Middleton Hall Blog

When the occupation of “caterer” is stated today, it is common to think of a person or company that has been hired to provide and serve food. However, this meaning of this occupation only developed in the 19th century. In the historic meaning, which dates from at least the 15th century, it referred to someone who was employed to obtain fresh provisions. The Middleton Manuscripts make many references to the caterer of Middleton Hall, in this historic meaning, but the first cat

This post will focus on John Trussell who was bailiff of Wollaton Hall in the mid-16th century. The previous blog focused on his fellow steward of Middleton Hall, John Hall. Together, these posts provide an example of two very different lives in a similar occupation for the same family at the same time. John Trussell was, like John Hall, a gentleman servant. He was a younger son of minor nobility but, due to his situation, he needed an occupation. John Trussell descended from

The next three entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were dated 12th September. The first was described as a reward to the horsekeepers of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, and the amount was 20 pence, which was the equivalent of about £36.77 today. The second was described as a reward to Master Grey’s servant for bringing a present to Wollaton Hall and the amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. The third w

The servants that are most frequently recorded in the historic documents of Middleton Hall are the gentlemen servants, especially those that were the stewards or bailiffs. This post will focus on one of them, John Hall, who, for over a decade, was additionally in sole control of Middleton Hall. Although the steward was the chief of the servants, in Tudor times they were not generally considered to be a servant. This was because the steward ran the estate in the absence of t

The theme for Heritage Open Days in 2026 is “Everyday Histories”. This theme aims to draw attention to the daily working lives of our ancestors. For Heritage Open Day Week, from 11th to 20th September 2026, Middleton Hall Trust will run a series of blogs highlighting various “ordinary” workers from its long history. References to the people who worked on the Estate have survived from Middleton Hall’s earliest time, albeit they are extremely patchy. Most that are referred to,

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 10th September. It was described as a reward to the officers of the Lady Abbess of Polesworth, when Sir Henry spent one night there on his way to the manor of Thomas Grey, 2nd Lord Marquess. The amount was 2 shillings 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £51.48 today. This entry in the Accounts reveals that the visit of the Marquess to Middleton Hall was part of a journey that

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 9th September. It was described as a payment to Toll, on the commandment of Sir Henry, when Toll went on pilgrimage to the sweet rood of Garendon in Leicestershire. The amount was 12 pence, which was the equivalent of about £22.06 today. In the Middleton Manuscripts, from the time of Sir Henry to his grandson Sir Francis I Willoughby, there are multiple entries that make mention of s

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was described as payment for pears. These were also purchased for the visit to Middleton Hall of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset. The amount was 20 pence, which was the equivalent of about £36.77 today. This entry was undated but a date of somewhere around the 7th September can be estimated. This is because, due to later Accounts entries, it is believed that the banquet for the Marquess pr

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 6th September. It was described as payment for diverse spices that were purchased for the visit to Middleton Hall of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset. The amount was 9 shillings 9 pence, which was the equivalent of about £215.12 today. The wider Middleton Accounts provide enough evidence to make it possible to draw conclusions about the types of spices the Willoughby family used,

The 5th September 2026 is International Vulture Awareness Day. To mark this, and the 350th anniversary of the publication of Francis Willughby’s Ornithologia, this post will focus on part of the description of a Griffon Vulture provided in Ornithologia. In 1663, Francis Willughby, John Ray, Philip Skippon and Nathaniel Bacon began their scientific European Tour in which they visited numerous European countries and documented their experiences and observations. They wrote that

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 3rd September. It was described as payment to Thomas Cokes for his costs when going to Mr Cotes’ for heronsews. The amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. It is uncertain who Mr Cotes was because this is the only record in the Middleton Manuscripts that mentions him. Heronsew was an old English term for both the juvenile and the meat of a heron. It had its

The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were dated 31st August. The first was described as payment for the making of verjuice and the amount was 19 pence, which was the equivalent of about £34.93 today. The second was described as payment to Richard Davey for 12 strikes of crayfish and the amount was 2 shillings, which was the equivalent of about £44.13 today. Historically, verjuice was frequently made at Middleton Hall. Verju

The night of the 29th/30th August 2026 is International Bat Night. In the area of Middleton Hall, including the Site of Special Scientific Interest, about six different species of bat have been identified. They are known to roost in the attics of Middleton Hall, many of the buildings around the site and also in old trees around the grounds. The first species known to be present in the area of Middleton Hall is the Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus). This is the mo

The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were dated 27th August. A third entry directly after those was undated. The first was described as payment to Sir William for the amount that he had paid for four pairs of shoes for four Children of the Chapel and the amount was 23 pence, which was the equivalent of about £42.29 today. The second was described as a reward to the anchoress at Polesworth and the amount was 8 pence, which w

The 22nd August 2026 is the 350th anniversary of the marriage of Emma Barnard, the widow of Francis Willughby, to Sir Josiah Child. She was his third wife. This was a key point in the history of Middleton Hall, because afterwards, as a direct result of this marriage, Middleton Hall was never again the primary residence of the Willoughby family. In a previous post, we explained that Emma’s father had arranged this marriage with the aim of securing the finances of the Willoughb

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 19th August. It was described as a reward to an otter hunter. The amount was 20 pence, which was the equivalent of about £36.77 today. In the previous year, there was also a payment to an otter hunter (Middleton Accounts of 1525 #5). However, there is a significant difference between the two entries and that is due to the date. The previous post was dated within the otter hunting sea

The 19th August is World Photography Day. In 1895, an aerial photograph from a man-carrying kite was taken by Egbert Alexander de Hamel, the youngest son of Egbert de Hamel who was the tenant of Middleton Hall at that time. This is believed to be the first photograph taken in the world by a person in a kite. It also provides a highly unusual historic view of Middleton Hall and its grounds. The first ever aerial photograph was taken from a balloon in 1858 by French photographe

The 15th August is British Bird of Prey Day. To mark this day, and the 350th anniversary of the publication of Francis Willughby’s Ornithologia, this post will focus on part of the description of the Honey Buzzard in Ornithologia. Willughby was the first person in the world to identify the Honey Buzzard as a distinct species. Willughby commented that, in size, it was equal to or exceeded the Common Buzzard and it was also very like it in the shape of its body, just somewhat l

In Tamworth there is a plaque in memory of the construction of a workhouse for the town that was established by Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth, and Francis Willoughby, 2nd Lord Middleton, the latter of whom was the owner of Middleton Hall. Charles Ferrers Palmer wrote that the very first workhouse provision in Tamworth was established in 1687 by Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth. It came to be called the Spinning School. However, it fell into disuse and, in 1719, it

The 9th August 2026 is Book Lovers Day. This is an opportune day to tell the history of a medieval romance story manuscript, Le Roman de Silence. It was part of the noted Willoughby Library, which was kept at Middleton Hall for centuries. Le Roman de Silence is one of the most significant manuscripts within the surviving Willoughby Library Collection, which was purchased by the University of Nottingham from Lord Middleton in 2007. The manuscript of Le Roman de Silence in the