Madeley Town Centre Evening walk with Pam (1)
Evening walk with my friend Pam
Madeley is recorded in the Domesday Book, having been founded before the 8th century. Historically, Madeley's industrial activity has largely been in mining, and later, manufacturing, which is still a large employer in the town, along with service industries. Parts of the parish fall within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ironbridge Gorge, the site of The Iron Bridge, and a key area in the development of Industry.
The settlement of Madeley is recorded as far back as the Domesday Book. The town was founded prior to the 8th century, and subsequently became a market town in the 13th century.
Sigward, a local ruler in the time of King Ethelbald of Mercia, is said to have held 3 hides of land at Madeley.[2] Between 727 and 736 he sold his holdings to Mildburh, daughter of Merewalh, sub-king of the Magonsæte. She was the founder and first head of Wenlock Abbey. The monastery was refounded as a Cluniac priory after the Norman conquest but the manor of Madeley belonged to the church of Wenlock, throughout the Middle Ages, until the Dissolution of the monasteries. It passed to the Crown in 1540 and in 1544 was sold to Robert Broke, a prominent lawyer and politician from Claverley.
Mining of coal began before 1322, and the extraction of ironstone had begun by 1540.[3]
The town played a role in the English Civil War, as it was home to a garrison of Royalist soldiers in 1645, although this post was abandoned after the fall of Shrewsbury. Two months later, Paliamentary forces occupied the parish church.[3] Madeley is also home to a barn in which King Charles II hid after the Battle of Worcester in 1651.[4]
In the 17th century, Madeley was a small market town, but local tradesmen began to specialise, working in the river trade and in mining. In the 18th century, The Iron Bridge was built between Madeley Wood and Coalbrookdale and the settlement of Ironbridge grew by it, which took some of the commercial trade away from the old town of Madeley, including its market.
Residents of the town of Madeley have included Sir Basil Brooke of Madeley Court, who was instrumental in the Industrial Revolution. He was born in the local manor (which he later inherited) in 1576. His grandfather, Robert Brooke, was a former Speaker of the House of Commons.[19] John William Fletcher, an English divine, originally from Switzerland, was the vicar of the parish of Madeley in the 18th century.[20] Major Charles Allix Lavington Yate VC, is another former resident of the town, who earned the Victoria Cross in the First World War.[21] He was kinsman of Colonel Sir Charles Yate, 1st Baronet, (1849-1940) British soldier and administrator in India, who retired to Madeley Hall and is buried in the parish churchyard.
Billy Wright, the former captain of Wolves and the England football team, attended Madeley Senior School (which is now the Abraham Darby Academy).[22] Rob Edwards a current Wolves and Wales full-back, was born in the town, in 1982.
Madeley Town Centre Evening walk with Pam (1)
Evening walk with my friend Pam
Madeley is recorded in the Domesday Book, having been founded before the 8th century. Historically, Madeley's industrial activity has largely been in mining, and later, manufacturing, which is still a large employer in the town, along with service industries. Parts of the parish fall within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ironbridge Gorge, the site of The Iron Bridge, and a key area in the development of Industry.
The settlement of Madeley is recorded as far back as the Domesday Book. The town was founded prior to the 8th century, and subsequently became a market town in the 13th century.
Sigward, a local ruler in the time of King Ethelbald of Mercia, is said to have held 3 hides of land at Madeley.[2] Between 727 and 736 he sold his holdings to Mildburh, daughter of Merewalh, sub-king of the Magonsæte. She was the founder and first head of Wenlock Abbey. The monastery was refounded as a Cluniac priory after the Norman conquest but the manor of Madeley belonged to the church of Wenlock, throughout the Middle Ages, until the Dissolution of the monasteries. It passed to the Crown in 1540 and in 1544 was sold to Robert Broke, a prominent lawyer and politician from Claverley.
Mining of coal began before 1322, and the extraction of ironstone had begun by 1540.[3]
The town played a role in the English Civil War, as it was home to a garrison of Royalist soldiers in 1645, although this post was abandoned after the fall of Shrewsbury. Two months later, Paliamentary forces occupied the parish church.[3] Madeley is also home to a barn in which King Charles II hid after the Battle of Worcester in 1651.[4]
In the 17th century, Madeley was a small market town, but local tradesmen began to specialise, working in the river trade and in mining. In the 18th century, The Iron Bridge was built between Madeley Wood and Coalbrookdale and the settlement of Ironbridge grew by it, which took some of the commercial trade away from the old town of Madeley, including its market.
Residents of the town of Madeley have included Sir Basil Brooke of Madeley Court, who was instrumental in the Industrial Revolution. He was born in the local manor (which he later inherited) in 1576. His grandfather, Robert Brooke, was a former Speaker of the House of Commons.[19] John William Fletcher, an English divine, originally from Switzerland, was the vicar of the parish of Madeley in the 18th century.[20] Major Charles Allix Lavington Yate VC, is another former resident of the town, who earned the Victoria Cross in the First World War.[21] He was kinsman of Colonel Sir Charles Yate, 1st Baronet, (1849-1940) British soldier and administrator in India, who retired to Madeley Hall and is buried in the parish churchyard.
Billy Wright, the former captain of Wolves and the England football team, attended Madeley Senior School (which is now the Abraham Darby Academy).[22] Rob Edwards a current Wolves and Wales full-back, was born in the town, in 1982.