Madeley is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 and ward in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Staffordshire

North Staffordshire

North Staffordshire describes an area of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It contains the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire Moorlands and the City of Stoke-on-Trent. The Stoke and Newcastle areas make up The Potteries Urban Area, whilst the Moorlands are largely...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is split into three parts: Madeley, Middle Madeley, and Little Madeley. Madeley Heath is also considered by many to be part of Madeley. In the 2001 census

United Kingdom Census 2001

A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

, the population was recorded as 4,386.

Geography

Madeley is located 5 miles (8 km) west of Newcastle-under-Lyme

Newcastle-under-Lyme

Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...

 town centre

Town centre

The town centre is the term used to refer to the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town.Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus stations...

 and is close to the Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

 and Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

 borders. To the north are the villages of Betley

Betley

Betley is a village and civil parish in the Newcastle district of Staffordshire, England, about halfway between Newcastle-under-Lyme and Nantwich. Betley forms a continual linear settlement with Wrinehill.-Transport:...

 and Wrinehill

Wrinehill

Wrinehill, also called Checkley cum Wrinehill, is a village in the north-west of Staffordshire on the A531 road lying adjacent to the southern border of Cheshire in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. For many years it was claimed by both counties but reportedly came under official Staffordshire...

. South is the hamlet of Baldwin's Gate

Baldwin's Gate

Baldwin's Gate is a hamlet in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire. There is a pub in the centre of the village called The Sheet Anchor, along with a Post Office & General Store, a Primary School and another small shop. There is also a Methodist church and just outside the village...

. To the east is Keele

Keele

Keele is a village and civil parish in northern Staffordshire, England. It is approximately three miles west of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and is close to the village of Silverdale...

, the site of Keele University

Keele University

Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...

 as well as Silverdale

Silverdale, Staffordshire

Silverdale is a suburban village and civil parish in Staffordshire, west of Newcastle-under-Lyme. In 1932 it became part of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and is now, with the exception of the north-eastern end, part of the Silverdale and Parksite ward....

, whilst to the west lies Onneley

Onneley

Onneley is a hamlet in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire....

 and Woore

Woore

Woore is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Shropshire. It had a population of 1,411 in the 2001 census. The name means "boundary" in ancient celtic and this fits nicely with the fact that it is on the boundary with both the counties of Cheshire and Staffordshire.The...

.

History

Madeley is derived from the Saxon, Madanlieg, meaning 'a clearing in the woods belonging to Mada' (Mada is a female Saxon name).

Madeley is recorded in the Domesday Book

Domesday Book

Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...

 as being 2160 acres (8.7 km²) of wood and 4 plough teams. The first Madeley Old Manor

Madeley Old Manor

Madeley Old Manor was a medieval manor house at Madeley, Staffordshire. It is now a ruin, with only fragments of its walls remaining. The remnants have Grade II listed building status and the site is a Scheduled Ancient Monument....

 was built by Robert de Stafford

Robert de Stafford

Robert de Stafford was a Norman nobleman, the builder of Stafford Castle in England. He may or may not be the same as Robert de Tosny Lord of Belvoir or of the Robert de Tosny who was son of Raoul II of Tosny ; primary evidence is lacking to determine his parentage, according to Cawley...

, with the local church being founded in 1200.
Heighley Castle

Heighley Castle

Heighley Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated at Madeley, Staffordshire.The castle was completed by the Audley family in 1233 and for over 300 years was one of their ancestral homes. It was held for Charles I during the English Civil War and was destroyed by Parliamentary forces in the...

 was built in 1226 by Henry de Audley

Baron Audley

The title Baron Audley was first created on 8 January 1313 by writ in the Peerage of England for Nicholas Audley of Heighley Castle a member of the Audley family of Staffordshire.....

 and ordered to be demolished by Parliamentary committee sitting at Stafford in 1644 to prevent its use by Royalists. Little remains today but some of the ruins are still visible during winter through the vegetation surrounding the area. There is also Madeley Old Hall

Madeley Old Hall

Madeley Old Hall is a historical 16th century house now a small hotel in the village of Madeley in Staffordshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building.-References:*...

.

Industry

A significant feature and well known landmark of the village is Madeley Mill standing on the dam for the pool. During its history the mill was used for grinding grain but prior to its closure, production was turned over to cheese making. It fell into disrepair before being developed and converted into apartments in the early 1990s saving it from proposed demolition by the local council.

North Staffordshire was a centre for coal mining and the nearby mine at Leycett

Leycett

Leycett is a village in Staffordshire in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme.Leycett was served by a railway station which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on June 28, 1880. The village hosted the Hollywood music festival in 1970....

 was known as Madeley under the National Coal Board

National Coal Board

The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...

