People

The last entry for April in the 1525 Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby was described as a reward to someone that had brought Sir Henry news of red deer that lay beyond Meriden, Warwickshire. The amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. It was undated but there are similar entries to this in the accounts in other years, normally dated around the 28th April. Middleton Hall was located in a deer park. The first record of this deer par

In our previous post to mark British Tomato Fortnight, we mentioned that historically the tomato was viewed as poisonous. At Middleton Hall, this then invites the question of what did our famous resident botanist John Ray say about the tomato in the 17th century? John Ray’s masterpiece, Historia Plantarum , contains multiple entries that would be considered as synonyms of the tomato today. One that is particularly interesting is in the appendix to Historia Plantarum volume 2

It is British Tomato Fortnight (27th May-9th June 2025)! We thought that this was an opportune time to highlight another of Hanbury Barclay’s alterations to the grounds of Middleton Hall in about 1875: the construction of the Tomato House. Hanbury’s Tomato House was built within the Large Walled Garden on the western side, just to the south of the 18th century large glasshouse. It was a shallow structure with a brick base and a framed glass top that opened on the western and

20th May 2025 is World Bee Day! Did you know that there is a species of bee named after one of Middleton Hall’s residents? In 1802, the species Megachile willughbiella was named in honour of Francis Willughby FRS. It is commonly known as Willughby’s leaf-cutting bee and Francis was the first person to describe it and its life-cycle. On 5th May 1670, at a meeting of the Royal Society, some specimens were shown of what was thought to be worms wrapped in leaves and lodged in se

Anciently baron was a term given to the nobility but these barons were divided into two types. The first were the greater barons who held their lands by knight service directly from the king. The second were the lesser barons who were the lords of the manor. Despite being called it, the lesser barons could not use the term baron or lord as a title. The greater barons were offered the opportunity to attend the King’s Council, which evolved into Parliament and subsequently the

The third and final person that our mini-series of posts on people connected to Middleton Hall who served in the Second World War focuses on is Egbert Alexander de Hamel. He was the youngest son of Egbert and Ernestine, who were the tenants of Middleton Hall from 1886 to 1925, and Alexander was born on 30th October 1889 at Middleton Hall. In 1916, Alexander married Evelyn Violet Myddleton-Gavey and soon after moved to Wigginton Lodge in Tamworth. Alexander continued his fathe

The second post in our mini-series of posts about some people connected to Middleton Hall who were involved in the Second World War concerns Arthur White. His name appears on the World War II memorial plaque in Middleton Parish Church. Arthur was born on 8th November 1884 in Birmingham and married May Moore in Tamworth in 1913. In 1921, they were living at 31 East View, Glascote, Tamworth and Arthur was a coal miner at Amington Colliery. The reason Arthur has a relevance to t

2025 is the 80th anniversary of VE Day and to mark this we are posting a series about three people connected to Middleton Hall who served in the Second World War. The first of these is about Michael Guy Percival Willoughby, 11th Lord Middleton. Michael was born on 21st October 1887 and was the second son of Godfrey Willoughby, 10th Lord Middleton, and Ida Ross. He married Angela Hall on 28th April 1920. Following his father’s death on 11th November 1924, and because his elder

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 was dated the 3rd May. It was a payment to Lady Alice Willoughby in order for her to buy “gear” (clothes) for Mistress Jane. The amount was 20 shillings, which was the equivalent of about £441.28 today or, in terms of equivalence at that time, would have been the cost of about three stones of wool or 33 days wages for a skilled tradesman. Mistress Jane was one of Sir Henry’s daughters by his

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 was described as Sir Henry Willoughby’s offering at the Clifton wedding on 14th May. The amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. The Middleton Manuscripts state that this wedding was for William Clifton, but it is unknown who he married. Wedding at Middleton Hall, Victorian Parlour Room, 2025. For enquiries about booking Middleton Hall for your special day, click here

The 7th June 2025 is Butterfly Education and Awareness Day and, to mark this, we thought we would write about “Mr Ray’s Purple Streak Butterfly”. This was the English common name given by James Petiver in 1702 to the butterfly that is commonly known today as the Purple Hairstreak (Favonius quercus) . James Petiver was a friend and sometime assistant of John Ray. Petiver was subsequently described as “the father of British butterflies” as a result of his detailed work on the i

Philip de Marmion, 5th Baron Marmion of Tamworth, inherited Middleton in the middle of the 13th century and owned it along with many other manors until his death in 1291. Throughout his life, Philip was no stranger to court proceedings. There are numerous court documents recording when he was summoned and these were often to answer charges. June 2025 marks the 750th anniversary of one of these proceedings. In 1275, Richard de Wyvelesley, a precentor from the church at Leighli

This is the last post in the series on the structural alterations that the tenant of Middleton Hall, Hanbury Barclay, made at Middleton Hall in about 1875. It focuses on his Cucumber House. The Cucumber House was constructed in the Small Walled Garden, directly to the south of and parallel to the lean-to glasshouse. Plan of the layout of the structures of the Small Walled Garden in c.1880. Drawn by Richard Jordan. The cucumber originates from India. It was a favourite

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 was described as a “token” sent to Mrs Fitton. It was entered only under the heading of June with no specific date given. The amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. Mrs Fitton was Mary Harbottle. She was the daughter of Jane Willoughby and Sir Guiscard Harbottle and the granddaughter and ward of Sir Henry Willoughby. This entry is only one of many entries for Mary in

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 was described as payment for the costs of Sir Henry Willoughby’s servants and for Sir Henry Willoughby dining at Lord Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s residence on 6th July. The amount was 18 pence, which was the equivalent of about £33.10 today. This was at the time when Cardinal Wolsey was Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of York and was at the height of his power. There is another document

The next two entries in the Middleton accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 were described as wine and ale at the Clock House and cherries and pears. These were all entered on the same day, which appears to have been the 7th July. The cost of the wine and ale was 13 pence, which was the equivalent of about £23.90 today, and the cost for the cherries and pears was 2 pence, which was the equivalent of about £3.68 today. At this time Sir Henry Willoughby was staying in London

The next eight entries in the Middleton household accounts of sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 are dated as the 8th July. On this day, Sir Henry left London and started making his way north. The first payment was for eight kilderkins of ale. A kilderkin is a cask that was an old English liquid measure and was the equivalent of half a barrel, about 83 litres or 18 English beer gallons. The cost of the ale was 21 shillings 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £470.70 today. T

The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in in 1525 were dated the 9th July. In these entries, Sir Henry Willoughby was continuing on his journey north from London that began on the 8th July. The first entry records that Sir Henry arrived at Stowe Nine Churches in Northamptonshire and lay there for the night of the 8th/9th July. On the 9th July he paid for bread, ale, wine, kitchen, fire, candle and horsemeat at the place he stayed at.

The next three entries in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 were dated the 10th July. Sir Henry Willoughby had left London on the 8th July and, travelling along Watling Street, he reached Tamworth on the 9th July. However, the accounts show that rather than continue the short distance to Middleton Hall, he actually spent the night of the 9th/10th July at Tamworth Castle. On the 10th July he paid 3 shillings, which was the equivalent of about £66

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 was undated except for being under the heading of July. It was described as a payment for gold for Mistress Alice to use to work in the stole. The cost was 2 shillings, which was the equivalent of about £44.13 today. “Mistress Alice” was the youngest child of Sir Henry Willoughby and her name appears many times in the Middleton accounts. Her mother was Sir Henry’s third wife Ellen Egerton. Alth