Most of what follows is true ……

Most of what follows is true ……
Neolithic Madeley (About 4000BC to 2400BC)
Neolithic means ‘New Stone’ and is part of the Holocene Epoch, or Stone Age, and followed the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic. A Neolithic hammer head has been found at Upper Thornhill Farm. A flint arrow head found at the Bar Hill/Round Hollows area.
Celtic Madeley (About 2400BC to 43AD)
The local Celtic Tribe were the Cornovii. The Cornovii tribal lands encompassed the modern county of Shropshire along with considerable portions of southern Cheshire, western Staffordshire, the West Midlands and eastern Clwyd, also including small portions of north-east Powys and northern Hereford & Worcester. No pre-Roman tribal centre has been identified but the tribal lands are absolutely throbbing with Iron-Age hillforts. Despite this profusion of hill-top fortifications the tribe was remarkably aceramic, having no pottery industry to speak of. This points to the Cornovii leading a mainly pastoral lifestyle, where wooden bowls and utensils were used in preference to pottery vessels, which would be more easily broken. The tribe is also remarkable in that it produced no coinage of its own. Ptolemy also tells us the names of the neighbouring tribes: the Brigantes in the north-east, the Coritani to the east, the Dobunni to the south, the Demetae to the west and the Deceangi to the north-west. Other passages in Ptolemy give the ancient names of other geographical features within the territories of the tribe:
• Seteia Aestuarium (River Mersey) – Formed a natural barrier to the north, separating the Cornovii from the Brigantes tribe.
• Deva Fluvius (River Dee) – Flowed north-westwards through the northern part of the canton, upon which was sited the legionary fortress of Deva (Chester).
• Trisantona Fluvius (River Trent) – Flowed through the tribe’s north-eastern borderlands. This river was not actually mentioned by Ptolemy but was noted in the Annales of Cornelius Tacitus (XII.xxxi).
• Sabrina Fluvius (River Severn) – Flowed eastwards then southwards through the tribal heartlands, passing close outside the walls of the tribal capital
• The Cornovii had many Hillforts, one of the largest and most populous being on the Wrekin in Shropshire, overlooking the eventual site of the Romano-British tribal capital. The eventual size of Viroconium is inconsistent with the estimated size of the population. Extrapolated from the number of known pre-Roman settlements the area, the archaeological evidence suggests a much more sparsely populated region. estimated population is much less than is suggested. It is possible therefore, that the bulk of the population lived in dwellings such as timber cabins without stone foundations, which are very difficult to find using current archaeological methods.
The tribe had no coinage and no distinctive metalwork, with what little pottery they had being imported from the Malvern hills region. There are some sites however, where local potteries have been found, such as the Berth and Breidden hillforts, and possibly Credenhill in the west. The other significant cultural detail is the manner of defences and gateways in hillforts on both sides of the Severn, and linked to those of the Wye valley in the south.
It has been suggested that the lack of metal and fine pottery finds is indicative that the Cornovii were not the most wealthy of Celtic peoples. They had a mostly pastoral economy, tho’ some cultivation of cereal crops occurred in the river valleys. These lowland areas were populated by peasants who paid tribute to local lords in thier lofty citadels, in cattle and in grain.Their capital was The Wrekin. The Wrekin was first used as a round barrow in the Bronze Age. It was first fortified in about 400 BC and the sides were artificially steepened to strengthen the defences. It stands 1350 ft (411 metres) high and covers approximately 10 hectares.. It had entrances at the east and west and these were protected by stone guard houses. It is thought that the Madeley area would be thinly populated at the time. A Bronze Age spear head has been found at Stonylow. A Quern has been found at Old Manor Farm.
Roman Madeley (About 43AD to about 440AD)
The Romans first came to this area in about 48AD when the XX Legion occupied Chester. The Legion established themselves at Uriconium, or Oriconion (the Roman name of The Wrekin). The Romans moved the Celtic tribe four miles away to Viroconium Cornoviorum. The Romans later moved to a new centre at Wroxeter.
After some initial resistance, the Cornovii coexisted with the Romans.
A Roman Fort was built at Chesterton and a Roman Road ran from there, across Knutton Heath, along Pepper Street to a highway at Keele. Then past Agger Hill (an Agger is a Roman Embankment which formed the foundation of a Roman Road) to Madeley Heath. Here it connected with a road from Manchester to Condate (Kinderton). This road entered Staffordshire at Balterley, passed under the site of Heleigh Castle and went on through Madeley to Maer, Ashley, Eccleshall and on to Uriconium.
(There is a theory that Madeley is the location of a lost Roman town of Mediolano or Mediolanum but no Roman dwellings have ever been found locally.)
In 1817, two urns of Roman coins were found at a farm in Little Madeley. See 1817 for more information.
There is some evidence that the Romans also mined coal in the Leycett area.
In a field called Cheshire Meadow Field, the Victorians found foundations of a building, carving and moulded stone work. In an adjoining field, called Wall Croft, a deep fosse (a canal ditch or trench) and vallum (a rampart and stockade, used for defence) were found.
In Madeley Field an entrenchment was found in 1871, Roman pottery, corroded pieces of iron and an iron fibula (brooch or clasp) were found. Nearby is a hollow, which was paved with large boulders and traces of roads and buildings were said to exist under the fields. At Ovenden, a circular leaden case 16 or 18 inches across, and 9 inches in depth, was found. It is possibly a sepulchral, or funeral, urn case but it is doubtful if it is Roman.
Anglo-Saxon Madeley (About 440AD to 1066AD)
Madeley is derived from the Saxon, Madanlieg, meaning ‘a clearing in the woods belonging to Mada’ (Mada is a female Saxon name).
975 – King Eadgar granted 3 hides of land (about 360 acres) at Madeley to Aethelwold, Bishop of Winchester.

There is a further charter with a boundary clause which remains unrelated to the above groups – this is the charter of Madeley given by King Edgar to bishop Aethelwold of Winchester in AD 975, the bounds of which are discussed by Hart:

King Edgar to Aethelwold, bishop; grant of 3 mansae at Madeley, AD. 975, with rights in pascuis. Silvis. Voti campos …; s. 801, B.1312.

Dis syndon pa land gemaero to madan leage aerest on witena leage in eardel of eardele in wrinan ford of wriman forda ondlong broces on hedenan mos of hedenan mose ymbe heafca baece of pan baece on pone hege of pon hege on wilburge wege of poem wege in carsihtan wyll of poem wylle in pa dic of paere dic in p micle mos of poem mose in p sic of poem sice in wierdes ford of wierdes forda on pone hreodihtan mor of pon more in pa haepihtan lege of paere lege in pa hyrste on pa ge’e’atan ac of paere ac in p sic of poem sice eft on witena leage:

1. First to the wood or clearing of the witan (counselors); this lay at the meeting point of the boundaries of Checkley cum Wrinehill, Woore & Madeley, the meeting point also of the counties of Cheshire, Shropshire & Staffordshire, as noted by Hart (NENM 95);
2. ‘from the wood or clearing of the counselors to the eardel’; probably ear & dael ‘clay-dale’. P.Kirton points out that the dael with single ‘l’ was the normal northern form; the vowel would have been altered by the 11th Century Winchester scribe perhaps by e/ae confusion, perhaps to conform with the familiar southern dell;
3. from the clay-dale to wriman ford; possibly a stream-name derived from OE wrigian ‘tend, go forward, bend’ (E.Ekwell, EPN 539); the name is preserved in that of Wrinehill and Wrinehill Bridge, while Hart (ibid.) notes le wrineford in 1322;
4. ‘from wriman ford along the brook to Hedena’s moss (marsh’,
5. ’from Hedena’s moss around hawk batch (stream)’,
6. ‘from the batch to the hedge’,
7. ‘from the hedge to Wilburh’s way’,
8. ‘from Wilburh’s way to the watercress spring’; the headwaters of the brook flowing north-westwards;
9. ‘from the spring to the dyke’
10. ‘from the dyke to the great marsh’
11. ‘from the marsh to the watercourse’; at the south-eastern boundary of the parish
12. ‘from the watercourse to wierdes ford’, (probably Wigheard’s ford);
13. ‘from wierdes ford to the reedy marsh’; the name of the marsh may be preserved in that of Radwood Farm;
14. ‘from the marsh to the heathy leah (clearing)
15. ‘from the clearing to the wooded hillock’,
16. ‘to the great oak’, there are oaks on the boundary here today;
17. ‘from the oak to the watercourse’,
18. ‘from the watercourse again to the wood or clearing of the counsellors’.

Madanlieg / madan leage is ‘Mada’s leah’ (E’ Ekwall, EPN 310)

The grant refers to the River Lea and Checkley Brook and Wrinehill, but also to a Great Moss, which is possibly the area of the current Moss Estate. If so, it is the first written record of any area of modern day Madeley. King Eadgar (944-75) was King of the English. He was the younger son of King Edmund of Wessex and was made King of Northumbria and Mercia in 957. In 959 on his brother Eadwig’s death, he succeeded him as King of Wessex. He recalled St Dunstan from exile and made him Archbishop of Canterbury. In 973 he received the submission of all the kings of Britain who ceremonially rowed him on the River Dee. He accepted the Danelaw. His first wife had a son, Edward the Martyr, his second wife, Aelfryth had Athelred II, the Unready.
Madeley in the Middle Ages (After 1066)
After The Battle of Hastings in 1066, Robert de Tosny, or Tonei, was granted land in Staffordshire, including Madeley, by William The Conqueror. Tosny was based at Stafford where his name became Robert de Stafford and then, Lord Stafford. His father had been a standard bearer at The Battle of Hastings.
1086 – The Domesday Book: Before the Norman Conquest, the landowner in Madeley was named as Swain. Later, at the time of the Domesday Book, the chief tenant in Madeley was ‘Ulviet’.
In the Domesday Book, Madeley had land for 4 plough teams and the woodland covered 2160 acres.
Heighley is Anglo-Saxon for High Lea, or a high clearing, and in the Domesday Book, it had land for one plough and was held by Alward.
The Stafford’s built the first manor at Madeley. This was added to and fortified. It was said to resemble Stokesay Castle in Shropshire.
English Heritage Report on The Manor:
(SJ 77304229) Old Madeley Manor (NR).
Old Manor House remains. Originally a fine and spacious house but only some stonework with an arched doorway survives. Grade II. It was practically destroyed in 1749.
Homestead Moat. Square with moat and four shallow trenches and single moat; part wet – 340′ x 340′. Angle moat, 280′ x 140′ Situated north-east (west) of Madeley Manor ruins.
The ruins of Old Madeley Manor consist of a length of ashlar sandstone walling, 14.0m long, 6.0m in height, containing an arched doorway and fireplace. See ground photograph. The house was surrounded by a rectangular moat, about 105.0m across, E-W, by 95.0m transversely, of which the N arm and most of the W arm survive, the arms being 14.0m in width and 1.5m to 2.0m in depth. The course of the S arm can be traced by a faint depression in the pasture, and of the E arm, the inner slope partially remains extant. The original causewayed entrance at the NE corner, across the N arm, is approached by a raised track, 80.0m in length across low-lying ground to the N. To the W of the moated site are four rectangular fishponds, two lying along the S side and two, along the E side of a sub-square enclosure. The ponds average 10.0m in width and 1.2m in depth, two are 32.0m in length and two are 46.0m in length, and all four are contained within a broad, flat-topped retaining bank of spoil, 25.0m in width, 0.5m in average height. All are dry, or boggy in places. Published 1:2500 survey revised.
A moated site comprising a rectangular moat, with south and east sides now filled in, and two possible fishponds running parallel to the west and south sides . Hammer describes it as a double moated site. Licence to crenellate was granted in 1348 and there is later reference to the Old Manor House in 1422-3, which may indicate that the house was falling into disuse at the time. The south half of the entrance gateway survives in the east half of the enclosure as a red sandstone wall of unknown date. This consists of a double-chamfered arch flanked by a pillar with capital and voussoir on the exterior face, and a portcullis slot. Traces of further buildings can be detected west of the gatehouse.
SJ 773423. The entrance gateway to Old Madeley was recorded for the D.O.E., prior to consolidation, in Aug. 1979. The site comprises a rectangular moat (the south and east sides now filled in) and two possible fish ponds running parallel to the west and south ditches. A well of red sandstone. 5.76m. long and 4.68m. high, comprised the south half of the entrance gateway. The date of this surviving masonry is unknown; traces of further buildings are detectable west of the gatehouse. (8-10). Scheduled as a secular building.
Old Madeley Manor. Manor house, remains of . Medieval probably 15th.c. or early-16th c. Coursed red sandstone. Only a fragment of of walling survives to a maximum height of just over 3.0m. Impressive moats or fishponds lie to the north and west and other earthworks. Scheduled Ancient Monument. Listed Grade 2.
SJ 7730 4229 (GCE) site of former moated manor house and gardens of Old Madeley Manor are as described by the above Authorities. In addition, a building platform was noted on the N side of the valley which could simply represent a former field barn, but more probably was the site of a lodge or temple overlooking the manorial gardens.

