Madeley Hall

Madeley Hall is a grade 2 listed building and was built in 1700. It was originally the centre of a large farm of 180 acres and was probably built by the Ashwoods, a long established Madeley family.

With its mellow brickwork, keystones and stone lintels, it was typical of the Queen Anne style of mansions. The main rooms are lined with oak paneling and the doors have solid brass furniture. A fascinating feature of the kitchen was the old turnspit, which would have been operated by a dog running round inside a wheel.

Like many other old houses in Madeley, the Hall has its resident ghost. Many appearances of a little old lady dressed in a poked bonnet and silk shawl have been recorded. It is thought she was a member of the Yate family.

In 1770 Dorothy Ashwood married Henry Hawley, and by way of marriage settlement the property passed to the Hawley family of Leybourne Grange in Kent. It remained in their ownership until 1848 when Sir Joseph Henry Hawley sold the hall and farm to Joseph Yate. In the 1860's much of the land was sold to the Ferridays of Upper House, Madeley.

Joseph Yate died in 1893 leaving a son, Walter Henry and a daughter, Louisa Anne, neither of whom married. In 1912, on the death of Walter Henry, a cousin, Colonel Charles Edward Yate, Member of Parliament for Melton Mowbray, began to buy up the mortgage. He was a retired Indian soldier and administrator of some distinction who was later created a baronet. In 1914 he became owner of the hall, and settled there in 1920 until his death in 1940. The property then passed to his nephew Lt. Colonel V.A.C. Yate, Military Cross, who sold it to Wenlock Borough Council.

The old barn is situated near to the hall and has been used for social events in Madeley. Beside it is the site of a horse-drawn threshing engine, now known as the cock pit. It is likely that this circular area provided the venue for cock fighting also.