.Sinking began in the 1880s and the Colliery had five shafts with exotic names: Bang Up, Fair Lady, Clarkes, Harrisons and Woodburn.The Pit closed on 21 September 1957. There is nothing left of the site nowadays and it is used for agriculture.

Education

Madeley has three schools. Two primary schools, Meadows and Sir John Offley Primary School. The Madeley high school

Madeley high school

Madeley High School, established 1957, is a comprehensive secondary school in the village of Madeley, Staffordshire, England. The school was founded as a secondary modern school. It is now a Specialist Technology College with joint second specialisms in Arts and Cognition and Learning.Madeley High...

 secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 serves the surrounding area.

As part of the expansion in higher

Higher education

Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...

 and further education

Further education

Further education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...

, Madeley College opened in 1962 and specialised in Men's Physical Education

Physical education

Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....

 and Home Economics

Home Economics

Home economics is the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community...

. It closed in the mid 1980s after becoming part of the North Staffordshire Polytechnic

Staffordshire University

Staffordshire University is a university with its main campus based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and with other campuses in Stafford, Lichfield and Shrewsbury.- History :...

.

Roads

The majority of the settlement sits between the M6 motorway

M6 motorway

The M6 motorway runs from junction 19 of the M1 at the Catthorpe Interchange, near Rugby via Birmingham then heads north, passing Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Preston, Carlisle and terminating at the Gretna junction . Here, just short of the Scottish border it becomes the A74 which continues to...

 and the West Coast Main Line

West Coast Main Line

The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...

 but there is no access to the motorway or a railway station. The A525 road

A525 road

The A525 is major route from Rhyl in North Wales to Newcastle-under-Lyme in England. On the way, it passes near to Denbigh, through Ruthin, through Wrexham and near Whitchurch.It is dual carriageway just south of Rhyl...

 passes through Madeley as a primary route. It connects with the A531

A531 road

The A531 is non-primary route in England that runs from Madeley Heath in Staffordshire to join the A500 close to Weston near Crewe, Cheshire....

 which further connects with the A500

A500 road

The A500 is a major primary A road in Staffordshire and Cheshire, England. It is dual carriageway for most of its length and connects Nantwich, junctions 16 and 15 of the M6 motorway with the city of Stoke-on-Trent...

 to the north.

In World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 when food was rationed, a lorry overturned on the A351 road which was carrying Stork

Stork (margarine)

Stork is a brand of margarine spread, owned by Unilever.Introduced into the United Kingdom and Ireland from 1920, housewives were initially suspicious of the health affects and cooking ability of margarine...

 margarine

Margarine

Margarine , as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes, typically composed of vegetable oils. In many parts of the world, the market share of margarine and spreads has overtaken that of butter...

. People came from miles around came to recover the contents, resulting in its naming as Margarine Corner, which continues today.

Railways

Madeley was served by two railway stations, with the station on the West Coast Main Line closing in 1954. It was previously a stabling point for the Royal Train

Royal Train

A royal train is a set of carriages dedicated for the use of the monarch or other members of that particular royal family. Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages.-Australia:...

. There was also a Madeley Road station on the North Staffordshire Railway

North Staffordshire Railway

The North Staffordshire Railway was a British railway company formed in 1845 to promote a number of lines in the Staffordshire Potteries and surrounding areas in Staffordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire....

's branch line to Market Drayton

Market Drayton

Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....

 which was opened on February 1, 1870 and closed in 1931.

However during the 1960s the Station at Madeley Road was reopened and used as a messroom by British Rail Traincrew and Shunters for running Round Coal Trains destined for Silverdale and Holditch Collieries. These Trains came off the West Coast Mainline and onto the former Branch via Madeley Chord. This arrangement continued until Silverdale Colliery closed in 1998.

Notable individuals

Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister - singer/songwriter from Motörhead settled in Newcastle-under-Lyme then moved on to Madeley, Staffordshire with his Mother and Grandmother, William Bridges Adams

William Bridges Adams

William Bridges Adams was an author, inventor and locomotive engineer.-Overview:He is best known for his patented Adams Axle — a successful radial axle design in use on railways in Britain until the end of steam traction in 1968 — and the railway fishplate...

 author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

, inventor and locomotive engineer was born in Madeley, whilst Gordon Banks

Gordon Banks

Gordon Banks, OBE is a retired English football goalkeeper. The IFFHS named Banks the second best goalkeeper of the 20th century – after Lev Yashin and ahead of Dino Zoff ....

, the 1966 World Cup England national team

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 goalkeeper lives in the village.

External links

• Madeley on the Web
• Map References
  • Little Madeley
  • Madeley Heath
  • Middle Madeley