The above description is summarised from a detailed level 3 RCHME 1:1000 scale survey conducted in July 1991. The results of the survey are held in the NMR archive. (14)
The site of the former Old Madeley Manor is marked by a standing
fragment of sandstone walling of late medieval date that was
incorporated into the 16th-century country house of the Offley
family. The elaborate earthworks surrounding the site of the house,
that are notable for their deployment and manipulation of water, are
contemporary with its occupation in the 16th and 17th centuries. The
house was abandoned as a family residence in the 18th century.
RCHME’s archaeological survey was undertaken to meet internal
training needs at Keele on a conveniently local site, that was at the
same time seriously misrepresented in existing recording both in
respect of its detailed depiction through field survey and in its
categorisation. The survey extended to the immediate environs of the
house and gardens site, defined generally by the modern land parcel
lying in pasture. Ancillary features recorded in the process included
ridge-and-furrow cultivation, access ways, quarrying, field
boundaries, the reported site of a First World War camp, and a ?mill
leat. A small area of earthworks E of the by-road was also included
and may mark the site of a mill served by the leat (SJ 74 SE 24). A
paper copy of a plan and elevation survey at 1:20 scale of the
standing masonry fragment completed by Dr Jill Collens in 1979 was
obtained from Staffordshire County Council SMR.
The fieldwork was undertaken by RCHME staff – Malcolm Reid, Wayne
Cocroft and Paul Everson – in July 1991 and produced an RCHME level
3 site survey at 1:1000 scale. Survey control was established using
a Wild T1000 electronic theodolite and DI 1000 EDM in conjunction
with a GRE3 data logger. Edited data was plotted on a Calcomp 1042 GT
drum plotter. Archaeological details were surveyed within this
framework using standard graphical methods. The text of the site
account was produced by Malcolm Reid.
The results of the survey have been deposited in the NMR with a
standard RCHME level 3 descriptive and analytical account produced to
accompany the survey drawing. An interim assessment was supplied in
1992 to Dr Margaret Nieke to aid English Heritage’s evaluation of the
site within the MPP programme.
FULL DETAILS USE LINK: http://www.pastscape.org/hob.aspx?hob_id=74533
The Manor was where Madeley Great Park, a deer park, was located. One of the entrance’s was ‘Baldwin’s Gate’, and the parker (a person paid to look after and guard access to the park) would be Baldwin.
The original manor was added to and rebuilt around 1600. The ruins of this manor are now a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and are in a field off Manor Road.
Madeley Church was founded around 1200. (There may have been an earlier Saxon Church on the site) The Tower was built about 1400 (the parapet and pinnacles are modern). The South Porch was extended in the 17th Century. The door is 15th Century. The screen to the pulpit dates from 1635. The pulpit is 17th Century. A 15th Century open-work screen is in the South Aisle.
1216 – Henry de Audley was presented by Henry III with twelve hinds from Cannock forest to stock his deer park at Heighley. The names Cooksgate and Redgate refer to gates to the deer park, and explain why the main road from Bowsey Wood to Wrinehill, curves sharply at Redgate. The road follows the side of the old deer park.
1227 – A Royal Confirmation Charter shows that Henry de Audley received all the lands of Heleigh from William de Betteley, and all the land under Heleigh from Harvey de Stafford.
1246 – Henry de Audley dies. Hugh de Frodsham, a Kings Serjeant, is appointed constable of Heighley Castle.
1267 – Richard de Casellion is Vicar of Madeley
1271 – The assize Rolls recount two of Lord James Audley’s men , who killed a man in a case of mistaken identity: Geoffrey the Clerk of Lek, William the Chaplain, Thomas the Forester of Lek went to inspect the quarries of the preceptor of Leke in Grytwode. Roger Hyde & Richard, son of Robert the Miller, parkers of Lord James of Audley at Heleigh, fell upon them thinking they had come to steal game and beasts. They laid hold of Geoffrey and cut off his head and carried him to the Castle of Newcastle, and then instantly fled, they are suspected and are in the exigent and outlawed.
1272 – Simon de Mapham is Vicar of Madeley
1272 – Madeley Great Park is first mentioned in records. John de Whitmore, Lord of the Manor of Whitmore, surrendered to Nicholas de Stafford, Lord of the Manor of Madeley, 63 acres of land and 3 acres of woodland in exchange for pasture for 16 oxen in Madeley Park. The Park was probably in existence by about 1204, if it had existed earlier, it would have shown in the Pipe Rolls (these were records of accounting of the Exchequer Court with the sheriffs of each county for revenues which they had collected and were bound to hand over to the Treasury. They were called Pipe Rolls after their shape, which helped their preservation).
1293 – A document mentions that Madeley has an iron foundry, with wood and charcoal supplied from the park.
Late 13th Century – Adam, son of Lusi of Betley, is killed by a stag in Heighley Deer Park. Adam killed the stag before dying.
1293 – William Baldwin, a parker of Madeley is sued by Robert and Petronel Corbet for assault. Baldwin may have given his name to Baldwin’s Gate, which would be one of the entrance’s to the Park.
Circa 1302 – Detail from Parliamentary Deeds:
– Grant by William son of William Cotyn of Madeley toRichard de Verney of the same of 2a. land in the fee of Madeley, with ingress and egress to ‘le Mulnemor.’ Madeley under Lyme, Monday after St. Giles, 8 Edward [I].
– Grant by Richard son of Simon Cotin of Maddeleg’ toWilliam Cotin of a moiety of the land which he had by descent,of Simon his father except the capital messuage, for which the said William is to have la. land (unam acram terre regal’) beyond his portion; at a yearly rent of 22d.; for this William gave him 5 marks beforehand.
– Grant by Richard de Verney to William Cotin of land adjoining Pecochysrudyng in the fee of Madeleg’ in exchange for ½a.land in the said fee
– Grant by John Balle and Alice his wife to Hugh son of William de Chaueldon of all the land of two fields on either side of the sluice (doitum) running from the lord of Madeleye’s mill, which descended to them after the death of Nicholas Cotyn with reversion of dower in the same.
– Quitclaim by Ademet de Onileg and Nicholas his eldest’ son to Thomas son of Simon Cotyn of Madeleyg of all their right in lands which Phipota daughter of Robert de Onyleg’ and the said Thomas had by the gift of the said Simon, in the fee of Madeleyg except land in ‘le Rowefoldes’ between land of Richard de Verney called’ Poweruding,’ &c. Witnesses:—Robert de Dutton, knight, andothers (named). Madeley under Lyme, Sunday before St. Chad the bishop, 15 Edward II.
– Grant, by Margery late the wife of William Cotin widow with the consent of Thomas her son and heir, to Sir John de Hauekeston,knight, of land and wood pledged to him by the said William.Witnesses:— Sir John, vicar of Madeleye, and others (named).Madeleye, Saturday the feast of Holy Innocents, 33 Edward III.Seal.
– Grant by Lettice late the wife of William Mulward of Kell to William son of John Heth of Kell of a messuage and land late of Adam son of Richard de Whytemor of Madeley, and land which Adam bought of John son of Richard de Sydewav, in the fee of Madeley under Lyme. Wednesday before St. Lucy, 9 Henry VI. Seal
1303 – Thomas le Hunter is Vicar of Madeley
1320 – Joan, wife of the late Nicholas de Audley complained that men broke into her park at Heleigh and assaulted her men. These were probably Yorkist supporters.
1339 – William, son of John de Bromley, thrust a knife into, and killed, Thomas le Cook of Audley, after a dispute between them in the kitchen at Heighley Castle. John de Whetales, the coroner, ordered Sheriff Musard to arrest William after he had fled. Shortly after, William surrendered and produced The Kings Pardon, for the murder, on account of his good service in the war in France in the retinue of William de Ferle.
1293 – A manufactory of iron was in existence in Madeley. It was operated on behalf of the King, as Lord of the Manor.
1320 – Joan, the widow of Nicholas de Audley complains that some of her men have been attacked in her park at Heighley, probably by Roger, son of Roger de Swynnerton & his followers. In the same year, Roger made complaints that he had been assaulted at Newcastle-under-Lyme on two occasions; by Peter de Limesi, Thomas Tooth, Thomas de Grenewy & Roger de Grenewye and then by Thomas de Warwyk , who had been a clerk to the Countess of Heighley. Then Adam le Hirdeman, Richard de Childerplawe, Richard de Swynnerton & William, son of William the Smith of Chelle set upon Thomas de Warwyk at Newcastle on market day. On another market day, Henry the Clerk to the Countess of Heighley, Henry le Peleter & John de Iselwalle attacked & wounded Agnes, the wife of Robert de Bakhous & Adam, son of Adam de Lanton.
1322 – Rebellion of Earl of Lancaster – the Audley’s supported the Lancastrians, probably because of family ties; the rebellion was quashed & the Audley lands confiscated & Joan is forced to leave Heighley & go to Tutbury Castle. She took seven cartloads of treasure with her – valued at £300 – but the treasure vanished between Tutbury Priory, where she stayed for two days, before going on to the castle.
1330 – James Audley gained control oh Heighley and its lands again.
1340 – John de Grey is Vicar of Madeley
1341 – Ralph, Earl of Stafford procures from King Edward III (1312-1377), a market every Tuesday in Madeley and two annual fairs. One on St George’s Day, April 23rd, and for two days after, and a second on St Leonard’s Day, November 6th, and two days after. Madeley All Saints Church may have previously been dedicated to St Leonard.
1349 – Lord Stafford is allowed to add battlements to Madeley Manor. The King is fighting in France and worried about the loyalty of some of his Barons, but allows loyal followers to fortify their properties.
1349 – Ralph, Lord Stafford, is known to have had 100 cattle, excluding oxen, and 360 sheep on his estate at Madeley Manor.
1349 – Simon de Mundworthe is recorded as a parker for Madeley Great Park.
1349 – Andrew de Asscheburne, William Weston & John Grey are recorded as vicars of Madeley
1356 – John de Assheburn is recorded as vicar of Madeley.
1356 – James Audley serves with the Black Prince in France & is at the Battle of Poitiers. Audley rallied the men when the English line began to falter & led a spectacular charge, leading to an English victory, but was himself badly injured. The Black Prince ordered him to be brought to his own tent and to be cared for. He then retained him as his knight forever with 500 marks each year as reward.
1360 – An argument at Heighley Castle between Thomas the Cook, William, the son of John of Bromley became heated and William stabbed Thomas to death. He fled, fought in France for three years before returning to Heighley with the Kings pardon for good service in the retinue of William de Forde.
1360 – John de Briches is Vicar of Madeley
1369 – Leycett Park originated around this time. The Lord Stafford’s leased it from the Hospitallers Manor at Keele. There is no evidence of deer hunting, but coal mining had begun here by 1401.
