Middleton Hall Blog

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

Historically there were two mills at Middleton. Both of these were located on the Langley Brook and have now been lost. The first mill was a very ancient one that was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. This mill was lost in the late 16th century, at the same time that Middleton Pool was created. The second mill was constructed by the de Marmion family in the early 13th century and it was located much closer to the river Tame. This mill has been known by various names. In

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

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 was the final entry under the heading of July but again did not have a specific date. It was described as the costs of Sir Henry Willoughby at Nottingham, staying there one night and a day with 16 persons. The amount was 13 shillings 3 pence, which was the equivalent of about £292.35 today. It is known that Sir Henry was in possession of a property in Nottingham. This explains why there are no

The 15th July 2025 marks the 350th anniversary of the death of an owner of Middleton Hall, Cassandra Ridgeway, the wife of Sir Francis II Willoughby. Cassandra was born in 1598 and was the daughter of Thomas Ridgeway, Treasurer of Ireland, Baron of Torrington and Earl of Londonderry, and Cicely MacWilliam, who had been a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth I. Cassandra and Sir Francis were married in October 1610 at Rathfarnham Castle in South Dublin, Ireland. It was also writt

The 13th to the 28th July 2025 is the Festival of British Archaeology and what better time than this to do a post on an archaeological find at Middleton Hall! In 1977, an Iron Age torc, known as the Middleton Torc, was found at Middleton Hall in the area adjacent to the Tudor Barn. It was found by fieldwalking. A torc was a large metal neck-ring that was open at the front and could be made as a single piece or from multiple metal strands twisted together. The Middleton Torc

It’s National Moth Week 2025 (19th-27th July)! Sycamore Moth (Acronicta aceris) in the Large Walled Garden at Middleton Hall, 2010. Photograph taken by Harvey Skelcher. When John Ray was compiling Historia Insectorum , he wrote that he thought that he had managed to describe every variety of English butterfly, which actually he nearly had, but despaired because he thought he would never manage to describe all of the different species of moths. Small Fan-Footed Wave Moth (Idae

The 28th/29th July 2025 marks the 450th anniversary of the visit of Queen Elizabeth I to Middleton Hall and the knighting of Sir Francis I Willoughby. Portrait of Sir Francis I Willoughby. Courtesy of Lord Middleton Francis Willoughby is likely to have been a reluctant host for the Queen. This is because he was definitely a reluctant knight. It was said that Queen Elizabeth thought that Francis should be knighted because he was one of the wealthiest, most landed and most infl

In every year of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, primarily over the summer, the Queen and her court went on a progress. During these progresses the Queen would visit various towns throughout England and she would stay in the homes of members of the aristocracy. At the end of July 1575, her progress took her to Middleton Hall, where she stayed for two days and a night. In this post, we are considering what the preparations for her visit would have involved. It is thought that Queen

The next entry in the Middleton accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 again concerned Sir Henry’s activities in relation to his commission from the King to quell the Lammas Day Rebellion in Coventry. This is the last reference to this event in our papers. The entry was dated the 14th August 1525 and it was described as Sir Henry’s costs for going to Coventry on that day with Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, and for 140 of Sir Henry’s men that had accompanied him. It ad

On Sunday 13th August 1525, Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, Sir Henry Willoughby, Sir Edward Ferrers and Thomas Trye sent another letter to King Henry VIII in regard to their involvement in quelling the Coventry Lammas Day Rebellion of 1525. This also appears on the calendar of State Papers for King Henry VIII. This letter reveals that the Marquess, Henry, Edward and Thomas and their men had travelled from Astley Castle to Kenilworth Castle, a distance of about 12 miles