Madeley Old Manor (in the 14th century Madeley Castle), was a medieval fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

in the parish of

Madeley, Staffordshire Madeley is a village and ward in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Staffordshire, England. It is split into three parts: Madeley, Middle Madeley, and Little Madeley. Madeley Heath is also considered by many to be part of Madeley. I ...

. It is now a ruin, with only fragments of its walls remaining. The remnants have

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

status and the site is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. The Tudor manor house is illustrated by

Michael Burghers Michael Burghers (b. ''c''.1647/8 – 1727) was a Dutch illustrator and artist of the 17th century, who spent most of his career in England. He was commissioned to create maps, estate plans, and illustrations of stately houses, by the English ari ...

as it appeared in 1686 in

Plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the story of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 Other * ''Plot' ...

's ''History of Staffordshire'', together with the formal gardens and a later east frontage. It is situated a short distance to the south of

Heighley Castle Heighley Castle (or Heleigh Castle) is a ruined medieval castle near Madeley, Staffordshire, Madeley, Staffordshire. The castle was completed by the Audley-Stanley family, Audley family in 1233 and for over 300 years was one of their ancestral h ...

, a mediaeval seat of the Audley family.

Descent

Stafford

Madeley was one of the 131 English manors held by

Robert de Stafford Robert de Stafford ( 1039 – c. 1100) (''alias'' Robert de Tosny/Toeni, etc.) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, the first feudal baron of Stafford in Staffordshire in England, where he built as his seat Stafford Castle. His many landholdings are l ...

(c.1039–c.1100) (''alias'' Robert de Tosny/Toeni, etc.), 1st feudal baron of Stafford, an Anglo-Norman nobleman who arrived in England during or shortly after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

of 1066 and was awarded by King

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

extensive territories in his newly conquered kingdom, predominantly in the county of Staffordshire. He built

Stafford Castle Stafford Castle is an ancient Grade II listed castle situated two miles west of the town of Stafford in Staffordshire, England. From the time of the Norman Conquest and as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 it was the seat of the powerful Ang ...

as his seat. His 131 landholdings are listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1086. In 1341 his descendant (via a female line) Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford (1301-1372), was granted a charter by King Edward III to hold weekly markets at Madeley on Tuesdays and two annual fairs on St George's day and St Leonard's day. In February 1347/8 the same king granted him royal

licence to crenellate In medieval England, Wales and the Channel Islands a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify his property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within th ...

''"his dwelling places of Stafford (Castle) and Madeley, in Staffs., to make castles of them"''. Shortly afterwards King Edward did him the great honour of creating him one of the founder

Knights of the Garter A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

. Madeley was forfeited by the Stafford family in 1521 following the execution of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1477–1521), and his posthumous attainder in 1523, when all the estates escheated to the crown. Reginald Whitacres was appointed parker to Madeley Great Park by the king following the execution. The 3rd Duke's descendants managed to regain some of their ancient estates, but the family never recovered its powerful position and the senior male line ended in poverty with the death of

Roger Stafford, 6th Baron Stafford Roger Stafford, 6th Baron Stafford, was the son of Richard Stafford, a younger son of Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford, and Ursula Pole. He was forced to give up the Stafford barony in 1637 on the grounds of poverty. Roger was born about 1572, ...

(c. 1573–1640).

Poyntz

Following the death of the 3rd Duke, the manor of Madeley was granted to Sir Francis Poyntz (d.1528), 3rd son of Sir

Robert Poyntz (died 1520) Sir Robert Poyntz (died 1520), Lord of the manor, lord of the manor of Iron Acton in Gloucestershire, was a supporter of the future King Henry VII of England, Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. He was buried in the Gaunt's Chapel, B ...

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

of the manor of Iron Acton in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, chancellor to Queen Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536), first wife of King Henry VIII. Following his death in 1528 his wife (Jane or Joan Browne, daughter of Sir Matthew Browne of Betchworth, Surrey), continued the lease, and was succeeded by his nephew.

Offley

In 1547 it was sold by Sir

Edward Braye Sir Edward Braye (or Bray) (by 1492 – 1558) was an English Royal Navy captain, justice of the peace, high sheriff and MP. He was born the son of John Braye of Eaton Bray, Bedfordshire and the younger brother of Edmund Braye. He was admitted ...

and Joan Browne his wife, daughter and heiress of Sir Matthew Browne, (apparently the widow of Sir Francis Poyntz) to Thomas Offley (d. 1582), a member of the

Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors ] The Worshipful Company of Merchant Taylors is one of the 110 Livery company, livery companies of the City of London. The Company, originally known as the ''Guild and Fraternity of St John the Baptist in the City of London'', was founded prio ...

, who became

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

in 1556. His wife was Joan Nichols. Five generations of Offleys lived at the manor including three John Offleys who served as

High Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities ass ...

. Sir Thomas Offley's son, Henry Offley, married Mary White, a daughter of Sir John White of Aldershot, Lord Mayor of London (1563-64). Henry Offley's son and heir was Sir John Offley, who married Anne Fuller, a daughter of Nicholas Fuller M.P., and several of their children married into notable families: William Offley married Frances, a daughter of John Lane of Bentley, MP; Elizabeth Offley married Sir Robert Jenney, son of Sir Arthur Jenney of

Knodishall Knodishall, a village in Suffolk, England, lies south-east of Saxmundham, south-west of Leiston, and 3 miles from the coast, in the Blything Hundred. Most dwellings are now at Coldfair Green; just a few remain in the original village by the ...

, Suffolk; and Katherine Offley married firstly Thomas Willis, son of

Thomas Willis Thomas Willis FRS (27 January 1621 – 11 November 1675) was an English doctor who played an important part in the history of anatomy, neurology and psychiatry, and was a founding member of the Royal Society. Life Willis was born on his pare ...

, Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, and secondly his cousin William Willis.

Crewe

Thomas Offley's great-great-grandson John Offley (b. 1649) married Anne Crewe, heiress of

Crewe Hall Crewe Hall is a Jacobean mansion located near Crewe Green, east of Crewe, in Cheshire, England. Described by Nikolaus Pevsner as one of the two finest Jacobean houses in Cheshire,Pevsner & Hubbard, p. 22 it is listed at grade I. Built in 16 ...

, Cheshire. Their son, John Offley, changed his name by a 1708 Act of Parliament to John Offley Crewe when he inherited his mother's estate. Their grandson was

John Crewe, 1st Baron Crewe John Crewe, 1st Baron Crewe (27 September 1742 – 28 April 1829), of Crewe Hall in Cheshire, was a British politician. He is chiefly remembered for his sponsorship of Crewe's Act of 1782, which barred customs officers and post office offici ...

(1742–1829). The Peerage website
/ref> Madeley Manor was abandoned and fell into ruin following the building of the second Madeley Manor (O.S. Map Reference SJ 7759 4591). The family eventually made Crewe Hall their principal seat.

References