1369 – John de Brocton is vicar of Madeley to approx. 1377.
1371 – The first mention in archives of a mill, a water mill and a fulling mill, at Madeley.
1382 – John de Coygon is Vicar of Madeley
1382 – An indenture refers to a forge at Heighley, below the castle.
1386 – James Audley died (he was a Marcher Lord as Heighley Castle was considered in the Marches – the wild lands that separated England & Wales). He is succeeded by his son Nicholas, & leaves him £100, one dozen silver vessels & all the armour for my body. The rest of his armour and chainmail is left to Foulk Fitzwarren & his uncle, Phillip.
1390’s – John Tochet, Baron Audley, sued John, son of James de Thekenes for removing game from his park at Heighley, and fish from his fishery at Betley, to the value of £10. A huge amount in those days. The Thekenes, or Thickness family, lived at Balterley Hall.
1399 – William Gregory of Betley is accused of stealing game at Heleigh.
1399 – The Earl of Stafford sues John de Bromley for diverting water from the stream feeding his water mill at Madeley. At this time only the lord of the manor had the right to build and operate a mill.
1400 – Helen, daughter of Sir John Hawkestone, married William de Egerton. The Hawkestones of Wrinehill line came to an end, and Wrinehill Hall became the seat of the Egerton family.
1401-02 – Robert de Walton is a parker at Madeley Great Park – He may have given his name to Walton’s Wood.
1426 – Hugh Egerton is born, in Wrinehill & at the time described as a parish of Madeley. In 1454 he led 1000 men to Longford, in Derbyshire to kill a Walter Blount, armiger (entitled to bear heraldic arms), and described as a gentleman, late of Madeley. Before surrendering, he obtained a Royal Pardon, and was discharged.
1430 – Richard Hawkyn is vicar of Madeley until 1452. Ancient Deed: Grant by Henry Spurstowe of Spurstowe to Richard le Fleccher, parson of Haselwall, Richard Haukyn, vicar of Madeley, and John de Lebursaght, parson of Bertumley, of his manors ofChetelton and Wryme, and of all his other lands, &c. in the county.Le Wryme, Lady Day, 8 Henry VI. Seal of arms, damaged.
Another Ancient Deed: Letter of attorney by Richard Hawkyn, vicar of the churchof Madeley, authorising Hugh Walker of Madeley and Roger Clerke todeliver seisin to Ralph de Eggerton the elder, esquire”, son of William deEggerton, of the manors of Chetulton co. Stafford, and Wryme co.Cheshire, and of all his other manors and lands &c. in the counties named.Monday before St. Matthias, 30 Henry VI. Portion of seal.
1433-1451 – John Pykkym is a parker at Madeley Great Park.
1433 – Netherset Hey Park is first mentioned. It was probably used as a deer breeding reserve for the Great Park, and no actual deer hunting took place there.
1444 – The Earls of Stafford become the Dukes of Buckingham.
1452 – Robert Davey is vicar of Madeley to 1454.
1454 – Richard Weston is vicar of Madeley to 1479 or possibly later
1459 – Lord Audley and 2400 Lancastrian Supporters are killed at The Battle of Blore Heath by the Earl of Salisbury’s Yorkists.
1469 – Two bloomeries were operating at Heleigh Castle. A bloomery’s output could be 100lb’s of iron per day.
1485 – Thomas Cooke is a parker at Madeley Great Park.
1502-03 – Thomas Chattok is a parker at Madeley Great Park.
1518-19 – Hugh Boughey is a parker at Madeley Great Park.
The Lord Stafford family, through a series of marriages became the Dukes of Buckingham. In 1521, Edmund Stafford, Third Duke of Buckingham (1477-1521) along with other nobility had grown to resent Henry VIII’s (1491-1547) advisor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (c.1475-1530). Wolsey was ‘low born’ and some of the nobility resented his influence with the king. Wolsey’s supporters had Buckingham tried for treason. The charges were listenening to prophesies of the King’s death and of his succession to the crown and that he had expressed an intention to kill Henry VIII. Although the charges were probably false, Henry was jealous of Buckingham, of his Royal descent, his wealth, estates and connections and he was executed at Tower Hill on 17th May 1521. His body was buried in the church of The Austin Friars. All his land and estates became forfeit to the Crown. Reginald Whitacres is appointed parker to Madeley Great Park by the King after the execution of the Duke of Buckingham. The park was used for: deer hunting, stone mining, pannage (pasturage for pigs), rabbits, fishing, turbary (digging for turf or peat), wood, fuel and charcoal.
(Through his father, Buckingham was descended from Edward III’s son, Thomas of Woodstock, and his mother was Catherine Woodville, sister of Edward IV’s queen, Elizabeth. In 1500 he married Alianore, eldest daughter of Henry Percy, IV Earl of Northumberland. They had one son, Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford and three daughters. In 1509, he was made a Lord High Constable. In 1513, he was a Captain in the English Army fighting in France.).
(His father was Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham (1454?-1483). He had led an unsuccessful revolt in favour of Henry VIII’s father, Henry VII, against Richard III, but the revolt failed and he was beheaded on 2nd November 1484. In February 1466, he married Catherine Woodville, daughter of Richard, First Earl Rivers and sister to Edward IV’s queen. She married twice again. By Buckingham, she had 3 sons and 2 daughters).
After his execution, Madeley Manor was leased to Sir Francis Poyntz (d.1528), then to his wife and then to his nephew until 1547.
(Poyntz was the third son of Sir Robert Poyntz (d.1521) who was chancellor to Queen Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), first wife of Henry VIII. With his father’s influence he was an esquire to Henry VIII by 1516, and then attendant to Henry in France in 1520. In 1527, he was sent as an Ambassador to Charles V (1500-1558), Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain to mediate between the Emperor and Francis I (1494-1547) of France. He died of plague in London in June 1528.)
In 1547, Thomas Offley (1505-1582) bought the Manor at Madeley for £1080.00. He was born in Stafford and, aged 12, was sent to school in London. He had a good voice and was a chorister at St. Paul’s Cathedral. He was apprenticed as a merchant tailor and by 1547 was a master of the Merchant Taylors Company. Also, in 1547 he was chosen as an Alderman and in 1553 he was made a Sheriff. In 1556, he was Lord Mayor of London. In the same year, he was knighted by Queen Mary (1516-1558). He is buried at St. Andrew Undershaft Church in London. He had a reputation as a frugal man:
‘Offley three dishes had of daily roast
An egg, an apple, and (the third) a toast.’
He introduced bell men, who would rouse London at night in the event of fire or burglary. He had three sons, but only one, Henry, survived him..
1525 – Randolph Egerton dies and an altar tomb to him, and his wife, Isabella, with angels and monks on the side is built in Madeley Church.
1532 – John Wright is Vicar of Madeley until his death in 1552.
1553 – Roger Levyngton is vicar of Madeley to 1557.
1538 – Heleigh Castle’s owner, the future Lord Audley, asked the king for the grant of Hulton Abbey as he had ‘no house but an old ruinous castle’.
1540 – John Leland, passing through Staffordshire, confirmed that Heleigh Castle had decayed.
1557 – Bardolph Salt is replaced by Ralph Hales as Vicar of Madeley, who remains until 1567.
1567 – Humphrey Steele is Vicar of Madeley until 1575.
1568 – A brass dated this year to John Egerton and his wife is in Madeley Church.
1575 – James Austyn is Vicar of Madeley
1571 – Bloomers are mentioned in the Madeley Parish Register – also in 1587 and 1617, although it may be referring to workmen based at the bloomer at Heighley. A bloomer was a way of making iron. Beside the Mill overlooking the Pool, there was at least one other mill in Madeley. This was in the area known as The Lum, along the river Lea past the sewerage works. Slag has been found here and could be the site of an iron furnace referred to in medieval times. There is no mention of it in a land tax assessment of 1781, so it must have ceased by this time. The road leading to this area is called Furnace Lane, possibly because of the iron smelters there in the past.
1575 – James Austen is vicar of Madeley.
1586 – Peter Ridgway is a miller in Madeley, according to the Parish Register.
1586 – A brass to Robert Hawkins, a scholar of Ridge Hill, who died aged 14, is in Madeley Church
1589 – Robert Morris is Vicar of Madeley until 1613.
1591 – A bloomer is mentioned at Heighley castle.
1613 – Nathanial Royle is Vicar of Madeley until 1635.
1635 – John Jackson is Vicar of Madeley until 1648.
Madeley, The English Civil War (1642-1650) & after
Heighley Castle was the seat of the Lord Audley’s. It was begun by Henry de Audley in 1233. His descendant was the Lord Audley who was killed at the Battle of Blore Heath in 1459 during The Wars of the Roses. In 1644, a Parliamentary Committee in Stafford ordered its destruction to prevent it being garrisoned by Royalists (another version is that it was destroyed by the Royalist Audley family to prevent it falling into Parliamentary Roundhead hands!). It is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument. It is on private land now owned by Lord O’Neill. Before the Second World War, local boy scouts and girl guides held a picnic on the summit on Good Friday.
Three John Offley’s followed Henry Offley, who died in 1613:
Sir John Offley (c1584-1647). In his will, he left endowments that two schoolhouses should be built in Madeley, one for boys and one for girls, and that ten almshouses should be built. The Sir John Offley Primary School was rebuilt in 1875 and 1887 and is a listed building. As is The Offley Almshouses and boundary wall (the Almshouses were extended in 1889 and restored in 1968 and 1987, when modernisation reduced them to eight). He married, Mary, daughter of Thomas Broughton of Broughton Hall.
John Offley (c1617-1658). A friend of Izaak Walton (1593-1683), who dedicated the first edition of his book, ‘The Compleat Angler’ to him. Walton is believed to have fished in Old Madeley Manor’s moat and at Madeley Pool. He was born in Stafford, the son of an inn-keeper. In 1621, he settled in London as an ironmonger and/or linen draper and was friends with John Donne. He retired in 1644. In 1626, he married the great grand niece of Cranmer, and in 1647, Ann Ken, half sister of Thomas Ken. He was said to spend most of his time in the company of the eminent clergymen of England. In 1653, he wrote ‘The Compleat Angler’, or ‘The Contemplative Mans Recreation’. In 1676, the 5th Edition was expanded from 13 to 21 chapters. He also wrote the lives of John Donne (1640), Sir Henry Wotton (1651), Richard Hooker (1665), Richard Herbert (1670) and George Sanderson (1678).
Offley was imprisoned in The Tower Of London from May 1650 to July 1652. He faced charges of supporting and aiding King Charles I (1600-1649) and the Royalist cause during The Civil War, but these were finally discharged.
John Offley (1658-1688) married Anne Crewe of Crewe Hall. The two estates merged and the Manor House at Madeley was eventually abandoned, fell into decay and ruins.
CREWE FAMILY:
John Crew of Nantwich married Alice, daughter of Humphrey Mainwaring of Nantwich. He died in 1598, aged 74.

