
per
ties
pas
sed
to
th
e C
row
n. I
n 1
544
, Rob
ert
Bro
oke
- la
ter
spea
ker
of t
he
Hou
se o
f C
omm
ons
- bo
ugh
t th
e M
anor
of
Mad
eley
for
£9
46
. 3s
. 8d
. H
e bu
ilt
a n
ew h
ouse
, Mad
eley
Cou
rt, o
n t
he
site
of
an
exis
tin
g P
rior
y G
ran
ge a
nd
th
e B
rook
e fa
mil
y ow
ned
th
e M
anor
u
nti
l 172
7.
Du
rin
g th
e C
ivil
War
Mad
eley
was
gar
riso
ned
, bri
efly,
by
Roy
alis
ts in
Feb
ruar
y 16
45
and
in A
pri
l 16
45
the
Ch
urc
h w
as
occu
pie
d b
y a
troo
p o
f P
arli
amen
tari
an s
old
iers
. In
16
50
Mad
eley
pro
vid
ed a
hid
ing
pla
ce f
or t
he
futu
re C
har
les
II
du
rin
g h
is e
scap
e af
ter
def
eat
at t
he
batt
le o
f W
orce
ster
.
Min
ing
had
bee
n t
akin
g p
lace
loca
lly
sin
ce a
t le
ast
the
mid
dle
of
th
e 13
th c
entu
ry b
ut
betw
een
157
0 a
nd
16
70 t
he
pop
ula
tion
ap
par
entl
y in
crea
sed
ten
fold
bec
ause
of
ind
ust
rial
exp
ansi
on.
In 1
620
, Sir
Bas
il B
rook
e (g
ran
dso
n o
f R
ober
t) b
uil
t th
e fi
rst
cem
enta
tion
ste
el f
urn
ace
in E
ngl
and
at
Up
per
For
ge,
Coa
lbro
okd
ale.
In
th
e ea
rly
18th
cen
tury
Abr
aham
Dar
by I
le
ased
Mad
eley
Cou
rt f
or a
wh
ile.
In 1
759
Joh
n F
letc
her
, fri
end
of
Joh
n W
esle
y an
d a
lead
ing
ligh
t of
th
e M
eth
odis
t m
ovem
ent,
bec
ame
vica
r of
Mad
eley
an
d
the
tow
n b
ecam
e an
imp
orta
nt
cen
tre
of n
on-c
onfo
rmis
m.
Th
e 19
th c
entu
ry s
aw m
any
chan
ges
as im
pro
ved
co
mm
un
icat
ion
s an
d in
du
stri
al e
xpan
sion
en
cou
rage
d
pro
sper
ity.
Th
e M
adel
ey C
hin
a W
orks
op
ened
in 1
823
an
d
new
leis
ure
fac
ilit
ies
arri
ved
- s
uch
as
the
Cri
cket
Clu
b in
18
53.
Th
ere
wer
e tr
aged
ies
too.
An
18
32 c
hol
era
outb
reak
kil
led
m
any
loca
ls a
nd
18
64
saw
th
e to
wn
’s w
orst
min
ing
dis
aste
r w
hen
nin
e m
iner
s, t
he
you
nge
st o
nly
12
year
s ol
d, f
ell t
o th
eir
dea
ths
at t
he
Bri
ck K
iln
Lea
sow
e P
it.
Th
e 20
th c
entu
ry w
as a
tim
e of
dec
lin
e fo
r th
e ol
d in
du
stri
es
and
bro
ugh
t a
chan
ge o
f st
atu
s fo
r th
e to
wn
. T
he
last
Mad
eley
p
it (
Kem
bert
on o
n H
ales
fiel
d)
clos
ed in
19
67
and
th
e sa
me
dec
ade
saw
Mad
eley
bec
ome
par
t of
Daw
ley
(lat
er T
elfo
rd)
New
Tow
n.
Th
e en
d o
f th
e 19
60
s sa
w t
he
rebu
ild
ing
of t
he
cen
tre
and
th
e co
nst
ruct
ion
of
the
new
est
ates
of
Sutt
on H
ill
and
Woo
dsi
de.
At
the
begi
nn
ing
of t
he
21st c
entu
ry y
et a
not
her
m
akeo
ver
is u
nd
erw
ay (
200
9).
Ma
de
ley
He
rita
ge
Tra
il
Ma
de
le
yP
ar
ish
Co
un
Cil
Woo
dsi
de
Su
tton
Hill
Halesfield
MADEL
EYL
ivin
gH
isto
ryPr
oject
Ho
w t
o g
et
to M
ad
ele
y
Mad
eley
Liv
ing
His
tory
Pro
ject
wou
ld li
ke t
o th
ank
Mag
gie
Hu
mp
hry
, wh
o d
id t
he
illu
stra
tion
s, a
nd
all
th
e p
eop
le w
ho
con
trib
ute
d in
form
atio
n f
or t
he
trai
l.
