Genealogy

Extracted from William White’s History, Gazetteer and Directory of Staffordshire 1851 (pages 394-396)

MADELEY parish extends from 4 miles W. of Newcastle-under-Lyme, to the junction of Cheshire and Shropshire, and comprises a fertile but hilly district of 6010 acres, of which 1235 are arable, 3699 meadows and pastures and 736 woodland and plantations. It is divided into the two townships of Madeley and Onniley, the former containing 1300, and the latter 192 inhabitants; but they maintain their poor conjointly, and are in the Union of Newcastle-under-Lyme. The principal owners of the soil are the Earl of Wilton and LORD CREWE, the latter of whom is lord of the manor, and derived this estate from the late Hon. Eliz. Emma Cunliffe Offley, sister of the late Lord Crewe, who was a descendent of the knightly family of Offley, who held this manor and Muccleston during several centuries, and intermarried with the Crewes. The Earl of Wilton is descended from the Egertons, who long had their principal residence here, and there are many monuments in the church.

GREAT MADELEY, the principal village of the parish, is seated in a narrow vale, on the Whitchurch road, 5 miles W. by S. of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and contains several good houses, the most remarkable of which is an old half-timbered dwelling, with the following quaint inscription on its front: – “16 – Walk knave, what look’st at. – 47.”Close to the village I a large pool, which supplies a corn mill with water. The Church, dedicated to All Saints, is an ancient structure, with an embattled tower and six bells. The vicarage, valued in K.B. at £4.16s. 0½ d., and in 1831 at £266, is in the patronage of Lord Crewe, and incumbency of the Rev. J. W. Daltry, M.A., who ahs a neat residence. The tithes were commuted in 1840, for £192.5s. to the vicar, and £334 to the impropriator, lord Crewe. in the village are a small Methodist Chapel, built in 1831; an endowed hospital, and two free schools; and the parish has several benefactions for the poor. – About a mile N.E. is the village of LITTLE MADELEY; to the west of which is the Manor house, a handsome modern mansion, which is now the seat of the Hon. Miss Crewe, (sister of Lord Crewe,) and has four miles of walks through the sylvan pleasure grounds and park. Wrine-hill Hall, formerly the seat of the Egertons, is now a farm house, on the west side of the parish, adjoining to Cheshire. At Leycett, 2miles N. of Great Madeley, is a colliery and iron works; and in the parish are three large brick and tile works, and several nail manufacturers. Here are excellent beds of blue, red, and fire clay, of which drain pipes, as well as bricks and tiles, are made. Near the village is a Railway Station, on the London and North Western line, 4¾ miles of which is in this parish. Near the Station is a beautiful Monument of Caen stone, 33 feet high, lately erected by Hon. Miss Crewe, in memory of her late charitable aunt, the above-named Hon. Lady Offley. A fountain of clear water issues from the monument; and as a memento of her aunt’s benevolence, the Hon. Miss Crewe has divided three acres of good land into 20 allotments for the poor.

ONNILEY, or Onneley, is a pleasant hamlet and township, 1 ½ miles S.W. of Great Madeley. It belongs to the Earl of Wilton and several other freeholders. About 1 ½ to the S.E. is Madeley Park, an extensive wood with a neat mansion occupied by a farmer. Madeley wake is on the nearest Sunday to Nov. 6th. or on that date when it falls on a Sunday.

Madeley FREE SCHOOLS, for boys and girls, were built in 1645, pursuant to the will of sir John Offley, who endowed them with two yearly rent charges, viz. £40 for the, master and £20 for the mistress, to be paid out of lands at upper and Nether Thornhills, now belonging to Lord Crewe, who has increased the rent charges to £60 for the master and £40 for the mistress. All the children of the parish of Madeley and of the township of Muccleston, whose parents wish to use it, are educated freely at these schools, which are now conducted on the Madras system.

The ALMSHOUSES, in Madeley, were founded by Sir John Offley, who, by his will, ordered them to be built of stone, for ten poor men and women, whom he endowed with a yearly rent charge of £45, to be paid out of his houses in Leadenhall Street, London, now belonging to E. Bliss, Esq., of Brandon, in Suffolk, who pays the annuity, for equal distribution among the ten alms-people.

BENEFACTORS. – Sir John Offley likewise bequeathed to Madeley parish £20 a year, for the officiating clergyman to preach a sermon in the church every Tuesday. This annuity is paid by Lord Crewe, but the sermon is now preached on Sunday afternoons, instead of Tuesday. The Hon. Mary Offley, widow of John Offley, Esq., left the use of £100 “to be dealt in bread,” in the township of Madeley. Five per cent. interest is now paid for this legacy, and it is distributed in doles of bread every other Sunday. The POOR’S LAND, consisting of 26 acres, at Onneley, was purchased with £200, left by Ralph Horton, and several other benefactors. In 1769, it was let on a 99 years’ lease, at the annual rent of £25, on condition, that the lessee should erect upon it a good house and other outbuildings, (now the Wheat Sheaf Inn.) The rent is given away on St. Thomas’s day, in clothing and money. In 1804, Samuel Stretch left the interest of £200 to the organists of Madeley and Market Drayton, and left a large bell, as a guide to travellers who might be lot on the surrounding moors. He also gave a chandelier for the church, and a bell for the free schools.

The data from White’s 1851 Directory of Staffordshire for Madeley. It provides a  fascinating insight into 1850s Madeley, and is useful information for genealogists. Trade directories, of which White’s was a major one, were the precursor of the Yellow Pages!