They had children:
1. Sir Randolph Crewe (1558-1646). Lord Chief Justice of the court of the King’s Bench, Speaker of House of Commons (1624-26) – he built Crewe Hall. In 1598, he married Julian, daughter and co-heir of John Clippesby of Norfolk.
2. Sir Thomas Crew, MP, speaker of the House of Commons and a Serjeant-at-Law.

Randolph & Julian had children:
1. Eldest son was Sir Clippesby Crewe (1599-1648). He married Joan, daughter and co-heir of Sir John Putney of Leicestershire.

Their eldest son was John Crewe of Crewe (1626-1684). He married Carew, daughter of Sir Arthur Gorges of Chelsea.

He was succeeded by his eldest daughter and eventual heir, Ann Crewe (d.1749). She married John Offley of Madeley Manor.
Their children were:
1. Eldest son John Offley, later Crewe, who succeeded to the estates of his maternal grandfather and assumed by Act of Parliament, the name of Crewe. He married Sarah, daughter of Morgan Price of Nantgwared, Co. Brecon.

2. Randulph, Reverend & Rector of Barthomley. He married Ann Read.

John & Sarah’s eldest son was John (d. 1752), he married Ann, daughter of Richard Shuttleworth of Gawthorp, Lancashire.

They had children:

1. John, 1st Baron Crewe.

2. Richard (1749-1814), Major General, he married Nilborough, daughter of Samuel Allpress.

(Richard & Nilborough had children:
i. Richard (b.1816), married 1862, Emma Louise Frederica (d.1878), widow of Capt. H.F.Siddons. Richard was a Colonel in the Madras army.
ii. . Frederick (1825-1858), married 1854, Elizabeth, daughter of Captain F Chamier RN. She married, secondly, 7th Lord Calthorpe in 1862 and she died in 1919.)

3. John Frederick (1788-1840), he married in 1819, Hon. Harriet Smith, daughter of 1st Baron Carrington. She died in 1856. They had one son, Randolph Henry (1825-1879) of Loaks Hill, Buckinghamshire, a barrister, who never married.

4. Willoughby (1792-1850), Reverend & Rector of Mucclestone, in 1816 he married Catherine, daughter of J Harvey. They had two sons who both died unmarried.

John, 1st Baron Crewe’s sisters were:

1. Sarah, she married Obadiah Lane and died in 1814.

2. Elizabeth, she married Dr Hinchcliffe, Bishop of Peterborough.

3. Frances, she married General Watson.

4. Emma, who did not marry.

John, 1st Baron Crewe (1742-1829) married in 1766, Frances, daughter of Fulke Greville of Wilbury in Wiltshire. She died in 1818.

They had children:

Emma, who married in 1809, Foster (d.1850) son of Sir Foster Cunliffe.

John Crewe, 2nd Baron Crewe (1772-1835). In 1807 he married Henrietta Maria Anne (d.1820), daughter of George Walker-Jungerford of Hungerford’s of Cadenham in Wiltshire.

Their children were:
1. Hungerford (1812-1894), who became 3rd Baron Crewe. He died unmarried and was succeeded by his nephew, Robert Offley Ashburton.
2. Henrietta Mary, who died unmarried in 1879.
3. Maria Hungerford who died an infant in 1812.
4. Annabella Hungerford (d.1874). In 1851 she married Richard Monckton-Milnes, 1st Lord Houghton.

Richard & Annabella had children:

1. Robert Offley Ashburton (d.1885) – he succeeded his uncle, Hungerford & became 2nd Baron Houghton and Earl and Marquess of Crewe.
2. Amicia Henrietta (d.1902), in 1881, she married Sir Gerald Fitzgerald (d.1912) KCMG.

3. Florence Ellen Hungerford (d. 1923), in 1882 she married Major-General the Hon. Arthur Henry Henniker.

Robert Offley Ashburton had an only son, Robert Offley Ashburton Milnes (b.1858), later Crewe-Milnes, 2nd Baron Houghton, Earl of Crewe, Earl of Madeley & Marquess of Crewe. He married, in 1880, Sybil Marcia (d.1887), daughter of Sir Frederick Graham of Netherby.
They had children:
1. Richard Charles Rodes (1882-1890)
2. Annabel Hungerford (b.1881). she married Captain Hon. A.E.B. O’Neill in 1902 and then Major Dodds in 1922.
3. Celia Hermione (b.1884), she married in 1906, Sir Edward Clive Coates.
4. Helen Cynthia (b.1884), in 1908, she married Hon. George Charles Colville
(Celia & Helen were twins)

The Holborn area of Madeley was named by the Offley family after the area of London of the same name, where they owned land, and from which they received rental income.
1645 – John Cradock, a bailiff of Lord Gerrard, who lived near Audley, was killed when he and his horse fell into a coalpit in Leycett, returning from Newcastle Market.
1647 – The Old Hall, a listed building, has this date and the legend, ‘Wallk knave, what lookest at.’ The Old Hall was originally a farm house.
1651 – Michael Richards is Vicar of Madeley
1652 – Daniel Littler is Vicar of Madeley
1664 – William Lownes is Vicar of Madeley until 1692.
1680 – The iron furnace at Heighley closed around this time. Coke fired furnaces caused the closure of charcoal fired furnaces.
1686 – Robert Plot publishes his ‘Natural History Of Staffordshire’, which has a drawing of the first Madeley Manor House. (Copies of this book are in Newcastle Library Reference Section) Plot says that there was a forge in Madeley at this time, where William Chetwynd of Rugeley cast hollow garden rollers.
1692 – Charles Shaw is Vicar of Madeley until 1702.
1694 – Celia Fiennes noted that Heighley Castle had ‘ ruinated walls’. Celia Fiennes (7 June 1662 – 10 April 1741) was an English traveller. Born in Wiltshire, she was the daughter of an English Civil War Parliamentarian Colonel, who was in turn the second son of the William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele. Celia Fiennes died in Hackney in 1741. She never married. In 1691 she moved to London, where she had a married sister. She travelled around England on horseback between 1684 and about 1703
1702 – Thomas Jenkinson is Vicar of Madeley until 1723.
1716 – An agreement between John, Lord Crewe and Daniel Cotton established a furnace with an annual output of 400 tons. Present day Furnace Lane would possibly lead to this site. Cotton was to supply oak from Barthomley, Warmingham, Gawsworth, Sandbach, North Rode, Boseley, Madeley, Mucclestone and Muxton, and limestone from Madeley.
1723 – Hugh Wishaw is Vicar of Madeley to 1731.
1731 – John Mottershead is Vicar of Madeley to 1746.
1746 – Thomas Barlow is Vicar of Madeley. He died on January 19th 1779, and his wife Mary died on May 12th 1761. He made gifts to the church of a crimson velvet pulpit cloth, a communion cloth, a silver tankard and salvers.
1749 – By this date, Madeley Old Manor was in ruins.
1769 – The date on The Wheatsheaf Inn at Onneley.
1779 – James Greville is Vicar of Madeley to 1810.
Some time in the late 18th and early 19th Century, the road through Bar Hill was cut. Before this, the road wound towards Moor Hall Farm, then over the ridge and out through Bar Hill Farm.
The Offley Arms is a late 18th Century building. There was a toll house opposite at one time. Rumour has it that the first person to get drunk there was given the title, ‘Mayor of Madeley’ for the day.
Another toll bar was at the bottom of Toll Bar Hill. This name has now been shortened to the current name of Bar Hill.
Records show that tile making was well established in Madeley Heath by the end of the 18th Century.
1797 – William Bridges Adams born in Woore. He was an author, inventor & locomotive engineer & political reformer. He attended school in Madeley. Married three times. Died 1872.

