History of Madeley / including Ironbridge, Coalbrookdale, and Coalport

Mr. Fletcher returned to England in the spring of 1781, better, but without having regained his health; and in the course of the summer he had an interview with Miss Bosanquet, at Cross Hall, Yorkshire, which led to marriage in November, and both arrived at Madeley in January, 1782.  With good nursing his health returned, so that he was able to write to Mr. Wesley in December of that year, to say—“I have strength enough to do my parish work without the help of a curate.”  This was one of those years of bad harvests and scarcity of provisions, which usually led to disturbances, and we find him in the same letter saying:—“The colliers began to rise in this neighbourhood: happily, the cockatrice’s egg was crushed before the serpent came out.  However, I got many a hearty curse from the colliers for the plain words I spoke on the occasion.”

Acting upon the proposals of Mrs. Darby, he established a Sunday-school in Madeley Wood.  These proposals were:—

“II.—That the children admitted into these be taught reading, writing, and the principles of religion.

“III.—That there be a school for boys, and another for girls, in Madeley, Madeley-Wood, and Coalbrook-Dale: six in all.

“IV.—That a subscription be opened, to pay each Teacher one shilling per Sunday, and to buy tables, forms, books, pens, and ink.

“V.—That two Treasurers be appointed to ask and receive the contributions of the subscribers.

“VI.—That whosoever subscribes one guinea a year shall be a Governor.

“VII.—That three or four Inspectors be appointed, who are to visit the schools once a week, to see that the children attend regularly, and the masters do their duty.

“VIII.—That a book be provided for setting down all receipts and expenses; and another for the names of the Teachers and the scholars.

“IX.—That the schools be solemnly visited once or twice a year; and a premium given to the children that have made the greatest improvement.”

Three hundred children were soon gathered together whom Mr. Fletcher took every opportunity of instructing, by regular meetings, which he attended with the utmost diligence.  In order to encourage the children he gave them little hymn-books, pointing them to some friend or neighbour, who would teach them the hymns and instruct them to sing.  They were greatly taken with this new employment, insomuch that it is said many would scarce allow themselves time to eat or sleep, for the desire they had of learning their lessons.  At every meeting, after inquiring who had made the greatest proficiency, he distinguished them by some little reward.  He also urged upon his more wealthy parishioners the importance of establishing such schools at Coalbrookdale and Madeley.

Mr. Fletcher was for some time at the head of a college founded by the Countess of Huntingdon for young men preparing for the ministry, at Trevecca, in South Wales.  His attachment to his flock at Madeley, however, prevented him paying more than occasional visits and giving advice with regard to the appointment of masters, and the admission or exclusion of students.  Mr. Benson, one of the tutors, tells us that he here gave numberless proofs of his amiable disposition.  To mention but one instance, two of the students were bitterly prejudiced against each other, and he took them into a room by themselves, reasoned with them, wept over them, and at last prevailed.  Their hearts were broken; they were melted down; they fell upon each others’ necks and wept aloud.

The long journeys on horseback, in all seasons and in all weathers, from Madeley to Trevecca and back again to Madeley, however, told upon his constitution, and much impaired his health.

Mr. Fletcher as a Controversialist.

A not very friendly critic, the Christian Observer, speaking some time afterwards of this discussion, says:—

Mr. Wesley says:—“One knows not which to admire most, the purity of the language (such as scarce any foreigner wrote before); the strength and clearness of the argument; or the mildness and sweetness of the spirit that breathes throughout the whole.”  Those who read these discussions in the present day feel surprised at the warmth and bitterness exhibited by the antagonists, but allowance must be made for the temper of the times.

Mr. Fletcher as a Politician.

Mr. Fletcher as a Descriptive Writer.

It may afford a fair specimen of Mr. Fletcher’s dispassionate descriptive style of writing, and at the same time serve to commemorate a notable phenomenon much talked of at that time, to quote his account of the great landslip at the Birches, just on the borders of the parishes of Madeley and Buildwas.

Mr. Fletcher added:—“My employment and taste leading me more to search out the mysteries of heaven than to scrutinize the phenomena of the earth, and to point at the wonders of grace rather than those of nature; I leave the decision of the question about the slip and the earthquake to some abler philosopher.”

The phenomenon was nothing more nor less than a landslip, such as has occurred time after time alongside the banks of the Severn, only upon a larger scale than usual; and Mr. Fletcher, as was his wont, turned the event to account by addressing the large number who had assembled to witness what had taken place, in words of earnest and solemn import, and by preaching again to them on the same spot the following evening.

Mr. Fletcher in the Pulpit.

In person Mr. Fletcher was above the middle stature.  He had a pleasing face, a penetrating eye, and a slightly aquiline nose.  His manners were courteous and graceful, and he displayed a dignity and humility of character rarely associated in the same person.  In the pulpit, it is said, the liveliest fancy could not frame for any of the ancient saints an aspect more venerable or apostolic.

