Great Dawley
| Dawley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) High Street, Dawley |
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 Dawley
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| Dawley shown within Shropshire | |
| Population | 11,399 |
| OS grid reference | SJ686068 |
| Civil parish | |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | TELFORD |
| Postcode district | TF4 |
| Dialling code | 01952 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| EU Parliament | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Dawley is a small town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. Today, it forms part of the new town of Telford, which was originally, in 1963, going to be named 'Dawley New Town' before it was decided in 1968 to name the town 'Telford', after the engineer and road-builder Thomas Telford.
Dawley is one of the older settlements in Shropshire, being mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086). It is divided into Dawley Magna ("Great Dawley") and Little Dawley (also shown as Dawley Parva ("Little Dawley") on older maps).
The town's main civil parish is officially called Great Dawley — its parish council is officially Great Dawley Town Council. Dawley Hamlets is a separate civil parish, which covers Little Dawley and other neighbouring villages/suburbs.
The nearest railway station is Telford Central. Historically, the Great Western Railway maintained a line that passed through the parish, going through the tunnel at Heath Hill. This is currently part of Telford Steam Railway's expansion project
Dawley is mentioned in the Domesday Book and is therefore one of the older settlements in Shropshire.
There was a castle in Dawley, but it was demolished around 1648. The site is unknown, although the Castle Pools (on the old quarry site) and Castle Ironworks (built by the Darby family, one of whom commissioned the world-famous Iron Bridge) possibly indicate the general area where it may have stood. Prior to the landscaping which followed the creation of Telford New Town, extensive ruins were detectable next to the Castle Pools and are shown on old maps as being the location of the castle, but, in the 1980s, the whole area was buried under thick topsoil and planted with trees. Ironbridge is a short distance away.
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Wikipedia