The 1800’s
1801 – A thirty three year lease was taken out on Crewe land in the Madeley Heath/Leycett area to mine coal. The agreement was between John, First Lord Crewe (1742-1829), Walter Sneyd of Keele, Thomas Breek of Keele and James Breek of Newcastle. Further leases for coal mining followed. The pits dug had names that reflected the times, and were called, for example, Nelson, Victory, Blucher, others were Fair Lady and Bang Up. Tramways were built to carry the coal, before railways, they ran from Scot Hay to Madeley, and from Leycett, through Waltons Wood to Madeley Heath.
1801 – The census puts the Parish of Madeley at 5864 acres, and the population at 945.
1804 – Samuel Stretch died. In his will he left endowments to purchase a bell for the Church, and for the bell to be rung at 9.00pm every night to guide travellers who may be lost. This had happened previously to Samuel when he had been lost in thick fog near Keele, and only the tolling of the Church bell had led him safely home. The bell ringer was paid £3 per annum, which was the interest from the endowment, but the income was fixed and eventually a bell ringer could not be found who would toll for this fee.
1805 – Bruce Storr is Vicar of Madeley
1806 – John Crewe was created Baron, First Lord Crewe. This was a reward for support of the Whig party. He had been Sheriff of Cheshire 1764, MP for Stafford 1765 and MP for Cheshire from 1768 until the close of the century. He married in 1776, Frances Anne Greville. (She was reputed one of the most beautiful women of her time and she entertained at Crewe Hall and at their London home in Hampstead. Included in their circle were, among others, Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816) , who dedicated his ‘The School for Scandal’ to her, Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) who painted and engraved three portraits of her, Charles James Fox (1749-1806), Edmund Burke (1729-97) and George Canning (1770-1827). She died in 1818.)
1810 – Peter Roberts (1760?-1819) is Vicar of Madeley – he is a theologian and antiquary. He was born at Tai’n Y Nant, near Ruabon. His father was a clockmaker and after a few years the family moved to Wrexham. He studied at Wrexham Grammar School under Edward Davies and when he was about 15 entered St Asaph’s Grammar School as a pupil assistant to Peter Williams. The Irish pupils there recommended him to Dr Henry Ussher at Dublin University & he was appointed Sizar (A Sizar is a student at Trinity College, Dublin, who pays reduced fees but has some menial duties to perform). He graduated there, with a MA and stayed there as a private tutor & studied oriental languages & astronomy. As a family tutor, he had among others, 2 eventual Lords, Lanesborough & Bolton, who later on both gave him a pension & he could devote all his time to study. In 1811 Bishop Cleaver gave him the rectory at Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog. In 1814 Lord Crewe presented him with the vicarage at Madeley. In December 1818 he exchanged Llanarmon for the rectory at Halkin, Flintshire but died of a stroke on 21 May 1819. His chief works were: Harmony of the Epistles; Christianity Vindicated; Sketch of the Early History of the Cymry; Chronicle of the Kings of Britain; Cambrian Popular Antiquities and
History of Oswestry
1811 – The Census puts the population at 1018.
1817 – Two vases of Roman Coins are found buried in a field called Little Madeley Parks in Little Madeley. They were found during ploughing. The two vases, or urns, were destroyed, and a horseshoe and key were also found. The coins were all late Roman copper coins covering the period AD235 to AD340. The coins were minted with the heads of: Maximinus (235-238), Diocletian (284-305), Constantine (306-337), Licinius (307-324), Crispus (317-326), Conastantine PF (317-337), and Constantine Junior (337-340). Constantine the Great was born in Yugoslavia but when his father died in York in AD 306 he was acclaimed joint emperor. With The Edict of Milan in AD 313, he formally recognised Christianity as one of the religions of the Roman Empire. He founded Constantinople and was the first Christian Emperor of Rome.
1819 – John Stevenson Cattlow is Vicar of Madeley.
1821 – The Census puts the population at 1166.
1822 – Lord Crewe purchased eighty nine acres at Madeley to build the new Madeley Manor House for his daughter, Elizabeth Emma (died1850) and her husband, Mr Foster Cunliffe. He paid £4700 to James Cope for the land, which was formerly known as Okhull or Okers Hill. They changed their surname to Cunliff-Offley.He was Welsh, and to make him feel more at home, the woodland area around the Manor was renamed The Bryn – hence the current Bryn Wood: Mr Foster Cunliffe: b. 17 Aug. 1782, 1st s. of Sir Foster Cunliffe, 3rd bt. (d. 1834), of Acton Hall, nr. Wrexham, Denb. and Harriet, da. of Sir David Kinloch, 5th bt., of Gilmerton, Haddington. educ. Rugby 1794; Trinity Coll. Camb. 1801. m. 21 Apr. 1809, Hon. Elizabeth Emma Crewe, da. of John Crewe†, 1st Bar. Crewe, s.p. Took additional name of Offley by royal lic. 26 Jan. 1830 in compliance with will of fa.-in-law. d.v.p. 19 Apr. 1832.
Offices Held
Ensign 1 Ft. Gds. 1805-8.
Biography
Cunliffe, as he was first known, was heir to Denbighshire estates rich in mineral deposits and the baronetcy conferred in 1769 on his great-uncle Ellis Cunliffe, then Member for Liverpool. On leaving Cambridge, he was bought a commission in the Grenadier Guards, which he sold shortly before he married Lord Crewe’s only daughter Emma, on whom Madeley Manor, the Staffordshire estate of the Offley family, was settled. They enlarged this inheritance by purchasing William Yonge’s estate of Weston.1 Cunliffe’s close connection with the Grenvillite Williams Wynns (his sister Mary married Charles Williams Wynn*) thwarted his political ambitions in Denbighshire, but he regularly accompanied his father-in-law, whose Foxite Whiggism he shared, to Cheshire meetings and Whig Club dinners.2 He was appointed executor of Crewe’s will, on which limited probate was granted, 5 Dec. 1829, and he and his wife, whom it confirmed in possession of Madeley and various tithes and advowsons, took the additional surname of Offley as directed.3 The independent party in Chester had been engaged in litigation with the corporation over alleged misuse of Offley’s charity since 1827, and Cunliffe Offley was nominated by them in absentia without his consent at the December 1830 by-election, caused by the sitting Whig Robert Grosvenor’s appointment as comptroller of the household, and defeated by 246-154.4 He signed the requisition for the Cheshire reform meeting in March 1831, and when Grosvenor again sought re-election that month he declared that he would not stand against a fellow reformer.5 However, in speeches at the county (17 Mar.) and Chester (8 Apr.) reform meetings, he confirmed his readiness to oppose Chester’s second Member, the anti-reformer Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, by whose retirement he came in unopposed with Grosvenor at the general election in May. He promised to support the Grey ministry’s reform scheme, retrenchment and the abolition of slavery and of the East India Company’s trading monopoly.6
Cunliffe Offley acquired a reputation as a busy constituency Member, who corresponded closely with his local party.7 He voted for the second reading of the reintroduced reform bill, 6 July, against adjournment, 12 July 1831, and steadily for its details. He divided for the bill’s passage, 21 Sept., and the following day addressed the Chester meeting that petitioned the Lords in its favour and carried a resolution approving his conduct.8 Making his maiden speech, before dividing for Lord Ebrington’s confidence motion, 10 Oct., he endorsed the Chester reformers’ resolutions of support for Lord Grey and the bill, cautioned ministers against resigning following its Lords’ defeat and asserted that ‘the prosperity of the country had been attained, not in consequence, but in defiance’ of the current unjust system.9 He divided for the second reading of the revised reform bill, 17 Dec. 1831, and for its provisions for voter registration, 8 Feb., Helston, 23 Feb., and Tower Hamlets, 28 Feb. 1832. Maintaining that ‘anti-reform’ posed a greater threat of revolution than reform, he countered the bill’s critics, 20 Mar., and voted for its third reading, 22 Mar.10 He divided with government on the Russian-Dutch loan, 26 Jan., and relations with Portugal, 9 Feb. He kept a close watch on the progress of the 1832 Dee Bridge bill, whose minutiae caused considerable concern in Chester.11 His sudden death at Madeley in April, after suffering a heart attack, prompted a flurry of speculation concerning his demise.12 He was childless, and by his will, proved in London under £2,000, 24 May, he left everything to his wife (d. 1850). Debts of £2,135 remained outstanding on his estate when her will was proved, 19 June 1850.13 His executorship of his mother’s will passed to his younger brother Robert Henry Cunliffe (d. 1859), who had been knighted for military services in 1829 and succeeded their father to the Cunliffe baronetcy, 15 June 1834.14 Cunliffe Offley’s nephew, Sir Robert Alfred Cunliffe, 5th bt., represented the Flint district (1872-4) and the Denbigh district (1880-5) as a Liberal. A New Road was built so traffic would not pass near the new Manor. The old track had joined the Newcastle-Nantwich road opposite the lane to Heighley Castle. New Road has been known in the past as ‘Pudding Lane.’
1829 – John, First Lord Crewe dies and is replaced by his son, Thomas Hungerford, Second Lord Crewe (1812-1894). A bachelor, he improved, among others, the Church, school, the almshouses, many estate farms and built a new vicarage. Many buildings around Madeley still have the Crewe family’s crest, a lion’s paw rising out of a coronet. Yew Tree House, opposite The Springs, was formerly the estate managers residence and where rents were payable on Lady Day (25th March).
1829 – John Stevenson Catlow is vicar of Madeley to 1833.
1831 – The Census puts the population at 1190.
By 1832, the public house, The Greyhound was in place and gave its name to the central area of the village which is now the main shopping area.
1832 – A Poor House was opened at a cottage at the Holborn.
1833 – Rev John William Daltry (1804-1879) is appointed Vicar of Madeley. He remains vicar at Madeley until his death in 1879
1836 – Act of Parliament for Registering Births, Deaths & Marriages appoints in the Madeley & Surrounding Area:
Folios 28-30. Petition from inhabitants of the temporary district formed for the purposes of the Act for Registering Births, Deaths and Marriages in England, and consisting of Audley, Betley, Keele and Great Madeley to the Poor Law Commission. They recommended Wilkinson Grantham of Betley Cottage, Betley, solicitor, for the position of Superintendent Registrar of the temporary district. Their names were as follows: 1. Ralph Sneyd. 2. Henry Turton, Minister of Betley. 3. George Stych, [Minister] of Keel [Keele]. 4. Thomas Dean, Maltster, Betley. 5. John Warburton, Surgeon. 6. [Samuel Peake], High Constable of Pirehill North. 7. Thomas Wilson, Farmer. 8. John Redfern, Surveyor. 9. [P Goodall] 10. James Shufflebotham, Maltster. 11. J H Thompson, Churchwarden of Keele. 12. Elizabeth Timmis 13. Josh Cooper, Overseer of Keele. 14. William Alexander, Maltster. 15. John Cooper, Tailor and Draper, Keele. 16. John Salt. 17. George Brassington, Farmer. 18. William Mountford. 19. Joseph Dean, Miller. 20. J W Daltry, Vicar of Madeley. 21. Benjamin Hewitt, [Churchwarden or Overseer], Betley. 22. Thomas Wrench, [Churchwarden or Overseer], Betley. 23. John Timmis, [Churchwarden or Overseer], Betley. 24. William Swinnerton [Churchwarden or Overseer], Betley. 24. J S Wilkinson, Church Warden of Madeley. 25. Samuel Rowley, [Church Warden], Madeley] 26. John Shaw, Overseer of Madeley. 27. William Houlding, Innkeeper. 28. Christopher Robinson. 29. Thomas Wade. 30. Wiliam Shufflebotham, Grocer and Draper. 31. Mary Pass, innkeeper. 32. Charles Warham, Plumber and Glazier. 33. Robert Hill. 34. Josh Warham, Innkeeper. 35. John Shufflebotham. 36. John Bowers, Grocer. 37. William Shaw, Sadler. 38. Richard Timmis. 39. [John William Smith], Clerk. 40. [J S Twemlow]. 41. William Goodall. 42. Thomas Sneyd. 43. William Salmon. 44. R Steele. 45. John Booth, Audley. 46. Henry Holmes, Licensed Curate of Audley and Talke. 47. Robert Rigby, Hougher Wall, Audley. 48. James Hayes, Tailor and Draper. 49. William Rubotham, Audley. 50. John Harding, Innkeeper. 51. John Beech, Audley Cottage. 52. Thomas Burgess, Knowl End. 53. Samuel Timmis, Knowl End. Included is’ Dyneley, Coverdale & Lee, Grays Inn, for W Grantham [Wilkinson Grantham], Betley’. Poor Law Union Number 421. Counties: Staffordshire..
1837 – The Grand Junction Railway opened a station at Madeley. A private mineral line was soon built to bring coal trucks from Leycett Colliery.
1838 – When the new Union Workhouse was opened at Newcastle, Madeley Poor House was closed.
1840 – Rumours (unfounded) that The Chartists were attempting to refortify Heleigh Castle to provide a refuge for their rebellious followers. Chartism was a working class movement for political reform in Britain between 1838 and 1848. It takes its name from the People’s Charter of 1838. Chartism was the first mass working class labour movement in the world. “Chartism” is the umbrella name for numerous poorly-coordinated local groups, often named “Working Men’s Association,” articulating grievances in many cities from 1837. Its peak activity came in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It began among skilled artisans in small shops, such as shoemakers, printers, and tailors. The movement was more aggressive in areas with many distressed handloom workers, such as in Lancashire and the Midlands. It began as a petition movement which tried to mobilize “moral force”, but soon attracted men who advocated strikes and violence, such as Feargus O’Connor. One faction issued the “People’s Charter” in 1838 and it was widely adopted by the movement. The People’s Charter called for six basic reforms to make the political system more democratic:
1. Universal male suffrage;
2. A secret ballot;
3. No property qualification for members of Parliament;
4. Pay members of Parliament (so poor men could serve);
5. Constituencies of equal size;
6. Annual elections for Parliament.

Eventually, the first five goals were achieved, but that happened long after Chartism was a spent force.