Of Mr. Fletcher’s preaching, the author of a letter quoted by Mr. Gilpin says:—

His aim was not to captivate his hearers by artificial means, but by simple and sincere scriptural arguments; and his language, gesture, voice, and pleasing expression of countenance aided much in fixing the attention and affecting the heart.  Many walked long distances and brought their dinners with them, that they might attend morning and afternoon services; and deep indentations in the stone pillars of the vicarage gate exist to show where some sharpened their knives.  He sometimes provided dinners for them in his own house.

The clerk at one of the churches Mr. Fletcher served for some time sought to turn his popularity to account by charging for admission to all not belonging to the parish, to which practice Mr. Fletcher soon put an end upon its coming to his knowledge, and compelled him to return the money.

“I now know why my sermon was taken from me—namely, that God might thus magnify His mercy.”

Mr. Fletcher’s Charity and Love of the Poor.

Mr. Fletcher’s income from his living was not more on an average, Mrs. Fletcher says, than £100 per annum; and many of the wealthy people of the Dale objected to pay tythe, which he equally objected to enforce.

Mr. Fletcher’s Last Illness and Death.

Mr. Fletcher’s wish was to live as he would be likely to wish he had lived when he came to die, a holy life rather than a triumphant death being his main object.  A Godly life was the way to a happy death, he stated in one of his sermons; nevertheless, he continued, this rule like many others might have exceptions, as the partial or entire derangement of the human machine, or the self-chastisement of a tender conscience on account of former infidelities might determine.

He lingered till the following Sunday, at times greatly edifying his friends with accounts of his experience.  Mr. Cox says:—

Testimonies of the Life and Character of the Rev. John Fletcher.

Posthumous literature usually carries little weight.  It often assumes virtues to which the deceased were strangers, and not unfrequently libels the dead.  The simple epitaph on the plain iron plate which covers Mr. Fletcher’s remains in the Madeley churchyard is not of this class, but is so modest an expression of facts that it requires to be read by the light which the records of contemporaries throw upon it, and which will be found to be more on a level with the merits and virtues of the deceased.

The Shrewsbury Chronicle of August, 1785, in recording the death of Mr. Fletcher had the following:—

The following is a copy of the entry in the parish register:—

“John Fletcher, clerk, died on Sunday evening, August 14th, 1785.  He was one of the most apostolic men of the age in which he lived.  His abilities were extraordinary, and his labours unparalleled.  He was a burning and shining light, and as his life had been a common blessing to the inhabitants of this parish, so the death of this great man was lamented by them as a common and irreparable loss.  This little testimony was inserted by one who sincerely loved and honoured him.  Joshua Gilpin, vicar of Wrockwardine.”

“Here lies the Body of
the REV. JOHN WILLIAM DE LA FLECHERE,
Vicar of Madeley.
He was born at Nyon, in Switzerland,
September 12th, MDCCXXIX,
and finished his Course in this Village,
August 14th, MDCCLXXXV, where his
unexampled labours will be long remembered.
He exercised his Ministry for the Space
of Twenty five Years in this Parish,
with uncommon Zeal and Ability.
Many believed his Report and became his Joy
and Crown of Rejoicing:
While others constrained him to take up
the Lamentation of the Prophet,
‘All the Day long have I stretched out my Hands
unto a disobedient and gainsaying People;
yet surely my Judgment is with the Lord,
and my Work with my God.
(He being dead yet speaketh.’)”

“On January 2nd, 1782, we set out for Madeley.  But O! where shall I begin my song of praise!  What a turn is there in all my affairs!  What a depth of sorrow, distress, and perplexity, am I delivered from!  How shall I find language to express the goodness of the Lord!  Not one of the good things have failed me of all the Lord my God hath spoken.  Now I know no want but that of more grace.  I have such a husband as is in everything suited to me.  He bears with all my faults and failings, in a manner that continually reminds me of that word, ‘Love your wives as Christ loved the church.’  His constant endeavour is to make me happy; his strongest desire, my spiritual growth.  He is, in every sense of the word, the man my highest reason chooses to obey.  I am also happy in a servant, whom I took from the side of her mother’s coffin, when she was four years old.  She loves us as if we were her parents, and is also truly devoted to God.”

“The Old Barn” was one of the places long associated with her labours and her name, and was a place long endeared to Mr. Wesley’s early ministers, who used it for preaching and exhortation.  It was a heavy half-timbered building, in the fashion of former times, a lithograph representation of which by a friend of ours, Mr. Philip Ballard, may be seen in the houses of many of the inhabitants of Madeley.

