Where were Ketley Offices actually located?

Hello Michael,

I am the person requesting information about Ketley 'Offices'. I also have a Godfrey map which does not show where they are. However, Sheet 36.14 - Ketley 1901 shows a group of houses in a triangular section above right of Cow Wood and to the right of a Smithy. They are noted 520.601. Could this be them?

I have copies of several birth, marriage and death certificates (including my own mother's birth certificate) which all specify Ketley Offices.

I am also curious as to what the term 'Offices' means/meant. I am reseaching several branches of both my own and my husband's family and have not come across the term anywhere else.

Thankyou for trying to help me  Pat Rushforth

Could their name be associated with the ironworks ?

Sounds like the latter must have been pretty gigantic, with seval blast furnaces etc..

(interesting article here :   http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=18161#s5)

Perhaps they were located in some sort of proximity to the ironworks offices ?

Good luck with the search !

MM

Hi All,

You are asking rather a lot, taxing my brain beyond its limits.

If you have Google Earth try and find the estate known as ''Sand Brook'' Ketley, it is on the left hand side going from Wellington towards Oakengates along what was the old A5.not far before the old railway crossing, The Offices were set back off the road on the opposite side of the road, maybe a few yards nearer the level crossing.

I believe I am right in thinking about 1950-2-3 the houses known as The Offices were demolished and a transport yard took their place, (_{too early for me to blame Telford Development this time}) The name James Transport comes to mind but this could be a figment of my imagination.

They were two storey houses, therefore, I believe more likely to be dwellings for workers/management at either Ketley Hall or the Iron Foundry and not offices as we would normally think. 

Cow Wood much too far up the road.

The name Corbett was well known in Wellington, Ketley, Oakengates and Wrockwardine Wood in the 1940s/50s/60s and more than likely to the present day.

Gulielmus.

Just a bit of extra information which might be of interest. The front cover of the book "A Ketley Mon" by Terry Lowe (published British Bus Publishing Ltd 2000) has a picture of the Holyhead Road looking towards Oakengates with the Ketley Offices on the right hand side of the road and the caption picy " Ketley Offices  being demolished in 1936-7" Picture was courtesy of the Shropshire Star. I wonder about the accuracy of the date though as there is another picture in Lowe's companion volume "A Ketley Mon Exposed" which has the caption "Part of the old Ketley Offices houses in the early 1950s"

As the group of dwellings were situated on the south side of the Holyhead Road, and according to the enumerator's route in 1901 the Offices immediately followed the the station master's house, it appears that the group of dwellings at the very southern edge of the Alan Godfrey 1901 Hadley map (parcel of land labelled 287) could be the Offices. The book cover referred to above shows  a similar looking group of dwellings.

Heather

I have had a further thought on the origin of the name Ketley Offices. The 1821 Wellington census lists addresses in Ketley as "Near Office" so maybe that was the nearest location that could be pin-pointed as an address, the office probably being connected to the Ketley ironworks. Later the group of dwellings just became known as "Ketley Offices". In 1821 there were 23 households and some void houses. Among the householders' names  in 1821 were Purcell, Kelford, Owen and Corbett (William 48, Elizabeth 18 and James 12), names found there in 1911.

Heather

Hi Heather,

  Ref. 'Ketley Mon' perhaps you could post the ISBN for these PUBLICATIONS I amongst others maybe interested in borrowing these from a local library.

  Although possible, I do not in my mind believe it was before WW2 that these houses were demolished.        

I do remember in the mid to late 1930s. my father walking us to the Gospel Hall in St. Georges occasionally,  this would entail passing these houses through Ketley from Wellington.  We would follow the old Roman Road, Ketley Brook, Beverly and up the what then was a concrete road to St.Georges, passing over the railway crossing halfway up the hill with the crossing keeper sitting in his beehive like building with stable door on the side of the road, on the walk home in the winter and autumn months the low cloud and smoke would be crimson from the heat of the furnaces, almost as good as a sunset. 

Many thanks Gulielmus.

Sorry I omitted to give the ISBN numbers for the Terry Lowe books. Here is the full reference for each book:

A Ketley Mon by Terry Lowe. Published British Bus Publishing Ltd, 16 Margaret's Drive, Wellington, Telford TF1 3PH; date Jan 2000; ISBN 1897990995

A Ketley Mon Exposed by Terry Lowe. publisher as above; date April 2001; ISBN1897990987

My apologies

Heather

The “Ketley Offices” were a group of buildings associated with the works on the land to the left of the entrance’s to “Sinclair’s” and Parkers pool, and opposite the Horseshoes. These were the ones being taken down on T Lowes book Ketley Mon, front page in the 30’s. The row “Ketley Offices” were behind these and extended towards the station. These were taken down in mid 50’s when the last man went to live in Overdale in the new development. My dad was born there in 1904. I do not know if the row was for workers of the iron foundries or not (my granddad worked in the pits as far as I know). They must have taken the name from the offices being in close approximation to them. The roadworks were “Wrekin Roadways” a heavy haulage Co., put in Wrekin roadways on the web to see the size of the vehicles. They went early 80’s when be merged with Wynn’s.

   Hi baz,

    My mother was also born at Ketley Offices (in 1905) so presumably her family knew yours!

    I know for certain that my maternal ancestors lived there from the 1890s until late 1922 (because of the documentation that I have acquired) and possibly even longer.

