Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for MADELEY

MADELEY, a small town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district, in Salop. The town stands on the Wellington and Severn Junction railway, adjacent to the defleection of branches to Shiffnal and to Coalbrookdale, 1 mile N of a bend of the river Severn, 2 E by N of Ironbridge, and 6 SE by S of Wellington; belonged anciently to Wenlock abbey; got the grant of a market, under that abbey, in the time of Henry II.; is a seat of county courts; and has a post office,‡ under Wellington, Salop, a railway station, a banking office, and a good inn. The market went into disuse, but was revived about the middle of last century; and a new market-house was then erected in Ironbridge. Fairs are held on the last Tuesday of Jan., 29 May, and the second Tuesday of Oct. The parish contains also the town and chapelry of Ironbridge, and part of the village and chapelry of Coalbrookdale. Acres, 2,809. Real property, £59,636; of which £3,159 are in mines, £150 in quarries, £35,827 in iron-works, and £291 in gas-works. Pop. in 1851, 8,525; in 1861,9,469. Houses, 1,908. The manor be longs to J. Reynolds, Esq. The scenery, notwithstanding the presence of very-extensive iron-works, is strikingly beautiful; and it derives features of interest from some works of art, particularly the famous iron bridge over the Severn. The substrata contain valuable deposits of coal, ironstone, and potters' clay. The iron-works of Madeley-wood and Madeley-court employ about 1,500 persons; and porcelain works employ about 500. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Hereford. Value, £300.* Patron, Mrs. Bartlett. The church was rebuilt in 1796; superseded a church of Norman date; is a stone edifice, in the Grecian style, with a tower; and contains a monument to Fletcher, author of "Checks to Antinomianism" and other works, who was vicar. The vicarages of Ironbridge and Coalbrookdale are separate benefices. Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist chapels are at Madeley town; and other dissenting chapels are in other parts. A Roman Catholic chapel was built in 1853, and is in the early English style. There are large national schools, an infant school, and charities £18.—The sub-district contains also the parishes of Buildwas and Little Wenlock. Acres, 7,682. Pop., 10,733. Houses, 2,154.—The district comprehends also the subdistrict of Broseley, containing the parishes of Broseley, Linley, Willey, Barrow, Benthall, and Posenball; the sub-district of Dawley, containing the parishes of DawleyMagua and Stirchley; and the sub-district of MuchWenlock, conterminate with Much-Wenlock parish. Acres, 27,951. Poor rates in 1863, £7,967. Pop. in 1851,27,627; in 1861,30,403. Houses, 5,980. Marriages in 1863,206; births, 1,090,-of which 119 were illegitimate; deaths, 698,-of which 308 were at ages under 5 years, and 17 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851 60,1,693; births, 10,105; deaths, 6,210. The places of worship, in 1851, were 17 of the Church of England, with 7,351 sittings; 1 of Independents, with 310 s.; 4 of Baptists, with 840 s.; 1 of Quakers, with 260 s.; 10 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 3,916 s.; 2 of New Connexion Methodists, with 810 s.; 9 of Primitive Methodists, with 1,112 s.; and 2 of Roman Catholics, with 445 s. The schools were 19 public dayschools, with 2,411 scholars; 28 private day-schools, with 612 s.; 31 Sunday schools, with 4,095 s.; and 1 evening school for adults, with 17 s. The workhouse is in Madeley parish; and, at the census of 1861, had 42 inmates.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a small town, a parish, a sub-district, and a district"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Madeley AP/CP       Madeley SubD       Madeley RegD/PLU       Shropshire AncC
Place: Madeley

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