Jun
e 20
09
2622 23 25
27
242117
18 201614
15
1
4
219
65
3
98
710
11
12
31
29
28
13
32
30
1 Anstice Memorial Institute
2 Little Haye
3 Rest Room
4 Infant School
5 The Green (Crosshill)
6 Six Bells
7 National School
8 Old Vicarage
9 St. Michael’s Church
10 Upper House & ‘King Charles Barn’
11 Madeley Hall
12 Congregational Chapel
13 Old Cinema
14 War Memorial
15 Fletcher Memorial Centre
16 Polly Pritchard’s shop
17 Jubilee House
18 Baptist Chapel
19 Madeley Stores
20 St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church
21 CHEC Centre
22 61-65 High Street
23 Lumley Hall
24 The People’s Centre
25 The Royal Oak
26 Madeley High Street
27 Madeley Market Station
28 Stretch of Shropshire Canal
29 Lee Dingle Bridge
30 Baguley’s Wind
31 All Nations Inn
32 Madeley Court
Madeley
1. Anstice Memorial Institute. 1868to an Italianate design by John Johnston of London in memory of John Anstice of the Madeley
Wood Company. Cost £3000 but burnt down four years later and
rebuilt at cost of a further £2000. Interesting interior including decorative turned woodwork.
2. Little Haye. Probable medieval timber-framed 2 bay hall with 17th and 18th century additions.
3. Rest Room. Localphilanthropist Robert Moore’s gift to Madeley. Moore’s original
Rest Room, opposite Anstice Memorial Institute, demolished to
make way for shopping centre in 1966.
4. Infant School. Built 1833 as first Methodist Chapel in Madeley. Used as Wesleyan schoolroom for poor children from 1841. Became C of E infants school in 1853. Closed in 1950s and now a private residence.
5. The Green (Crosshill) Site of a barn used by John Fletcher’s widow Mary as a preaching venue. There is a memorial stone at the corner nearest the church. Site occupied by six cottages until 1930s.
6. Six Bells Named after the then peal of bells in St. Michael’s. The right-hand end was once a shop owned by the Newbrook family.
7. National School. 1841. Sexes were separated with girls upstairs and
boys downstairs. Later used for juniors until 1980s.
8. Old Vicarage. High status red brick building of c. 1700. Windows possibly painted to avoid window tax. John Fletcher lived here. The present vicarage was the curate’s house.
9. St. Michael’s Church. Original church built 12th centuryand may have replaced earlier Saxon structure. Rebuilt 1796 to a design by Thomas Telford.Recently-restored Brooke memorials are sited on the outside of the building. Graveyard contains many fascinating monuments and probably the best
collection of cast-iron memorials in the country including Fletcher’s grave and that of the ‘9 Men of Madeley’. Recently restored interior.
10. Upper House & ‘King Charles Barn’. Early 17th
century timber-framed. Probably built 1621 for Wolfe family who sheltered Charles II in the house barn after the battle of Worcester. Later inhabited by the Legge
family followed by W.G. Dyas one of Madeley’s sporting heroes. The barn was used as a local market in 18th century and is now private flats.
11. Madeley Hall. High status red brick building of 17th century date. The Rotunda (formerly known as ‘the Cockpit’) was probably a horse mill. Home of the Yate family in 19th century. Major ‘Cal’ Yate (son of a former vicar of Madeley) won the VC in 1914 at Le Cateau. Sir Charles Yate founded the first Madeley Scouts in 1926 (Sir Charles Yate’s Own). Now sheltered housing.
12. Congregational Chapel. Built 1874. Later the United Reform Chapel. The War Memorial used to stand outside on a spot originally occupied by a tree planted 1888 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Silver Jubilee.
Chestnut trees mark the original road back to Church St.
13. Old Cinema. Built 1859 as a New Connexion Chapel. Closed early 1900s and became a cinema (the Parkhurst, later the West End, later the Regent). Now a private house. Upper end of Park St. and Park Lane contain a number of fine houses once inhabited by men who operated local pits under ‘charter’ from the landowners. Part of the area was once known as ‘Chartermasters’ Row’. Part of lower end of Park St. known was known locally as Malt House Bank after the malting house which stood up the hill on the left.
14. War Memorial. Relocatedto present position during 1960s redevelopment at the request of the British Legion.
15. Fletcher Memorial Centre. Wesleyan Chapel built 1841. Named after Revd. John Fletcher, Vicar of Madeley and one of the founding fathers of Methodism.
