Heritage Trail 1

Our walk began at St. Mary’s Church, which was built in 1838, paid for by the Duke of Sutherland. Next door to the church on the left is where the first school in Ketley was built. This was a Sunday school only, as it was before the Education Act of 1880, which made school compulsory for children from 5-10 years old (later 5-12 years). To the right of the school is The Old Vicarage, where the vicars that served at the church, used to live.

Just down from the church, we walked to Squatters Cottage built in 1769. A squatters Cottage was called this due to the fact that Squatters could only settle permanently if they could build their house in a day, and have a fire lit and smoke emitting from the chimney by the end of the day.

This key factor determined the manner of building, usually starting with the construction of the hearth and chimney, and then the construction of the house around it. Surrounding land could also be enclosed with the cottage, but was determined exclusively by how far the owner could throw an axe or shovel from the four corners of the house. We continued down the road and turned into Quarry Lane. Here we looked at the stone used in the walls, which was carried up from the quarry by monks and then used to build them.

Victorian terraces on Quarry Lane.

We walked down Potters Bank, so called because at one time, it would have been a hive of activity for potters. You wouldn’t have to dig very deep to find old pottery under the ground today.

We continued walking until we came to the remains of the old canal built by Richard and William Reynolds in 1788. The canal was built to convey coal and ironstone from mines at to their ironworks at Ketley. There are still traces of the canal in Ketley today. This is where the canal would have run through. The tub boats pulled by horses would have gone under this tunnel which now goes under the road. Carefully, we walked through Paddock Mound to see what is left of the canal basin.

We walked out of Paddock Mound onto Red Lees. Off Red Lees is where Ketley Hall can be found. Ketley Hall, formerly a farmhouse, was altered and enlarged by Joseph Reynolds (brother to William) in the late 1700s. From this time until the 1890’s, Ketley Hall continued to be occupied by the managers and owners of the Ketley Ironworks. Under the house it is believed there are a series of tunnels leading off in different directions. Ketley Hall is now split in to three separate homes.

Walking back out on to Red Lees, we walked up to the top of Paddock Mound and looked down where William Reynolds built the first working inclined plane in Europe.

In 1778, William Reynolds began construction on the inclined plane that revolutionised the transport of cargo (iron ore, coal and limestone) in Britain and beyond.

Unfortunately, the only sign that the inclined plane was once an impressive feature in Ketley, is the road that is named after it. We stood at the top and looked to the ironworks to see how steep the incline was.