Madeley, Shropshire

The name Madeley is derived from the Old English madalēah meaning 'Mada's wood or clearing'. The settlement of Madeley is recorded as far back as the Domesday Book. The town was founded prior to the 8th century, and subsequently became a market town in the 13th century. Sigward, a local ruler in the time of King Æthelbald of Mercia, is said to have held 3 hides of land at Madeley. Between 727 and 736 he sold his holdings to Mildburh, daughter of Merewalh, sub-king of the Magonsæte. She was the founder and first head of Wenlock Abbey. The monastery was refounded as a Cluniac priory after the Norman Conquest but the manor of Madeley belonged to the church of Wenlock, throughout the Middle…