Chartism flourished in hard times, and faded during prosperity. Political elites saw the movement as dangerous and refused to negotiate with it or deal with its demands. The government permanently crushed the movement in 1848. The movement produced no immediate reforms, but it did attract the attention of the working class, which was not allowed to vote.
1841 – The Census puts the population at 1492.
1843 – William Callow paints Madeley Manor. The painting is on show at Newcastle Museum and Art Gallery. William Callow was born in 1812, at Greenwich. In 1823 he was employed by Theodore Fielding after his talent had been spotted, and in 1829 went to Paris and shared a studio with T S Boys. In 1834 he took over the studio and built up a profitable teaching practice among French nobility, including Duc de Nemours and The Princess Clementine, the son and daughter of King Louis Phillippe. He began walking and sketching tours: 1835 south of England, 1836 south of France, 1838 Germany & Switzerland, 1840 Italy, 1841 Normandy, 1844 Rhine & Moselle, 1845 Holland, 1846 Germany, Switzerland & Venice, 1862 Coburg, Potsdam & Berlin, In 1838 he was elected to the AOWS (Associate of the (Old) Society of Painters in Watercolours), foundedin 1804. In 1841, he set up as a drawing master in London and his pupils included Lady Beaujolais Berry, Lady Stratford de Redcliffe & Lord Dufferin. In 1848, he was elected OWS and served as Trustee and Secretary 1865-70. In 1855, he moved to Great Missenden, and lived there until his death in 1908.
1850 – Offley Well Head, another listed structure was built. It was erected by Hon Miss Annabella Crewe in memory of her aunt, Hon. Elizabeth Emma Cunliff-Offley, to provide a fountain of water for three acres of land that was given to provide 20 allotments. The monument is 33 feet high and made of Caen stone. It cost £2000 to build and was designed by Ambrose Poynter, and carved by a Mr Dean of London. The fountain no longer works but the memorial is still in place alongside the allotments off Manor Road.
1851 – Annabella married Richard Monckton Milnes MP (1809-1885). They added Crewe to their surname and he becomes the Marquis of Crewe (Many years beforehand, he had proposed to Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), and although she loved him, she turned the proposal down as she was waiting for her ‘calling’). They had two daughters and one son, Robert Crewe-Milnes (1858-1945).
Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton, was born in London. At Cambridge, he was a member of the Apostles Club, which included Tennyson and Thackerey. He was MP for Pontefract from 1837, until he entered the Lords in 1863. He was a patron of young writers, including David Gray (1838-61), who died young of TB, Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909), and helped secure the poet laureateship for Alfred Tennyson (1809-92) in 1850. Disreali based the character of Mr Vavasour on him, in his novel ‘Tancred’. He was a traveller, philanthropist and renowned after dinner speaker. He published ‘Life, Letters and Remains of Keats’, in 1848.
1851 – The Census puts the population at 1655.
1853 – Wesleyan Methodists and United Methodists amalgamated and build a chapel at Parkside.
1856 – The Primitive Methodists erected a chapel at Poolside.
1861 – The Census puts the population at 1940 and George Joseph is named as a Master Miller.
1863 – St. Mark’s, a mission church in Madeley Heath was opened. In 1967, it became The Meadows County Primary School.
1864 – The date stone on Mill Cottages, Moss Lane.
1865 – John Knight was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme and was educated at the town’s High School and at Rugby. He was one of seven children. He was taught to ride horses from an early age & was involved with the North Staffordshire Hounds which were kept at Trentham by the Duke of Sutherland. He qualified as a solicitor in 1888 and became a partner in the family law practice in 1894, which gave its name to Knight Solicitors in Newcastle. Knight was clerk to the Newcastle Borough Magistrates between 1898 and 1902, and was secretary of the North Staffordshire Employers Insurance Committee. He joined the 1st Volunteer Battalion of the North Stafford’s in 1883, and became a Captain in 1889, taking command of “E” Company in Stoke. Knight was promoted to the rank of Major in 1901 and Lieutenant-Colonel and Honorary Colonel in 1908, taking command of the 5th North Stafford’s on its formation as part of the Territorial Force in April of that year. He had also been awarded the Volunteer Decoration. October 13, 1915, the 5th Battalion North Stafford’s charged the German lines at The Hohenzollern Redoubt; over 500 were killed in the first hour by German machine guns and mortar. Lieutenant-Colonel John Knight climbed out of the trench with his men to lead them into their first attack. He was last seen falling after being hit in his side by a bullet. He was reported missing presumed killed after the attack on 13th October and is commemorated on the Loos Memorial to the Missing, Panel 103 to 105. A burial party in January 1916, discovered that he had been buried on the battlefield & was identified by a whip he was carrying which belonged to his wife – it bore the initials MLK, his wife, Mary Luxton Knight. John Knight had married Mary Luxton Jeffery in 1898 & they lived at Bar Hill House.
1866 – Rowley House & Moss Cottage on Moss Lane has this date alongside their Crewe Estate sign.
1868 – The date of School House, by the High School, again with the Crewe Arms sign. The house, however, was originally the Police House before the current establishment further along Newcastle Road.
1870 – The Audley Branch Line was opened. It ran from Alsager through Honeywall and onto Keele. Initially it was just for goods traffic. It was part of North Staffordshire Railways.
1870 – The Market Drayton to Newcastle Branch Line was started in 1852. It was completed in sections & Madeley was added in 1870.
1870 – Madeley Road Station is opened in November. It was between Keele and Pipe Gate and about two miles from the centre of Madeley. It was used mostly for milk traffic and a slide was built to convey 17 gallon churns directly onto the platform. The station had living quarters attached to it, and the building was occupied until 1964, it had closed as a station in 1931, and the building was finally demolished in 1979.
1870 – The date on Manor Holding cottage, down Manor Road & just before the hump back bridge.
1871 – An explosion at Leycett Colliery, on 3rd January, kills eight.
1871 – The Census puts the population at 2387.
1873 – Lord Hungerford improved Madeley Church. The west window of the southern aisle has stained glass from Morris & Co: Noah and St.Philip were designed by Ford Madox Brown (1821-93), St. Peter by William Morris (1834-96) and a crucifixion by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833-98). These are artists all associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They were a group of Victorian artists who abandoned the rules of art developed under Raphael (1483-1520), and painted biblical and literary subjects in the clear, detailed style they saw in painters early than Raphael. The Brotherhood was founded in 1848, and broke up in 1853.
1876 – The School House, a listed building was built and has stained glass windows from this period.
1879 – Leycett Colliery had two main pits. Fair Lady and Bang-up. On 8th September eight men and boys were killed in a pit disaster.
1879 – A Primitive Methodist Chapel is built at Madeley Heath.
1879 – Rev J W Daltry dies. His son, Thomas William Daltry (1833-1904), who had been curate from 1861-1880, takes over as vicar in 1880 and remains until his death in 1904.
1880 – 21st January, sixty two men and boys are killed at Leycett Colliery. Over thirty were buried at Madeley Church on one day. Only 15 survived from that shift. 31 buried at Madeley Church without a memorial; other victims were buried at their home parishes in Audley, Betley, Talke etc. Joseph Viggars, a shot firer, was the last body to be retrieved as it came from the coal face itself; he died with two of his brothers, Edwin & Frederic; two other sets of brothers perished: Richard & William Lear & George & Jesse Salmon. The miners buried in All Saints Church:
Henry Darlington,(age:) 21, Leycett
Thomas Darlington, 55, Leycett
John Davies, 21, Little Madeley
John Evans, 26, Leycett
John Espley, 20, Leycett
Henry Grocott, 26, Little Madeley
John Hall, 21, Madeley Heath
Joseph Haywood, 27, Leycett
Patrick Hutchinson, 36, Leycett
William Huxley, 21, Leycett
John James, 18, Madeley Heath
Richard Jenkinson, 46, Madeley Heath
Frederick Jarvis, 22, Scot Hay
John Kinastyn, 16, Leycett
Samuel Lamsdale, 17, Leycett
John Lawton, 21, Leycett
Richard Lear, 23, Middle Madeley
William Lear, 25, Middle Madeley
George Nixon, 58, Little Madeley
William Pickin, 24, Little Madeley
John Salisbury, 24, Leycett
George Salmon, 34, Madeley Heath
Jesse Salmon, 36, Madeley Heath
James Scott, 36, Leycett
Thomas Turner, 17, Little Madeley
Edwin Viggars, 33, Madeley Heath
Frederic Viggars, 31, Madeley Heath
Joseph Viggars, 35, Madeley Heath
Herbert Walker, 20, Little Madeley
James Webb, 35, Madeley Heath
Michael Whalen, 23, Leycett
1880 – The Audley Branch Line commences passenger traffic.
1881 – The Census puts the population at 2457.
1881 – Francis Stonier, in the census, is a miller and farmer at Lower Mill House, and so there must have been a mill in operation at this time. Lower Mill House is down Furnace Lane.
1882 – A new forty room vicarage was built. The previous vicarage had been on Smithy Corner (where the current council yard is – this has now been sold to Jennings Homes and is now a small housing development). The vicarage was built for Rev. T W Daltry by Lord Hungerford. Daltry was a keen historian and was secretary of the North Staffordshire Field Club for many years. Their library is named after him.
1882 – Hill View & Holborn Cottage on the Holborn have this date on the inscription alongside the Crewe Estate sign.
1883 – An explosion at Leycett Colliery kills six.
1887 – Madeley Fete is held on park land at Madeley Manor. Blondin ( real name Jean Francois Gravelet 1824-97), ‘The Hero of Niagara’ in 1859, performs and is watched by 13,000 people. Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee is celebrated in the same year on the Manor’s grounds as well.
1888 – Blondin is again at Madeley Fete and 22,000 attend.
1889 – Blondin’s final attendance at the Fete, and 26,000 people attend.
After this, the Fete’s attendance’s fell, it lost money and was ended. The funds from the fete are used, among other things, to provide a district nurse for Madeley.
1891 – The lease for Madeley Pool’s Mill is advertised and described as a ‘commodious water and steam mill’, with house, 2 cottages and about 30 acres.
1891 – The Census puts the population at 2904.
1893 – The farm timber framed structure at the rear of the Manor is demolished and replaced by a brick structure. Madeley Manor is a listed building, as is the Manor Boat House, which is of a later date than the Manor (around 1890).
1894 – Thomas Hungerford, Lord Crewe dies, and Robert Crewe-Milnes becomes Earl of Crewe.
Robert Crewe-Milnes marries Sybil Graham in 1880 (she dies in 1887). They have 3 daughters, Annabel, Celia, Cynthia but their son Richard, dies in infancy. His second wife is Margaret, daughter of Lord Roseberry and they had a son, also Richard, born in 1911 but who dies in 1922. Crewe-Milnes held a minor Government post under Gladstone in 1886, was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1892-95, Lord President of the Council 1905-08 & 1915-16, Lord Privy Seal 1908 & 1912-15, Secretary of State for the Colonies 1908-10, Secretary of State for India 1910-15, President Board of Education 1916, Chairman London County Council 1917, HM Ambassador to Paris 1922-28, Secretary of State for War 1931. He was created Earl of Crewe in 1895 and Earl of Madeley 1911, but these titles end with his death in 1945 as there was no male heir.
1896 – Fair Lady and Bang Up pits at Leycett were owned by The Madeley Coal and Iron Company Limited. The manager was William Meadows. It employed 339 underground workers and 71 surface workers. Lord Crewe, as the landowner, received 6d for every ton of coal, iron ore or brick clay won from his land. He also had free coal for his home – which required 2 cwt each morning to feed the fires.
The Early 1900’s
1901 – The Census puts the population at 2909.
1903 – Lady Annabel Crewe-Milnes married Hon Arthur Edward Bruce O’Neill (1876-1914), who became Unionist MP for Mid Antrim from 1910. They had three sons (Shane (1907-1944), Brian (died 1940) and Terence (1914-1990), Terence goes on to become Prime Minister of Northern Ireland 1963-69, and receives the title Lord O’Neill of the Maine in 1970) and two daughters. In 1944, he married Katherine Jean Whittaker, & they had one son & one daughter. He was in the Irish Guards 1939-45. He was Unionist MP for Bannside 1946-70. He is a member of the Irish nobility. The ancestral home of the Lords O’Neill is Shane Castle, County Antrim and the O’Neill’s stem from the oldest traceable family in Europe.
1905 – Madeley All Saints Football Club is founded. It was started through the members of a bible class and soon became Madeley White Star F.C. Madeley had a cricket club before the First World War but this had closed down by World War Two. It’s ground was between Middle Madeley and the current Eternit Factory.
1905 – Charles Woodhouse James is Vicar of Madeley to 1912.
1905 – Ownership of Fair Lady and Bang Up pits passes to Madeley Coke and Brick Company (1905) Limited, and the manager is Mr W G Peasegood. It employs 897 underground workers and 245 surface workers.
Sometime in the early years of the 20th Century, The Harrison and Woodburn Pit at Leycett was owned by the Madeley Coal and Iron Company, and was manager by Mr G P Hyslop, who went on to manage Shelton Iron and Steel Co. at Shelton Bar in the Potteries in the 1920’s. They employed 300 underground and 160 surface workers. Coal was taken down to the A531 to a wharf at woodlands now called The Gladings. The course of the tramway is where the M6 now runs, but remnants of the track can still be seen in parts of the woodland. Other coal was taken by a private railway to Madeley Station and then loaded onto goods trains.
1911 – Eliza Ann Twemlow of Betley Court dies aged 83. For many years she had been the Ruling Councillor of the Betley and Madeley Habitation of the Primrose League. A Conservative Party group that commerates Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881).
1913 – Sutton Paterson is Vicar of Madeley to 1929.
1914 – Arthur O’Neill was second in command of the Life Guards and posted to France, and, almost immediately, posted missing, believed killed in action.
1921 – Increasing social costs, super taxes and falling rental income and agricultural values causes the Madeley Estate to be largely sold off. The auction is at The Crewe Arms, Crewe and many of the estate farms are sold off, mainly to the tenants. The Manor House failed to attract a buyer and is occupied by Lady Annabel. Madeley Pool Mill is advertised as a commodious corn mill with good fishing in the mill pool, and the tenant at the time was Thomas Hulse.
1921 (approx.) – Knightley is built.
1922 – Lady Annabel marries Major James Hugh Hamilton Dodds (1880-1956). (He had fought in the Boer Wars, and been decorated with The Queens Medal and Africa General Star. From 1911 until his retirement in 1941, he was a British Consul in: Abyssinia, Tripoli, Palermo, Nice and finally, Marseilles.). They have two sons, Colin and Quentin.
1923 – North Staffordshire Railways amalgamates with London Midland and Scottish Railways.
1924 – Madeley Working Men’s Club had been built by this time.
1928 – Shane O’Neill becomes third Baron O’Neill on the death of his grandfather, Edward O’Neill, second Baron O’Neill (1839-1928). Their first son, Raymond Arthur Clanaboy O’Neill is born in 1933. He is the current 4th Baron. In 1963, he marries Georgina Mary Scott, daughter of Lord George Montagu Douglas Scott & they have 3 sons. The eldest is Hon. Shane Sebastian Clanaboy O’Neill, born in 1965. In 1997, he married Celia Hickman, and they have one son.
1929 – Charles Alfred Griffin is Vicar of Madeley to 1935.
Early 1930’s – The houses in Newcastle Road have been built. The alleyway from Newcastle Road to Crewe Road, opposite the entrance to The Old Swan, is called ‘The Clappy Hatch’. There used to be a wooden swinging gate there, and when it was opened, it made a clapping noise when it swung to.
1931 – Passenger traffic stops on The Audley Branch Line.
1931 – Madeley Road Station closes.
1932 – Shane O’Neill marries Anne Geraldine Charteris. They have one son and one daughter, the son is Raymond Arthur Clannaboy O’Neill (b 1933), the current fourth Baron O’Neill.
1932 – Madeley Mill stopped corn milling about this time and became a cheese factory.
1934 – The Pit-head Baths are opened at Leycett Colliery.
1934 – The new Cemetery at Manor Road is consecrated. It is further extended in 1996.
1935 – ‘Madeley, Staffordshire’, A Booklet on Madeley published.
1935 – Rev. William Garner becomes vicar of Madeley. He holds the post until his retirement in 1965.
1937 – Three quarters of a ton of lead are stolen from the South Porch of Madeley Church.
1937 – Madeley Mill’s water wheel is replaced by a turbine from Sneyd Colliery, whose directors had purchased the mill.
The Second World War
1940 – Brian O’Neill is killed when his troopship, the ‘Chobry’, is sunk returning from Norway.
1944 – Shane O’Neill is killed in action in Italy. He was second in command of the Irish Horse.
(Both brothers are named on ‘The Monument’ along with all the other fallen of the two World Wars)
1944 – Terence O’Neill is wounded and taken prisoner at Arnhem.
1944 – Colin Crewe-Dodds is taken prisoner during the Anzio landings.
Sometime during the Second World War, a lorry carrying stork margarine overturned into a field on the A531 near Heighley Castle Road. People came from miles around to try and salvage some of the margarine. The corner is known thereafter as Margarine Corner.
Local girls work at Swynnerton Munitions Factory. They catch buses to and from the factory. They work shifts as the Factory works around the clock. Some have a yellow tinge from working with the explosives. Some are injured in accidental explosions. The story of the workers is told in the musical ‘I don’t want to set the world on fire’.
The Offley Arms was used as the headquarters of the Local Defence Committee.
Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain, in July 1955, was a child evacuee to Madeley Heath. She was born in 1926. She was a waitress and nude model. Her boyfriend was a racing driver, David Blakely. Neither was faithful to the other. On Good Friday, 1955, Blakely stood her up. On Easter Sunday, she went in search of him and found him outside The Magdala Pub, in London. She pulled out a .38 handgun and emptied it into him. An Old Bailey Jury found her guilty within a matter of minutes and she was executed on 21st June 1955. 27 years later her son, Andria committed suicide. In 1985, a film, Dance with a Stranger, was made about the incident.
The Dignus Tileries in Madeley Heath was used to station foreign troops .
1944. A Mk1 Lancaster was on a training flight on the 4th of October 1944 when it broke up in mid air over Stockdale Moor. The pilot – Flight Officer S. H. Hayter had lucky escape when the cockpit broke off and he deployed his parachute. His crew of six were not so fortunate, all died. Among them was – Sgt Arthur J Pearce RAFVR, aged 20 from Madeley he was buried in the village.

