MineArchiveMadeley Wood Company
Founded in 1756 to work the Madeley Wood (Bedlam) Furnaces beside the Severn, holding mineral leases across Madeley parish for coal and iron ore. Taken over by Abraham Darby III of the Coalbrookdale Company in 1776, then separated again in 1797 under the Reynolds family, already partners of the Darbys at Coalbrookdale; ownership later passed to the Anstice family. It ran an integrated ironmaking operation at Blists Hill from the 1770s, relaunching its blast furnaces there in 1832 (with further furnaces added in 1840 and 1844) and drawing coal, ironstone and fireclay from its own mines on the same site, continuing pig iron production until 1912, after which the company concentrated on its colliery interests -- including Halesfield -- in the East Shropshire coalfield.
| Also recorded as | Madeley Wood Co |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Madeley Wood Co Ltd — the limited successor, owner of Halesfield from 1918 |
Mines operated
| Mine | Region | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Blists Hill Colliery | Shropshire | 1770–1941 |
| Halesfield Pit | Shropshire | 1900–1915 |
| Kemberton Colliery | Shropshire | 1864–1968 |
| Lloyds Mines Ironbridge | Shropshire | ?–? |
Record created: 31 August 2026 · Last researched: 31 August 2026