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 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 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

Historically, what was the primary revenue source generated by the Middleton Estate? This is a frequent question posed to tour guides at Middleton Hall. There is a single answer. For centuries, the principal profit-making resource on the Estate was its timber. Anciently, the Middleton Estate was part of the great Forest of Arden, the edge of which was the nearby Watling Street. This woodland gradually cleared as the settlement developed. Timber is known to have been sold comm

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

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

July is Independent Retailer Month, which is a nationwide campaign to celebrate small, independent shops. When Middleton Hall Trust renovated the small farm buildings to the east of the Tudor Barn, it was decided that the structures would be converted into small business units and let to independent retailers. This project was awarded the Norah Marshall Award by the Rural Development Commission for its contribution to providing employment in rural areas. The businesses that 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

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 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 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