The Later 1900’s
1945 – Robert Milnes-Crewe, Lord Crewe dies and Lady Annabel Crewe inherits some of the Madeley Estate. To gain the inheritance, Lady Annabel and Major Dodds change their surname to Crewe-Dodds. As there was no male heir, the title of Lord Crewe becomes extinct and the rest of the Madeley estate pass to Lord O’Neill.
Lady Annabel is the last member of the Crewe family to live at Madeley Manor. The conductor, Sir Malcolm Sargent (1895-1967), a friend of the Crewe-Dodds regularly visits them at Madeley Manor. Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent was chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra 1950-57 and then continues as conductor-in-chief of the Henry Wood promenade concerts.
1945 – Ian Fraser Kilmister is born on 24th December. After 3 months his father leaves and his mother moves in with her mother in Newcastle. Shortly after the family move to Madeley, where they live until Ian is 10, when his mother re-marries, George Willis, and they move to Benllech in Anglesey. Ian attends school: Ysgol Syr Thomas Jones School at Amlwch, where he is given the nickname: LEMMY. Supposedly from ‘lemme a quid to Friday’, to feed his fruit machine addiction. He is interested in rock music; sees The Beatles at the Cavern Club at 16; plays in local groups, for example, The Sundowners, The Rainmakers & The Motown Sect. In 1967, he moves to London & flat shares with Noel Redding & Neville Chesters & becomes a roadie for The Jimi Hendrix Experience. He played in other bands before joining Hawkwind in 1971 as a bassist & vocalist. He was lead singer on their biggest hit ‘Silver Machine’ in 1973. In 1975, he was fired from Hawkwind, while on tour in Canada following a drugs arrest, although the charges were later dropped on a technicality. He formed a new band ‘Bastard’, but changed its name to ‘Motorhead’, when told Top Of The Pops would never show a band with a name like that. ‘Motorhead’ was the name of the last song he wrote while with Hawkwind. Motorhead’s classic track is ‘Ace of Spades’. Lemmy has written, amongst other tracks, R.A.M.O.N.E.S for The Ramones; Hellraiser for Ozzy Osborne; he tried to teach Sid Vicious to play guitar, when Sid joined The Sex Pistols as a guitarist, Lemmy collects Nazi memorabilia but says he sees himself as an anarchist or libertarian and anti any extremism, such as communism or fascism.
1947 – Leycett Colliery, under The National Coal Board, is now known as Madeley Colliery, until its closure in 1957.
1948 – Lady Annabel Crewe-Dodds dies. Her funeral is at Barthomley. Her coffin is carried by six tenant farmers: F. Furnival, F. Bennion, F. Bedson, V. Hunt, S.Davies snr, & G. Holding. The mourners included, The Dowager Marchioness of Crewe, Lady Cynthia Colville (sister), Lady Celia Milnes Coates and her husband (sister & brother in law), Hon. Terence O’Neill (son), Colin & Quentin Crewe (sons), Mr Derick and the Hon. Mrs Gascoigne (son in law & daughter). The service was conducted by the Archdeacon of Macclesfield, the Rev. F.J.Okell, assisted by Rev. J.Bennet, Rector of Barthomley and Rev. W. Gardner, Vicar of Madeley.
1948 – The Lamp House is destroyed by fire at Leycett Colliery.
1950 – Building begins on The Moss.
1951 – Madeley Manor house and grounds is sold and the Manor is converted to flats.
1952 – Ian Fleming (1908-1964), author of the James Bond novels and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, marries Anne Geraldine Mary Charteris. They have one son and this is her third husband. The first was Shane O’Neill, killed in the Second World War. The second was Esmond, Viscount Rothermere (1898-1978), who she married in 1945 and divorced in 1952.
1954 – Madeley Station closes. The sidings are used on occasion, overnight, by the Royal Train. The local residents would know when because there would be a solitary policeman on Steamer Bridge. When the Royal Train was just passing through, there would be a policeman on every bridge.
1955 – Ian Kilminster, ‘Lemmy’, from Hawkwind & Motorhead moved to Madeley, age 10. He was born in Burslem, but his parents separated shortly afterwards, and Lemmy and his mother moved to Newcastle for a short period until moving to Madeley with his maternal grandmother. His mother remarried & they moved to Anglesey.
1956 – The Market Drayton to Newcastle Branch Line stopped passenger traffic
1957 – Leycett Colliery closes. It continues as a ‘foot rill’ or ‘foot rail’ until the late 1960’s.
1957 – September, the first intake into Madeley Secondary School, now Madeley High School.
1958 – Major Hugh Crewe-Dodds dies. His batman, Charles Sergent, went on to develop a taxi, coach and garage business at Betley, on the current site of Wrinehill Garage.
1959 – The new Village Hall is opened. The previous one had been behind The Offley Arms, but had become unsafe..
1960’s – Building of houses starts in The Bryn, New Road & Brown’s Farm.
1961 – Madeley College of Education, a teacher training college, opens on park land below Madeley Manor.
1963 – A thirty three mile stretch of the motorway M6, including the stretch between Hanchurch and Barthomley, is officially opened by Ernest Maples (1907-1978), the Minister of Transport. Extra expenditure had been incurred in dealing with a 400 yard land slip in Walton’s Wood. Alfred Ernest Maples, First Baron Maples, was born in Levenshulme, Manchester. During the war, he was a captain in the Royal Artillary. In 1945, he became Conservative MP for Wallasey. Between 1959 & 1964, he was Minister for Transport. He was created a Life Peer in 1974.
1964 – Work begins on the demolition of the Audley Branch Line between Silverdale and Alsager. By the end of the year, all the track between Keele and Alsager, including Leycett had been lifted and cleared.
1966 – John Butterworth is Vicar of Madeley to 1973.
1966 – BBC Midland Region Radio gave a Monday Concert from Madeley College of Education.
1966 – The Royal Ballet Demonstration Group featuring artists of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, perform at Madeley College.
1967 – A BT Sub-station is built in Furnace Lane.
1967 – The Market Drayton to Newcastle Branch Line stopped goods traffic.
Approx. 1967 – ‘The Story of a School’, (Sir John Offley Primary School) is published.
1968 – Quentin Hugh Crewe (1926-1998) inherits property in Madeley from his step-grandmother, the Marchioness of Crewe, and moves to Netherset Hey. In 1956 he marries Martha Sharp, and they have one son & one daughter. In 1961, he marries Angela Huth, the marriage is dissolved in 1970, and they have one daughter, and one son who dies. In 1970, he marries Susan Anne Cavendish, they have one son and one daughter, and the marriage is dissolved in 1983. He is educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1953, he joined the Evening Standard and later worked for Queen, Vogue, Daily Mail, Sunday Mirror before becoming freelance. He won the Snowdon Award in 1982. He has had various books published: ‘A Curse of Blossom’, ‘Frontiers of Privilege’, ’Great Chefs of France’, ‘International Pocket Book of Food’, ’In Search of the Sahara’, ’The Last Maharaja’, ’Touch the Happy Isles’, ’In The Realms of Gold’ and ‘Well, I Forget the Rest’.
1968/69 – The National Coal Board begin to demolish Leycett Village.
1970- Quentin marries Sue Anne Cavendish (his third wife, born 1949). The Cavendish family own Holker Hall in Lancashire. She qualifies at Rease Heath College of Education. The marriage is dissolved in 1983. She has been the editor of House and Garden since 1994. They have one son and one daughter. Their son, Nathaniel is born in London but christened at Madeley Church. A godparent is Penelope Tree, a model and the then girlfriend of photographer David Bailey. They attend the christening, she in a see-through summer-dress, and he in a leather cat-suit. She has been the editor of House and Garden since 1984. She remarried in 1984. but this marriage has since been dissolved.
While at Netherset Hey, they are visited by their friends Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon. Bamber Gascoigne, Quentin’s nephew, also visits.
1970 – ‘Madeley, A History of a North Staffordshire Parish’, is published by The Adult Education Department of the University of Keele. One hundred and forty residents attend the official launch at Madeley Secondary School.
1970 – Councillors Jim Mulliner and Bernard Sumnall protest at plans of the owners of Madeley Pool to fill it in and build on it. The owners were Ross Isle Development Company of Shrewsbury. Newcastle Rural Council consider a compulsory purchase order on the Pool. There is a commerative stone to both councillors beside Madeley Pool. They were both councillors from 1948 to 1980.
1970 – In May, at Finney Green, in a field known as Hollywood Bowl, a Pop Festival is held over two days. 45,000 people attend. The artists include: Mungo Jerry, Black Sabbath, Ginger Baker’s Air Force, Grateful Dead, Family, Traffic, Free & Jose Feliciano.
1970 – Madeley Mill closes as a cheese factory.
1972 – One hundred ex-pupils of Woodlands County Primary School in Leycett gather on its last day to pay tribute to the last two remaining teachers. Husband and wife, Kenneth and Marion Platt. He began teaching there in 1936, and remained there, apart from seven years in the RAF, during the war, and she started there in 1948.
1973 – Peter Smith is Vicar of Madeley to 1977.
1973 – Quentin & Colin Crewe apply for outline planning permission to develop three hundred acres at Leycett into leisure and recreation centre, equestrian centre, boating lake, school, shops, hotel and restaurant, and five or six hundred houses for two thousand people. The scheme is officially launched at Netherset Hey Farm and attended by John Golding MP and members of Newcastle Rural Council. The scheme is eventually declined by Staffordshire Borough Council. John Golding (1931-1999), was born in Birmingham and educated at Chester Grammar School, London University & Keele University. In 1958, he married Thelma Gwillym, and they had one son and another son who died, but the marriage was dissolved. In 1980, he married Llinos Lewis. He was MP for Newcastle under Lyme from 1969 to 1986, and his second wife succeeded him as MP.
1977 – James Potts is Vicar of Madeley to 1985.
1979 – Madeley Road Station is demolished.
1981 – Madeley Teacher Training College closes.
1984 – ‘Five Walks around Madeley’, produced by the Planning Department of Newcastle under Lyme Borough Council. (Still available from book shops and Newcastle Library)
