The Middleton Estate was broken up into 102 Lots when it was sold at auction in 1924. In the auction catalogue, the particulars of every Lot were explained in detail and their locations marked over two very large maps. It informed the prospective buyer of: the structures present on the land; the purposes of the structures; rooms within the buildings; what materials the buildings were made from; what type of land it was; sources of water; who the tenant was; how much rent the

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 4th April. It is a repeat of an entry from the previous April and was described as a reward to someone who had brought word of where red deer lay by the side of Maxstoke, Warwickshire. The amount was also 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. This entry is not in the hunting season for almost all types and sex of deer. The hunting season for does (female deer) was S

Recently a special two-part documentary series has been shown on Channel 5 called Ice Age: Apocalypse. One might wonder why this show might have any relevance to Middleton. Over the last few years, we have been researching the much wider history of Middleton and the Ice Age has managed to make repeated and often unexpected appearances. The oldest archaeological discovery at Middleton is a Palaeolithic Acheulian ovate hand axe, which is thought to date to over 200,000 years ag

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

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

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 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

On Lammas Day in 1525, a rebellion began in Coventry. Sir Henry Willoughby was one of the people sent by King Henry VIII to quell this rebellion. A number of documents relating to this, either in the form of letters in the Middleton Manuscripts or entries within the Middleton accounts, have survived. In a series of posts relating to this event, we will be highlighting these records, but first: What was the Coventry Lammas Day Rebellion of 1525? This rebellion was one of many

The second entry in December in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby for 1525 was also undated except for the month. It was described as a reward to a servant of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, who had brought what is believed to be beer (was spelled bayrs). The amount was 8 pence, which was the equivalent of about £14.71 today. There is a technical distinction between ale and beer. Ale was much more common historically in England and was brewed with

It's National Tree Week! This year National Tree Week is the 22nd-30th November. It is organised by the National Tree Council and the aim is to get people involved in planting trees and appreciate the importance of trees to the environment. Its timing marks the start of the winter planting season, which is when the ground is most suitable for planting trees. Since the time that Middleton Hall Trust was established, we have regularly observed National Tree Weeks with tree plan