    According to the 1911 census quite a lot of the men folk had jobs associated with ironworks. However, Ketley Ironworks had apparantly closed in the 1870s and my grandfather and his eldest son (and, presumably, the others also) worked at the Haybridge Ironworks,

There were at least four people listed on that census with jobs associated with mining - was your grandfather one of those?

    My mother was Violet Corbett daughter of Thomas and Mary and lived at number 2 - I would be interested to know your ancesters name as the family will probably on the same 1911 census.

  Hoping to hear from you Pat

Hi Heather,

   Thank you for this information. I have now acquired both these books - not without difficulty as regards 'A Ketley Mon' I might add!

   I find them fascinating and is nice to see at least a little bit of my mother's history.

   Thanks again Pat

Hi there,

  Thank you for your information re location of Ketley Offices. They were nowhere near where I had thought they were!

   I think the houses were probably originally for workers at Ketley Ironworks as most of my ancestors worked in that industry. I, understand, the Ketley works closed down in th 1870s and the 1911 census shows them working at the Haybridge Ironworks.

   I have also acquired the books that Heather recommened and it has given me a fascinating insight to my mother's early life.

   Thanks again Pat

Hi again Heather,

  I'm afraid I am just getting my head around how the Forum works!

  Re your comments about the names Purcell, Kelford, Owen and Corbett: - my mother was Violet Corbett daughter of Thomas and Mary. Thomas was the son of James and Harriet (nee Kelford). So I have been researching both families. The names Purcell and Owen have both cropped up quite a lot but, as far as I know, I am not related to any of them.

Regards Pat

   Hi all,

    Thank you all so much for the terrific response to my query regarding Ketley Offices.

    I apologise for not responding sooner but I was at a loss as how to access my original enquiry once it had 'dropped off' the Current Queries! I had to resort to e-mailing Mike fot help!

    You have all helped so much with your comments.

   Thanks again at

My Husband originates from Ketley and says he believes Ketley Offices is a few yards back from the A5 road across from The Horseshoes Inn in Ketley.  My Husband's great-grandfather Samuel Jones who married Mary Bate lived in Ketley offices on the 1911 Census.  His Father Samuel Jones b1815 married an Elizabeth Corbet b1821.  I also believe that Elizabeth's Father was John Corbett b1785.  Is anybody connected?  Coincidentally the owners of The Horseshoes today are named Corbett.

There are a group of houses down Ketley Town that were built for the Sinclair Ironworks and are still being lived in.  The group is called Sinclair Gardens.  My Husband lived in these houses all of his childhood until we married.  His Father worked at Sinclair Iron Works all his working life, as did his Brother.

Sorry I have a correction.  Ketley Offices as the census reports might have been where Wrekin Roadways were and at one time I believe a tyre company.  My Husband said he was born on the A5 in some very ramshackle houses so it is that possibility.  He spent most of his childhood as I said in Sinclair Gardens.

 Hi j.jones,

  Thank you for your information it is very helpful.

  I have found Samuel Jones on the 1911 census. The family lived at 8, Ketley Offices and my mother lived with her family at no 2 so they must have known each other!

  How I wish I had asked more questions whilst my mother was still alive!

  Thanks again Pat

My mother was a KING, and was born/lived her early life in Ketley Offices, from the late 19teens to about 1950 when she married my father in Red Lake parish church.  The Offices extended on both sides of the access road to what was the Sinclair Iron Works in the 40's and up to the 70's.  The access road is almost exactly opposite the Horseshoes Inn.  The "Wellington" end on both sides of the A5 was euphemistically known as "Ketley Sands" and was where a small stream ran through some meadows with exposed outcrops of sandy banks and soil, hence the name.  She had two brothers and three sisters, together with step brothers and sisters as her mother's first husband was stabbed and murdered in the pub that used to be on Bennetts Bank, just a short distance away.  Hope this helps a little.

I know who the J JONES is I think as I went to school with John and lived at No. 5, my Dad was born at Ketley offices.

Hi, reading your reply on this site I believe myself and your husband are related, as my grandfather was Wil JONES, Samuel's brother. Wil also lived at the offices for a time then moved to Ketley Brook their father was also Samuel JONES.

Thanks Bernard Olliver
 

Are you related to Vic Olliver.  He married Lucy Jones, niece to William and Samuel.  Obviously it is my Husband's family.  This story is a bit like the never-ending story.

I have only just joined after noting the query about Ketley Office near a smithy. This may not help but I own a property on The Rock, part of it used to be The Smithy (c 1860, perhaps earlier), as shown on the 1878 OS Map. That stone building is now our garage but there is clear evidence that a forge was in there (burnt stonework) and comprises one part of what is now Horseshoe Cottage. Opposite is a park, the site of an old coal shaft. To our west was Rock Farm, long since gone to make way for housing. The farrier in The Smithy would have served the needs of the farm and local coal mines. I would dearly love to know when the smithy actually started, its history, development and residents/artisans. There was another smithy further along The Rock, also shown on the Ketley 1878 OS map.

In the 1861 Census my great great grandfather William H Owen aged 59 lived at 21 Ketley Offices and was a blacksmith by trade,later to become a boiler maker.It is possible that he used one of the smithies mentioned by Colin on the Rock and Beksnan.He was married to Elizabeth and they had five children Benjamin-William Henry-Mary Ann-Elizabeth and Thomas.The two older boys aged 15 and10 worked as labourers in the ironworks.

hi following on from the Ketley offices were the Days Buildings next to them? there is a picture in Terry Lowes book.