1985 – Rev. Malcolm Griffin takes over as Vicar of Madeley, until 1996: On July 12~ the Bishop of Stafford instituted Malcolm Griffin to the living of All Saints. Bells, flowers & music made it a memorable occasion. The churchwardens welcomed the new vicar & his family during the service. Clergy, guests from Berkswich were entertained later. He passed away in 2001.
1986 – The Council agrees to Kirk Shenton Homes Ltd plan to convert Madeley Mill into four flats and build 14 town houses. Madeley Mill is an early 19th Century building.
1986 – Thousands of fish are killed in Madeley Pool after a spillage of silage from a local farm through a storm drain. Hundreds of fish are saved by local youngsters who put them into local pools.
1988 – The Old Swan is reopened after refurbishment. The first customer is Daley a 29 stone Canadian black bear from Gandey’s circus. The Old Swan used to be on a cross-roads before the current road to Newcastle was amended. The road led on to the mines at Leycett.
1988 – Madeley Healthcare Ltd reopens Madeley Manor as Madeley Manor Nursing Home.
1988 – Madeley Pool Action Group launch appeal to raise £40,000 to clean up the village pool.
1988 – Dawn Quick, aged ten, saves Simon Rowley, aged three, from drowning in silt in Madeley Pool.
1989 – Madeley Conservation Group is formed: ‘a non-political, broadly representative & highly active group for the improvement of Madeley as a pleasant village’.
1989 – British Coal and Staffs Nature Conservation Trust apply to develop Bates Wood as a nature reserve. The plan is approved by Staffs County Council. This is the site of the former Leycett Colliery.
1989 – Tony and Yvonne Price, North Staffs Wildlife Rescue Service, move from Bathpool, Kidsgrove to The Spinney, Madeley Heath.
1989 – K P Parnell charges £98,406 to clear Madeley Pool of silt. The Council had estimated £150,000 to £175,000. The plan is to net the fish, pump the pool dry, allow the silt to harden and then bulldoze it on to nearby fields and is approved by Newcastle Borough Council Policy and Resources Committee.
1990 – A meeting at Madeley High School protests at Barratts Homes plan to build 400 homes and a by-pass in Madeley. Madeley Conservation Group show 97% of villagers oppose the plan.
1990 – Madeley Pool is drained in preparation for dredging. This is held up by treasure hunters with metal detectors who appear following rumours that Irish Navvies, who had built the local railways in the 19th century, had cast gold sovereigns into the pool when they came out of local hostelries!
1990 – The teacher training college is demolished. Westbury Homes acquire the site and start to build the College Gardens and Bryn Wood housing estates.
1990 – The Crewe Arms Hotel is reopened after refurbishment. It has been a blacksmith’s, a cow-shed, a farm house, pub and now a hotel. The Crewe’s Arms had been near the railway station in Manor Road in the 19th Century.
1990 – Kirk Shenton Homes Ltd is commended by Staffs County Council in the Arthur Brown Trophy for the restoration work done on The Old Mill.
1990 – ‘Keele, Madeley & Whitmore. A Portrait in Old Picture Postcards’, is published by Brampton Publications. (Now out of print but may be available in second hand book shops).
1990 – The Council refuse planning permission for the animal sanctuary at Madeley Heath.
1991 – ‘Well, I Forget The Rest’, is published. Quentin Crewe’s autobiography, it covers his wartime boyhood in Madeley and his later move back to Madeley following his inheritance. (ISBN 0-09-174835-6 Hutchinson). Available at Newcastle Library.
1991 – The animal sanctuary shuts, but the wildlife rescue service will continue.
1991 – £35,000 is spent on a landscaping scheme for Madeley Pool. This includes tree planting, seats, rubbish bins, a wildlife haven and plans to introduce wildfowl. Later in the year, stock fish are introduced, common and mirror carp, crucian carp, roach, rudd and tench. The resident Cob and Pen swans on the pool are always named ‘Bob’ and ‘Ginny’. The River Lea rises at Leahead, near Aston, and flows through Madeley and the Pool, onto the River Weaver, then the River Mersey and then to the Irish Sea.
1992 – Thousands of gallons of sewage flood the pool. Council workmen had accidentally unlocked a local drain.
1992 – Keele by-pass is officially opened three months ahead of schedule by Guy Gibbs, aged seven, who had won a local road safety competition.
1993 – About eighty pupils from Staffordshire’s Special Schools join celebrations at Madeley Pool to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the birth of Izaak Walton. Carl Walton (no relation!), of Queens Croft School, Lichfield, catches a 7oz Rudd.
1995 – Voluntary Pool Warden, Tom Blaise retires after 15 years service.
1995 – Betty Sumnall is Mayor of Newcastle from 1995 to 1996. She has been a local councillor from 1980, when her husband had died.
1995 – Mr Rajesh Morjaria applies to open a pharmacy in Madeley.
1995 – Waterside Close housing estate is built.
1996 – Cardway Cartons closes its Madeley Plant at Netherset Hey Industrial Estate and relocates to Alsager. Twenty six jobs are lost.
1996 – ‘Our World’ is published. It includes creative writing and pictures from every child at Sir John Offley Primary School. The cover painting is by Bethany Brough.
1996 – Madeley Conservation Group celebrate the centenary of the village garden party with a Victorian style fair on June 15th.
1997 – Rev Jane Tillier takes over as Vicar at Madeley to 2003. She is now Priest-in-Charge of Barlaston and Ministry Development Adviser for the Stafford Episcopal Area: Church of England Diocese of Lichfield: 2008– Present (4 years)
1998 – Dave Burnley from Grayling Willows wins a competition in The Sentinel to visit 10 Downing Street and ask questions directly to PM Tony Blair.
1998 – Animal Liberation activists free two thousand mink from Kelbain Mink Farm in Onneley. Locals fear the mink may follow the River Lea down to Madeley and attack domestic animals, cats, dogs etc.
1998 – With the closure of Silverdale Colliery, no more coal trucks run from Silverdale Colliery to Madeley Junction.
1999 – ‘Uncovering The Madeley Landscape’, is published by The Madeley Conservation Group.
1999 – The Evening Spice Indian Restaurant takes over The Bridge Inn. It is a finalist in The Sentinel Business Awards 2000.
1999 – ‘The New Madeley Manor House. A Short Biography’, is published.( ISBN 0953696103)
2000 – ‘Madeley in Living Memory’, is published by Madeley & District Community Association.
2000 (DEC) – An article on Madeley appears in Cheshire Life.
2000 – Homestead Madeley WebSite went on line, set up and maintained by Philip Shaw.
2000 – May 25th. Andrew T. Finney & Kevin Clarke set up an experimental Madeley Village website as a college project. Later on that year, Philip Shaw and Andrew T. Finney later agree to pool information and resources to enable the birth of a larger site. Initially it is run from the LineOne ISP site until slow connection speeds force a move in February 2002 onto the Freeserve http://madeleysaffs.fsnet.co.uk web address.
2001 – Dr. J R M Worthington retires after 21 years at the Madeley Practice.
2001 – The Cob swan and one of the breeding pairs cygnets are shot using an air pistol and nailed to a tree at the western end of Madeley Pool. R.S.P.C.A. rescuers remove the Penn and the remaining cygnets for their own safety. No culprit(s) have as yet been caught. Two years later, and no other swans have moved in to replace them.
2002 – Evening Spice Restaurant won best ethnic caterer award at Booker Prize for Excellence.
2002 – A new playground at Sir John Offley Primary School, costing £3500, is opened. It is paid for by the school’s Parent, Teacher & Friends Association.
2002 – After a long relationship with Madeley village Mike and Jean from The Crewe Arms retire and sell the business to Punch Taverns. They suffered the tragic loss of their only daughter a short time before.
2003 – Pat Austin stands down as cub pack leader for Madeley after 21 years.
2003 – John Swift, Sentinel Motoring Correspondent, rates the Bowsey Wood Junction with the A531 as one of the most dangerous junctions in the country.
2004 – up to 10,000 fish are believed to have died after suspected contamination of the Pool.
2004 – Revd. Barry Wilson becomes Vicar of Madeley. Married with two children. Ordained at Lichfield Cathedral in 1997. Began curacy at St Michael’s Stone & St. Saviour’s, Aston, before becoming minister for Madeley & Betley. Leaving for St Mary’s, Nantwich in 2013, he was later Vice-Dean of Chester Cathedral, & is now Arhcdeacon of Montgomery, Diocese of St Asaph.
2005 – Miners Wheel memorial to all miners who perished in the pits erected at Madeley Heath.
2006 – Threatened closure of Lea House by Staffs CC thwarted for the moment by Lea House Action Group.
2007 – Madeley & District Community First Response team goes ‘live’.
2007 – Staffordshire Highways discuss options for the Madeley Heath A525 / A531 junction: Traffic Lights; Full Size Roundabout; Mini Roundabout.
2009 – The Madeley Centre project starts – Gordon Banks, goal keeping legend, cuts the first turf.
2009 – TV personality Nick Hancock turned on the Christmas Lights at Greyhound Court. The lights were later pulled down & thrown in the pool on Christmas Eve / Christmas Day by vandals. Councillors Simon White, Dave Whitmore & Billy Welsh arranged repairs.
2010 – Thieves steal lead from All Saints Church. £50,000 is needed to repair it.
2011 – Councillor Bill Sinnot passes away. He had a stroke while on holiday in Turkey, was air lifted to the City General Hospital, where he passed away. He was a Parish & Borough Councillor and a previous Mayor of Newcastle.
2011- The University of the Third Age sets up in Madeley to serve Madeley & surrounding areas.
2011 – Madeley Centre is opened by former Stoke City goalkeeper, Gordon Banks, one of the stars of the 1966 England World Cup winning team. The £8.2 million Madeley Centre brought together partners Madeley Community Development Project Group, Borough Council, County Council, Housing 21 & Thomas Vale Construction. It has a 200 seat capacity recreational hall for leisure, arts & theatre activities, a café /restaurant, information centre, rural hub, healthy living suite & multi use meeting spaces; also a 63 apartment extra care scheme for older people.                                                                            2013 – Revd. Peter Chantry becomes Vicar of Madeley & Betley.

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