A brief history of Audley Village

Where is Audley?                   

Audley is situated in North Staffordshire, close to the South Cheshire border, five minutes from junction 16 of the M6 Motorway. 

Click here for a map of Audley   

Early History

Audley's history can be traced back over a thousand years to the time of King William I and the Domesday Survey.  At this point in time, Staffordshire had very few settlements and was referred to as primitive and poor.  What settlements there were, were either situated on hills or near to rivers.   King William I's armies rarely passed through Staffordshire, and when they did they they were usually travelling from Stafford to Chester, destroying many settlements on route.  

It is recorded that there were eleven Tenants in Chief in Staffordshire, with King William I shown as Tennant In Chief of  Heighley (3 miles to the south west of Audley) and Trentham.

At the time of the Norman feudal system the Earl of Chester gave the manor of Audley to the thane named Gamel who 'took' it from two Saxons named Uluric and Godric.   It is thought that Gamel was later murdered.  Aldidelege (Audley) was recorded as having enough land for 3 plough teams (only 2 were in use at the time), 1 acre of meadow and wood 2 miles long and 1 mile wide.  The land was worth ten shillings.    From that point in time the Audleys became Lords of the Manor of Audley and as time went on they amassed a great deal of land, becoming one of the leading land owners during medieval times.

Lords of the Manor

The first Lord of Audley was Adam, he became Lord of the Manor during the reign of King Henry II. 

His grandson, Henry de Aldithlegh built Heighley Castle and was Sheriff of Shropshire and Staffordshire from 1216 until 1221. 

James, 2nd Lord (1316 - 1386), became Governor of Berwick upon Tweed and fought alongside King Edward III in all his French wars.  When the Knights of the Most Noble Order of the Garter were created in 1348, James was one of the first to be appointed.  He supposedly fought at Poitier for the Black Prince in 1356, joining him on an expedition to Spain in 1367.  He was later made Governor of Acquitaire.

The titles then passed through the female line when the name Touchet was introduced and became associated with Audley.

James (Touchet), 5th Lord of Audley, fought for Henry V in France and during the Wars of the Roses took the Lancastrian side.  He was captured in France by the Yorkists and because of his treatment he changed his allegiance.  He was appointed, by the Yorkist Edward IV, a steward of all the Crown Lands in County Dorset, Warden of all his Forests and Parks and of the Castle of Wardore in Wiltshire.  He died in 1491.

James, the 6th Lord Audley, became a Knight of the Order of Bath but he fell out of favour after taking offence at a subsidy granted by parliament and joining the Cornishmen in their insurrection.  His titles were taken away when was beheaded in 1497 in London.  His son John, later, returned to royal favour and the titles were restored.

Over the coming centuries the Audley's encountered financial problems, their wealth disappeared and they went to live in Ireland.

During the reign of Elizabeth Tudor, they remained royal supporters and in 1601 George, the 11th baron, was made Earl of Castle Haven for his services after he was wounded at Kinsale.  The family used this title until 1777.

The Barony of Audley of Heley was passed on to George Thicknesse.  He was  the nephew of John, the 15th Lord Audley, and he adopted the name Thicknesse-Touchet, a title which is still in existence.  The 23rd Baron, Sir Winston Churchill's son-in-law, attended the opening of Audley Church Christmas Fair in 1959.

Two other families, the Bougheys and the Craddocks, through inter-family marriages became the largest land owners in the area during the 19th century and claimed the title of Lords of the Manor.  The most famous was Thomas Boughey of Aqualate Hall in Shropshire, who amassed great wealth through the iron and coal industry.   The  last family to hold the title Lord of the Manor were the Bougheys.  One of the local pubs and the area's High School bear the name Boughey to this day.

Population

In the 1560's Audley had a population of around 450 and many half timbered black and white properties were built.  In 1611 Edward Vernon founded the Audley Grammar School, which closed in 1900.

From 1801 official census returns were published giving us a more detailed account of the population of the local area, which included Audley, Talke, Halmerend, Knowle End, Bignall End, Park End and Eardley End.  The first figure given at this time was 2,246, a similar figure was estimated 30 years earlier by the vicar, who suggested that there were 400 families in the parish.  During the following century the published population showed an increase of 600% to 13,918.  The census of 1831 showed 3,617 people living in 655 houses, with 350 men employed in the coal mines.  Audley itself had a population of 767 people.

The village of Audley today comprises of 6,846 acres and in 1931 had a population of 8,535; 1951: 8,273; 1961: 8,018 and in 2001: 5,770.

The sudden growth in the local population during the 19th century was due, largely, to coal and iron stone mining.   The pottery and brickwork industries in Stoke-on-Trent caused an increase in the demand for coal.  In 1803 there were six collieries in Audley, 2 owned by the Heathcotes, 2 by Sir Nigel Gresley, 1 by W. Burgess and 1 by Wedgwood.  By 1830 there were 10 collieries and many more houses had to be built in Bignall End and Halmerend and alongside the houses were built public houses and chapels.

Up until 1891 all of the water was obtained from community wells.  Some larger houses and farms would have their own pumps.  In 1891 Audley waterworks was opened, this was such an important occasion that the local schools closed for the day, there was a procession headed by a brass band which marched to the works and then back to the village where a luncheon was provided in a marquee for 160 people.  In 1878 Audley gas works was constructed at a cost of £5000 at Wynbrook.

Mining Disasters

During the 19th and early 20th century, safety in the mines was a major problem and with the growth of the mining industry came an increase in mining disasters.  Audley encountered more than it's fair share of fatalities.  !866 - 91 men killed at Talke-o'-th'-Hill, 1874 - 18 at Bignall Hill, a few years later 43 killed at Bunkers Hill.  One of the more well documented disasters was Diglake, when in 1895 75 men died  when workers tapped into an enormous amount of water, they were either drowned or suffocated with only 5 bodies ever recovered.