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 UNESCOWorld Heritage Site of Ironbridge Gorge, the site of The Iron Bridge, and a key area in the development of Industry.
History
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.
Mining of coal began before 1322, and the extraction of ironstone had begun by 1540.[3]
In 1645, during the English Civil War, the town was home to a garrison of Royalist soldiers. The post was abandoned after the fall of Shrewsbury, and two months later Parliamentary forces occupied the parish church.[3] After the Battle of Worcester in 1651, King Charles II hid in a barn adjoining Upper House in Church Street.[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 north end of The Iron Bridge was built between Madeley Wood and Broseley 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.
Nevertheless, as an important part of the Coalbrookdale Coalfield, Madeley was home to nearly 100 known and named pits in the old Madeley parish with coal mining continuing until the early 1900s.[5] In 1864, the Brick Kiln Leasow mine, mined for ironstone that was used to feed the furnaces at Blists Hill, witnessed a tragic accident that claimed the lives of nine miners. The victims are remembered today as the Nine Men of Madeley.[6]
Madeley Court Gatehouse
In the 1970s, significant construction of new housing and recreation areas was undertaken by the Dawley Development Corporation, later known as the Telford Development Corporation, as part of the development of Telford New Town.[3]
Madeley is located within the civil parish and ward of the same name. The ward is within the Telfordconstituency, which since the May 2024 general election has been represented by Labour MP, Shaun Davies.
Madeley Town Council covers the town of Madeley and the neighbouring residential areas of Sutton Hill and Woodside, plus the industrial areas of Halesfield and Tweedale.[8] There are four electoral wards, namely, Academy[9] (which elects one councillor), Cuckoo Oak[10] (five councillors), Madeley Village[11] (five councillors) and Woodside[12] (six councillors).[13] Following the 2023 local government election, at which all seats were uncontested, the composition of Madeley Town Council was 14 Labour councillors and one Independent with two seats vacant.[14]
The town is administered at borough level by Telford and Wrekinunitary authority, and is represented as part of the Madeley and Sutton Hill ward by 2 Labour and 1 Conservative councillor.
The parish of Madeley formerly incorporated Ironbridge, which has since become part of the new parish of The Gorge.
Madeley is situated in the southern part of the new town of Telford, to the north of Ironbridge and the River Severn. Coalport, a part of the parish of Madeley can be found to the west of the town, and the modern Telford Town Centre is north of the settlement. The local area has reserves of coal and ironstone.[15]
At the 2001 census, the population of the parish of Madeley was 17,935. Of this number, 8,190 were economically active, and of them, 7,477 were in employment. The ethnicity of the population was as follows: 96% of the population was found to be White, and 1.9% Asian, or Asian British. 1.3% of the population was mixed race, 0.6% Black or Black British and a further 0.2% Chinese.[17]
In terms of religion: 77% of the population are Christian, and 14.4% are of no religion. 0.7% of the population are Muslim, 0.5% are Sikh, 0.3% are Hindu, and 0.1% are Buddhist.[18]
Economy
Historically, Madeley was a mining town serving the now defunct Kemberton Colliery. It was also home to the Madeley Wood Company. By 2001, manufacturing was still a large employer in the town, with 33.1% of parish residents employed in that area. 20.7% were employed in wholesale, retail and hotels, and 11.8% in finance and business services. 5.3% of residents were unemployed.[19]
Transport
The B4373 runs through the town, and the A4169 runs along its northern edge. The nearest motorway is the M54, which connects Telford to the West Midlands conurbation and the rest of the motorway network. Most bus services are provided by Arriva Midlands, and a community bus service is provided.[20]
Near Madeley is Madeley Junction, a railway junction and its accompanying signal box. The line from this junction runs to Lightmoor Junction, and was used to carry coal to Ironbridge Power Station.[21] The nearest National Rail station to the town is Telford Central. It was also served the Coalport Branch Line from 1860 until 1952. The station remains intact and the former trackbed forms part of the Silkin Way.[22]
Mary Bosanquet Fletcher, one of the first female Methodist preachers, and John William Fletcher, her husband and fellow Methodist who was Vicar of Madeley, had a joint ministry in the parish in the 18th century.[31] John's iron tombstone is in the parish churchyard.[32]
Mary Whitehouse taught art at Madeley Modern School (now the Haberdashers' Abraham Darby) from 1960 to 1964, taking responsibility for sex education. Shocked at the moral beliefs of her pupils, she became concerned about what she and many others perceived as declining moral standards in the British media, especially in the BBC.[34]
Other notable people
John Bromley (died 1717), Anglican-turned-Roman Catholic clergyman and translator, died at Madeley.
Abraham Darby I (1677–1717), pioneering ironmaster, was tenant at Madeley Court where he died.
Richard Reynolds (1735–1816), ironmaster, owned Madeley Court and lived there from 1781 until settling in Bristol 1804.
Abraham Darby III (1750–1789), ironmaster, latter's brother-in-law and former's grandson, owned Madeley Court 1774–81.
James Glazebrook (1744–1803) English cleric, controversialist, and writer, born there.
Edith Mary Pargeter, (best known as Ellis Peters) (1913–1995), English author of history and historical fiction, lived in Madeley from 1956 to her death.[35]
Sports
Matthew Webb (1848–1883), pioneer Channel swimmer, lived in High Street in childhood before family moved to Coalbrookdale.[36]
William Dyas (1872–1940), first-class cricketer, local businessman and councillor representing Madeley on both Wenlock Borough and Shropshire County Councils, born and died there, at Upper House.[37]
Billy Wright (1924–1994) former captain of Wolves and the England football team, attended Madeley Senior School, now Haberdashers' Abraham Darby.[38] Made 490 appearances for Wolves.
Richie Woodhall (born 1968), former boxer, 1988 Summer Olympics light-middleweight bronze medal and WBC super-middleweight champion, attended Abraham Darby School, now Haberdashers' Abraham Darby.
Rob Edwards, (born 1982) former Wolves and Wales full-back, 232 appearances, 111 for Wolves, born there.
^John A. Hargreaves, 'Fletcher , Mary (1739–1815)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2005 accessed 18 March 2017
^"Fearsome Mary and her fight to rid TV of 'filth'". Shropshire Star. 11 October 2021. pp. 20, 29.Report by Toby Neal, part of 'Great Lives' series on Midlands worthies.
^"Great Lives: From working-class roots to literary fame". Shropshire Star. 27 December 2021. pp. 20, 29.Article by Toby Neal, part of series on West Midlands worthies.
^"Death of Alderman W.G. Dyas – Four time Mayor of Wenlock – All-round Sportsman – Played cricket with W.G. Grace". Shrewsbury Chronicle. 19 January 1940. p. 4.