Sarah Lawrence, whom Mr. Fletcher took as a child from the side of her mother’s coffin, and adopted as a daughter, was a faithful friend, and of considerable assistance in visiting and conversing with the sick; but she died some years before Mrs. Fletcher, who built a chapel at Coalport to her memory, in consequence of a dream Miss Lawrence had had, that great good would result from the erection of a place of worship there.  The lease, we believe, has now expired.

“Her whole life was one of self-sacrificing endeavour to do good to the souls and bodies of men.  She lived not for herself but for others.  She was one of a thousand, as of mercy, so of economy; always sparing of expense upon herself, that she might have more to give to ‘the household of faith.’  She would often say, ‘God’s receivers upon earth are Christ’s Church and His poor.’  When I have proposed the purchasing of some article of clothing for her, she would ask, ‘Is it quite necessary?  If not do not buy it: it will be much better to give the money to some of our poor neighbours than to lay it out upon me.’  Nor was this once only; it was invariably her conduct; and with great truth it might be constantly said of her also, that

“‘What her charity impairs,
She saves by prudence in affairs.’

“She was remarkably exact in setting down every penny she expended.  She kept four different accounts, in which all she spent was included.  These four were the house, sundries, clothes, and poor.  We have often at the end of the year been astonished to find the house expenses so small, considering how many had shared with us.  At such times she has said, ‘It is the Lord who has blessed our bread and water.’”

Having given sketches of Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher at some length, we now proceed to notice the religious aspect of Madeley at that period.  In order to do this more fully we notice, first, that Mr. Fletcher during the three years which elapsed between his ordination and presentation to the living at Madeley, in 1760, occasionally visited the parish and officiated for Mr. Chambers, the then vicar, as his curate.  He was therefore acquainted with the nature of the charge he was about to undertake, and with the character of the people among whom he was about to labour, a tolerable estimate of which may be gleaned from the description given by one of Mr. Fletcher’s biographers, the Rev. J. Benson, who says:—

How he laboured is best described by the same writer, who says:—

“Not content with discharging the stated duties of the Sabbath, he counted that day as lost, in which he was not actually employed in the service of the church.  As often as a small congregation could be collected, which was usually every evening, he joyfully proclaimed to them the acceptable year of the Lord, whether it were in the place set apart for public worship, in a private house, or in the open air.  And, on these occasions, the affectionate and fervent manner in which he addressed his hearers, was an affecting proof of the interest he took in their spiritual concerns.  As the varying circumstances of his people required, he assumed a different appearance among them: at one season he would open his mouth in blessings: and, at another, he would appear, like his Lord amid the buyers and sellers, with the lash of righteous severity in his hand.  But, in whatever way he exercised his ministry, it was evident that his labours were influenced by love, and tended immediately, either to the extirpation of sin, or the increase of holiness.”

And Mr. Wesley, speaking of his friend’s conduct and labours to spread the truth and to repress vice in every possible way, says:—

So stubborn and unyielding were the materials, that for some time he saw so little fruit of his labours that he tells us he was more than once in doubt, whether he had not mistaken his place, and that he was violently, as he tells Mr. Charles Wesley, tempted to quit the place.  After a little time his church became crowded; excitement then died away, and strong opposition sprang up; but there was an energy about his preaching and exhortations which was irresistible, and he succeeded in his work.  The change effected in the whole tone and character, of thought and feeling among the inhabitants was obvious, and perceptible to the most prejudiced.  That a life of surpassing purity and self-sacrifice to the highest ends should produce such effects shewed that even low and carnal nature when honestly appealed to is not wholly insensible to true and genuine piety.  He laboured and others entered into his labours.

Religious Aspect of Madeley in 1777 and 1877.

It is, of course, difficult to arrive at strictly accurate statistics by which to determine the complete state of religious feeling at any given time; but taking well ascertained facts for our guide we may at least get an approximate result.  The moral ground and receptacle of religious truth upon which Mr. Fletcher had to work was the same as now; but that ground may be, and is, we imagine, in a more favourable condition for the reception of the seed now than it was in Mr. Fletcher’s day: facts also tend to shew that men are less indifferent and supercilious now than then, and that the means of influencing them are vastly increased, probably as a natural consequence whilst the fruits are in proportion.  The channel of truth is wider and deeper, and the climate of thought and feeling is more favourable, and although diversities may have increased, there are collateral benign and ameliorating influences in operation, producing mutual reverence for the good and the true, and a growing tolerance of opinion where such diversity exists.

In Mr. Fletcher’s time, then, if we except the out places then being opened for the convenience of small societies, there was church accommodation only for 500, leaving 4,000 unprovided for.  We have now a church capable of holding 1000; and a chapel of Ease at the Aqueduct holding 200; in addition to places of meeting at Lower Madeley, Blissers Hill, Coalport, and the Lloyds.

