IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
School Lane, TELFORD, TF1 5DH

Looking south.

On Holyhead Road.

See Image] for context.

I photographed this place some 12 years ago Image, and more recently it was still trading as a public house Image The Covid pandemic may have seen the end of the place as a viable business, and the original building has now been demolished, with a new structure in its place. The overall 3-bay plan with gable ends and a chimney here on the western end has been retained, along with the wallsign, featuring the White Lion, suggesting it dated back to 1661. Despite that date, it was never listed, and has now been lost forever.

One of the old coaching inns, building dated 1661, on Thomas Telford's Holyhead Road (later the A5) at Ketley, Telford. Still going strong.

Old maps aren't clear as to the purpose (or even the existence) of this track, which drops down from south to north in the general direction of the road named Red Lees. Part way down it, there's some crumbling masonry on either side, which may be the disintegrating remains of a bridge carrying an 18th century mining tramway from east-west; the whole area was heavily mined for coal, limestone and some poor iron ore around that time. Most of the surface features, e.g. spoil heaps, which were mapped around 1900 in the area have now been re-landscaped or flattened during the 1960s/70s when the whole area was being built up as Telford New Town, so it's hard to find clear evidence of just what was what nowadays.

The last remnant of the Ketley canal in Paddock Mount, Ketley. This was built in 1788 by William Reynolds, a local Ironmaster, it ran to his iron foundry at Ketley from a junction with the Shropshire canal near Oakengates. Image

The canal was dug in the late 18th century as a link to carry coal and ironstore between the Shropshire Canal at Oakengates, and a private foundry near Ketley. It operated as such for roughly 30 years, and included the use of an inclined plane at the western end, which is likely to be the feature seen in Image via which the loaded tub boats were lowered on rails to the foundry. See also Image taken nearly 20 years previously, when the water was a little less vegetated.

Built in 1852, and situated on the Holyhead Road, Ketley.

On Holyhead Road - built in 1852.