16. Polly Pritchard’s shop. Sweetshop whose owner was notorious for cutting sweets in
half to get the right weight.
17. Jubilee House. Originally Market Hall built 1870.Later a nut and bolt factory (Arcade Press Works later Jubilee Nut & Press Works). Parish Council Offices since 1997. Barclays Bank and Lloyds Bank were both private houses while the Florists used to be Bryans – a high class tailor & outfitter.
18. Baptist Chapel Foundation stone laid 1819.
19.MadeleyStores. Childhood home of Matthew Webb pioneering Channel swimmer.
20. St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. Built 1853 and one of the earliest Catholic Churches to be built in Shropshire. Preceded by a ‘Mass House’ now forming part of the presbytery.
21. CHEC Centre. Originallythe Coopers Arms. The upper part was used as a police station by the end of WWI and the lower part was occupied by a boot and shoe manufacturer later Clissoles shoe shop.
22. 61 – 65 High Street. Earliestpart reputed to have been built around 1570 and has a timber-framed core. Much restoration and later additions. At one time divided into five cottages converted into a single residence in 1980s.
23. Lumley Hall. Built 1858 as Madeley Court House. Main role was debt recovery. Service transferred to Wellington in 1950. Used as temporary meeting place
for local Baptists in 1858. In 1950s used by St. Michael’s as a church hall (popularly known as ‘St. Mick’s). Also used as base for St. John Ambulance Brigade. In late 1960s it was nearly demolished but bought by TDC to provide facilities for young people. A youth club flourished for a time and the Careers Service had a brief presence there. In late 70s the Telford Amateur Boxing Club transferred its HQ there and the centre’s music focus began to develop. Fascinating interior but in poor state of repair.
24. The People’s Centre. Built 1862 as a Primitive Methodist Chapel famous for its magnificent organ. Fell into disuse in 1977 then opened as drop-in centre for unemployed in 1981.Since 1987 under local authority and community facility expanded. There is a well over 10m deep in the basement but it is not true that the basement (currently housing a print shop) was used for the storage of bodies – it was the Sunday School!
25. The Royal Oak. Licensed in 1831 its large function room provided space for various groups and
activities. From 1847 until Lumley Hall opened in 1858 court sessions were held there. Madeley Cycling Club was formed there in 1896 and the Royal Oak Lodge of the Odd Fellows was founded by 1900. Ceased to function as a pub in 2009.
26. Madeley High Street. Part of the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site. Lower end of High Street originally known as Bridge St. probably from the old bridge which took the road across the Shropshire Canal. Later an iron girder bridge carried the Wellington to Coalport branch line (route of the ‘Coalport Dodger’).The present bridge forms part of the route of the Silkin Way.Bridge St., Prince St. and Queen St., used to be known as ‘Neck End’ – apparently from the butchery term for cheaper, poorer quality meat implying this was the rougher, less desirable, end of town.
27. Madeley Market Station. One of two Madeley stations and opened 1860 built by Christopher Baguley landlord of the All Nations Inn. The line was run by the Coalport Branch Railway and later by LNWR. It ran from Wellington
through the eastern side of the parish to Coalport East. In 1929 became part of LMS. On this line the famous ‘Coalport Dodger’ carried many locals down to picnic on banks of the Severn. Closed to passengers in 1952 and goods yard in 1960. Line is now part of the Silkin Way.At canal end of Mill Lane was Mill House next to the Wash Brook Corn Mill. Lane used to be known as Barker’s Lane after Dr. Barker the 18th century inventor of that type of mill. Mill ceased working in the early 20th century and all trace is now gone. Barker’s Court preserves the inventor’s name.
28. Stretch of Shropshire Canal. Built c.1790. Fell into disuse early 20th
century. This is the only surviving stretch of the canal in the parish outside Blists Hill Museum.
29. Lee DingleBridge. Builtc.1859 to replace an earlier timber viaduct and used to carry coal, clay & ironstone from the Meadow Pit Colliery and others. No longer used for original
function by c. 1920 but used by pedestrians until the mid-20th century
30. Baguley’s Wind. Inclinedplane associated with Meadow Pit Colliery and others. Mid-19th
century date but replaced an earlier tramroad dating from 1830s or earlier.
31. All Nations Inn. Licensed1832 and tenanted for a time by the Baguley family who were also builders and responsible for
construction of some of the nearby industrial remains. The All Nations still brews its own ale despite one gap in the practice. They had a famous quoits team which included Mike Evans the All England quoits champion in the early 20th century.