In addition to this, a church has been erected at Ironbridge capable of holding 900; and one at Coalbrookdale seating 850 persons.  We thus get Church accommodation alone for over three thousand, or nearly one third of the population, as against 500 formerly.  But the best criterion is the activity and co-operation of workers and helpers, the machinery called into play by those who, having themselves been indoctrinated, come willingly forward to carry on the work of benevolence, education, and religion, and who give evidence to their faith by their works.

At least one hundred more persons than the old church would hold now attend service at 11 a.m. and 300 more than it could have held attend at 6 p.m.  A Service is also held on the 1st Sunday in every month at 3-15 p.m. at which children are catechised, and the Sacrament of Baptism administered.

Ironbridge Church.

We are not so well informed with regard to the Church at Ironbridge.  It was built in 1836, and consists of nave, chancel, and side aisles, with a tower in which is a clock and one bell; it has a fine east window of stained glass, with full length figures of St. James and St. John.  It will accommodate about a thousand hearers, but at present the number attending is small.  In addition to the cost of the erection, which was defrayed chiefly by local subscriptions, £1000 was contributed towards the endowment by one firm, that of Madeley Wood; the great, or rectorial, tithes have since been added, and the rector receives an income of £250 per annum.

There are Sunday Schools and other institutions but we are without the precise information as to the amount of money raised.  The population in the year 1871 was 3,605.

Coalbrookdale.

The number of communicants averages 60.  The Sacrament is administered monthly, and on the usual festivals.  The offerings for the poor are about £25 yearly; for the expenses of the Church, somewhere about £2 weekly, i.e., £104 annually.  There is a good state of religious feeling.

Wesleyan Methodism.

It was under auspices such as these that the early preachers of Methodism commenced their labours.  It had an able lay agency in its local preachers, like William Smith, Samuel Onions, Thomas Owen, Thomas Mollineaux, Richard Williams, and others, with class leaders, like the Smiths, Robertses, Milners, and Joneses, men and women who lived lives of faith and purity, and laid a firm substratum on which to erect the general edifice.

For many years the “Old Barn” and “Miss Tooth’s Room” sufficed for the Wesleyans in Madeley.  They then erected the building now used as the Infant School by the Church party.  This proving too small, they built in 1841, the present place of worship in Court Street, which will hold 800 persons or more.  It is calculated that Madeley Wood chapel will hold 900 persons, Coalbrookdale chapel about 400, and Coalport about 200, or 2,200 altogether.  The usual number of hearers at these places is over 1,500, and the number of members 300.  Collections are made at each chapel for pretty much the same purposes, such as colleges, and schools for training young ministers, ministers sons, and teachers for day schools.  For home missions and circuit purposes there is raised altogether £447.  In addition to this there is raised for Foreign Missions a further sum of £100; thus making a total of £547.

The Primitive Methodists established themselves in Madeley about 50 years ago.  They have a chapel at Madeley with an attendance upon an average of 220.

The New Connexion.

This body established themselves in Madeley about half a century ago, and they have two chapels, one at Madeley and another at Madeley Wood, each capable of holding 200 hearers.  At the Bethesda chapel, Madeley, about 60 attend, and there are 18 members.  There is a Sunday School, with 60 scholars and 8 teachers.  For Home objects, including the Sunday School, £26 is raised yearly and for Foreign Missions a further sum of £2.  Total £28 0 0.

Baptists.

The Baptists erected a chapel here in 1858 at a cost of £650, which holds 250 persons.  There are 30 members, and the congregation averages 100.  There is a Sunday School, with 60 children.  The sum raised for various objects amounts to £60.

Congregationalists.

The Congregationalists erected a church here in 1874, at a cost of £1,400.  It was opened in January 1875, and has an average congregation—Morning, 50; Evening 100.  Sunday School 80 on the books.  Mothers service 20 attend.  Two weekly services; average attendance 30.  Amount raised for all purposes in connection with the Church £130.

Besides these well recognised institutions in connection with various religious bodies there are other useful institutions, some of a religious, and others of an educational but unsectarian character, such as Union Prayer Meetings at Ironbridge, the Severn side School, various Literary Societies and Reading Rooms, in connection with which large sums are annually raised; and by means of which at Madeley, and Coalbrookdale more particularly, a large amount of information is disseminated.

William Reynolds having at his death left a share in the Madeley Wood works to his nephew, William Anstice (father of the present William Reynolds Anstice) whom he also appointed one of his executors, and by whom, in partnership with William Reynolds’s surviving son, the late Joseph Reynolds, the works were carried on until the decease of Mr. Anstice in the year 1850.

In consequence of the mines being exhausted on the Madeley Wood side of the field he had new shafts sunk to the east, the first of importance being the Hills Lane pits.  The Halesfield pair of pits followed, and the mines having been thus proved on that side, the idea first suggested by William Reynolds, of removing the works to that place, was acted upon by Mr. William Anstice, who built his first furnace at Blisser’s Hill, in 1832.  A second was built in 1840 and a third in 1844.