Madley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Madley Communications Centre earth satellite tracking station (photo by Philip Halling)

Madley is a village and civil parish in the English county of Herefordshire. It is located six miles west of the city of Hereford.

The parish includes the hamlets of Canon Bridge, Wormhill, Winmoor, Lulham, Upper & Lower Chilstone, Upper & Lower Shenmore, Cublington, Great & Little Brampton and Webton Court.

[edit] History & Amenities

Madley is most famous as the birthplace of Saint Dubricius, the 6th century evangelist of South Wales. He was actually born at Chilstone which is named after the 'Child Stone' that marked the spot. The parish has a fine medieval church which replaced that originally founded by St Dubricius. Madley is also home to the famous Lower Cublington Farm that produces many products for the Herefordshire market.

The British Telecom Madley Communications Centre earth satellite tracking station is between Madley and Kingstone on Colstone Common at grid reference SO420360.^[1] The site dates from 1975 and is in active use for international telephone, fax and television transmission and reception. The site first went into service in 1978. Madley was the first UK satellite site to transmit a fully digital transmission via a system called TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access). The only similar site in the United Kingdom is at Goonhilly in Cornwall. On 12 September 2006, BT announced it will shut down satellite operations at Goonhilly in 2008, and move them to Madley in Herefordshire, which will become BT's only earth station and the biggest in the world.

There is also a disused World War II airfield in Madley.^[2] It was built in 1940 by Welsh contractors and opened as a training centre for aircrew and ground wireless operators on 27 August 1941. In 1943 the grass airfield was reinforced with Sommerfeld Tracking and the centre's population rose to about 5,000. The site was visited in 1944 prior to D-Day by US General George S. Patton, and later by Rudolf Hess (who had been held prisoner near Abergavenny) on his way to the Nuremberg trials in 1946. Today only a few hangars remain, and Madley Communications Centre now occupies part of the site.

The village church of St Mary is one of the best known local examples of Norman architecture with gargoyles carved into the tower itself. The church is said to be linked to Cublington Castle near Shenmore via a medieval tunnel system. Cublington Castle was a frontline castle during medieval times in the Welsh Marches when the English and Welsh almost constantly fought for control of this part of England. Madley is said to be built on an old Ant hill and the remains of a circus elephant are said to be buried under land near the original point of the village cross (it died when a circus was in town).

The Red Lion pub in Madley is an old Coaching Inn dating back to the 16th century. Here mail was delivered by Mail coach from London and distributed to recipients in the locality. The pub itself is built on a well which is situated under the hallway by the pub cellar. A stream also runs under the rear car park and flows under the land of the Red Lion Garage.

The Red Lion Garage was built in the 1940s by Johnathan Edwards and was run as a successful family business until 1986 when it was taken over by Martin Edwards (now deceased) and redeveloped in 2003.

The old traditional butchers shop in Madley was run by Herbie and Audrey Cresswell in the 1960s. It was later owned by Gordon Watkins and is now demolished with a housing estate built upon it.