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The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were both dated 20th July. The first was described as costs incurred at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, and the amount was 6 shillings 11 pence, which was the equivalent of about £152.61 today. The second was described as payment to Sir Henry’s brotherhood of Our Lady at Aylesbury and the amount was 6 shillings 8 pence, which was the equivalent of about £147.09 today. Sir Henry was a member

The 18th July to 2nd August 2026 is the Festival of British Archaeology. To mark this, this post will focus on another archaeological discovery at Middleton: The Middleton Jewel. On 10th September 2014, Colin Pearson, a metal detectorist, discovered the Middleton Jewel in a field near the crossroads at the entrance to Middleton Hall. It is an extraordinarily rare find with only a handful of this type of artefact having ever been found in Britain. The Middleton Jewel was subse

The manufacture of iron at Middleton Hall was begun by Sir Francis I Willoughby in about 1572. It went through three stages of development as Sir Francis experimented with the technology. The industrial production of iron at Middleton Hall continued throughout Sir Francis’ lifetime but ended shortly after his death due to unprofitability. Bar of raw pig iron discovered buried beneath Courtyard Centre at Middleton Hall. Photograph taken 2017 by Debbie Jordan. It is reputed tha

During the restoration of Middleton Hall, a common archaeological find was that of buttons made from shells. However, not only were the buttons themselves found but also the remains of the discarded sheets of punched-out shells from which they were made. This evidence of blank cutting conclusively proved that buttons were being made on site at Middleton Hall. These buttons were made from swan mussels (Anodonta cygnea). Swan mussels are large and can grow up to 15cm long and t

The next ten entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were undated but must have occurred between the 5th and 20th July due to adjacent entries. Four of these entries by text identify that they relate to the education expenses of Hugh Willoughby, Sir Henry’s youngest son, and it is thought that the others might as well because they are intermixed. The ten entries were: Payment for a pencase and an inkhorn for Master Hugh and the amount was

Middleton Pool provided numerous commercial opportunities at Middleton Hall. One of the less well-known activities was the sale of the ice that formed on it. Few records of this activity at Middleton Hall have survived. The primary evidence of it is from testimonies from members of the de Hamel family, who remembered it being undertaken at the start of the 20th century. It is known with certainty that this industrial activity ceased in the latter years of the de Hamel tenancy

One of the more unusual industries to take place at Middleton Hall was the commercial production of water lilies. These water lilies were sold to hotels, such as The Savoy and The Ritz in London, who used them as table decorations. It is believed that this trade began in the Victorian era and continued for decades until just after the Second World War, when it became commercially unviable. Middleton Hall was most noted for its white water lilies. In fact, when Middleton was d

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 5th July. It was described as full payment to Ralph Dyall for the amount that he had laid down for the purchase of a cloak for Sir Henry. The amount was 8 shillings, which was the equivalent of about £176.51 today. It can be assumed that Ralph was either an agent or servant of Sir Henry but unfortunately there are no known further references to him in the Middleton Manuscripts. In 15

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was undated except for June and, given the preceding entry, it would have been after 23rd June. It was described as payment for a chamber pot for Sir Henry. The amount was 13 pence, which was the equivalent of about £23.90 today. Chamber pots were an essential item in Tudor England, saving dark night visits to the outdoor “necessary house”. At Middleton Hall there was an alternative to the cha

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated as Midsummer, which would have been 24th June. It was described as payment to the holy water clerk at Middleton for his half-year service in this role and also pins. The amount was 10 pence, which was the equivalent of about £18.39 today. This entry is a prime example of “lumping”. The Middleton Accounts of this time were not in the form of modern balance double-entry bookkeeping but

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 23rd June. It was described as payment for bread, ale, wine, kitchen and horsemeat at Meriden when Sir Henry went to London with 20 horses. The amount was 8 shillings 5 pence, which was the equivalent of about £185.70 today. From his list of payments, bread and ale were the staples with bread being regulated by law to ensure weight and quality and ale being the safer alternative to w

The 23rd June is International Widows Day. This Day encourages the celebration of the strength of widows. It also aims to draw global attention to the problems that they face, such as poverty, social exclusion, abuse and discrimination in regard to inheritance rights. Furthermore, it seeks to create opportunities for widows to be able to support their themselves and their families. In the spirit of this, this post will highlight the numerous widows who had ownership of Middle

The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were also undated but should have been between the 16th and the 22nd June due to the dates provided in nearby entries. The first entry was described as payment to Nicholas Cothett for making a songbook for the Chapel and the amount was 4 shillings 8 pence, which was the equivalent of about £102.96 today. The second entry was described as payment for a primer for Mr Draycott and the amoun

Football is one of the games included in Francis Willughby’s Book of Games. However, the version he described has some notable differences to the modern game. Hence, this post will aim to place his description in its historical context, which was in the era when the game transitioned from an unstructured “mob” version to a more defined, albeit still violent, version with rules. One of the earliest known references to football was by William FitzStephen in 1174 who described

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was undated but should have been between the 15th and the 22nd June due to the dates provided in nearby entries. It was described as Sir Henry’s offering at Mr Arthen’s burial. The amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. It is not certain who the Mr Arthen mentioned was and there is no other mention of the specific surname Arthen in the Middleton Manuscripts. Given J

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 14th June. It was described as a reward to Ralf Heberd and Lowkid, who were minstrels of the Lord of Derby. The amount was 3 shillings 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £73.55 today and at that time was about five days wages for a skilled tradesman. The Lord of Derby referenced in this entry, as it was in a previous post from the 1525 Accounts, would have been Edward Stanley

The 13th June is International Pigeon Day. To mark this, and the 350th anniversary of the publication of Francis Willughby’s Ornithologia, this post focuses on the impact of what the inclusion of numerous fancy pigeon breeds in Ornithologia had. Ornithologia provided information on what Willughby identified as 17 different breeds of fancy pigeons including breeds known today as Runts, Pouters, Fantails, Carriers, Turbits, Barbs, Ringbeaters and Tumblers. What he described wer

The next three entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were dated 11th June. All of these entries concerned costs incurred when Sir Henry’s servant, John Lewissay, took Catesby to Southwell Grammar School in Nottinghamshire. As mentioned in a previous post, Catesby is thought to have been a ward of Sir Henry. The first entry was described as Lewissay’s costs to go to Southwell to carry Master Catesby to the school and the amount was 20 pen

The 11th June is International Day of Play. This awareness day was established by the United Nations. It recognises, and attempts to promote and protect, children’s right to play and the essential ability of play to develop cognitive skills, physical skills, social skills and well-being. Francis Willughby’s Book of Games contains numerous games identified as children’s games, some even written in his manuscript by the hand of a child. In this post, the focus will be on part o

The 3rd June is World Bicycle Day. Middleton Hall has a surprising connection with the history of the bicycle. In 1896, Kathleen de Hamel, who was the eldest daughter of Egbert and Ernestine de Hamel, tenants of Middleton Hall, invented the bicycle flower basket when she was just 13 years old. As a result of her invention, she was featured in the cycling magazine The Wheelwoman on 19th December 1896. The Wheelwoman was a short-lived magazine that was published in the middle o