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ROYAL OAK Still Trading
| This busy Madeley pub, in High Street, near the junction with Station Road, was first recorded as receiving a licence in 1831. With its large function room over the former stables it was a popular venue for local friendly and sporting societies - the Royal Oak Lodge of the Oddfellows was founded in 1843, and by 1900 had 200 adult and 100 juvenile members, with capital assets of nearly £2,500. Madeley Cycling Club was formed at the Royal Oak in 1896. The building immediately to the left of the pub in the photo below is the former county court house, now known as Lumley Hall. Before its opening in 1853 the court sessions were held in the Royal Oak function room (although the bar was presumably closed!). |
 The Royal Oak photographed in 1905. This view, looking up High Street towards the shopping centre, has changed little in nearly 100 years. The sign shows the name of the then landlord, E R Gough.
The pub is a Grade 2 listed building, desc
ribed as "18th Century red brick house. Steeply pitched plain tile roof with gable ends and painted stone eves. Two storeys and attic, 2 window range. Modern casements in original openings with voussoired heads with keyblocks. Modern central doorway. Two flat roof dormers with sashes with glazing bars. Central brick chimney stack.
In 1871 the landlord was John Shingler, a hatter aged 40, married to Jane, 41. They had two daughters, Sarah, 7 and Jane, 9, as well as two nieces, Sarah, 10 and Elizabeth, 8, who also lived with them. The servant of the house, Susannah Downes aged 60, came from Cowley, Staffordshire.
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 This old postcard of the Oak, also believed to date from 1905, is labelled "Bridge Street", as the bottom end of High Street from the junction with Station Road was known until the 1920s. It was thus named, not, as is commonly believed, after the railway bridge in the background, which used to carry the famous 'Coalport Dodger', but after the old canal bridge near the present day Williams' builders' yard. Next to the Oak you can see Stodd's shop, as described in the page on old Madeley characters. |
| 1901: |
Royal Oak |
Stabling |
8 horses |
| Licence |
Full |
Condition |
Good |
| Granted |
1831 |
Trade |
Works and roadside |
| Owner |
Shrewsbury and Wem Brewery. Occupier and Manager, Edward R Gough |
Proximity to other licensed houses |
30 yards |
| Value |
£30 15s 0d |
Proximity to other dwellings |
Surrounded |
| Rooms |
7 rooms up and 5 rooms down |
Position of house with regard to Police |
Good |
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| In March 1971 the "Telford Observer" reported that the future of the pub was in doubt - the owners had bought land near the pub with the intention of clearing the site and building a new 'Royal Oak' there. The then licencee's wife (Mrs Betty Raynor) explained that the brewery (Greenall Whitley) wanted to provide a first class hotel in Madeley, and that the Royal Oak was simply not big enough. Fortunately the plans came to nothing and The Royal Oak today is a thriving traditional local, with several cask beers always available through handpulls. In cold weather open fires are lit in both the bar and the small cosy lounge.
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