The 26th September is European Day of Languages and, to mark this, this blog will give a brief history of Middleton Hall in Welsh. Welsh is an important language in the history of Middleton Hall. For centuries, the Willoughby family were Welsh speakers due to their business interactions with the Welsh. Many of their servants were also native Welsh speakers and, as a result, Welsh words are present throughout the Middleton Manuscripts. Furthermore, it is known that Francis Wil

One of the key occupations within the domestic household was the cook. Over the centuries there have been innumerable cooks employed at Middleton Hall. The first documented cook at Middleton Hall was in the late 13th century and he was William, the cook of Philip de Marmion, 5th Baron Marmion of Tamworth. However, this post will focus on two specific cooks at Middleton Hall separated by over 300 years: William Darby; and Evelyn Dixon. In medieval and Tudor times, the occupat

Living under one roof, working long hours side by side, sharing mealtimes, bedrooms and even chamber pots, it is unsurprising that so many servants working in domestic service found a second family amongst their fellow servants. Many workers took jobs where they could find familial companionship in their workplace, which was a great source of comfort when miles from home. In some cases, however, servants found themselves working alongside their actual relatives and we have a

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

The night of the 29th/30th August 2026 is International Bat Night. In the area of Middleton Hall, including the Site of Special Scientific Interest, about six different species of bat have been identified. They are known to roost in the attics of Middleton Hall, many of the buildings around the site and also in old trees around the grounds. The first species known to be present in the area of Middleton Hall is the Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus). This is the mo

In the 15th century, the Willoughby family began to collect books, manuscripts and documents. This formed the Willoughby Library. The family prized these books, even mentioning them in their wills. Over the generations, the family accumulated numerous valuable medieval texts, manuscripts, leaflets, documents, newspapers and books on a very wide range of subjects from the classics to language, religion, romance, plays, art, history, law, travel, foreign countries, medicine, na

At Middleton Hall, there is an old plaque on a wall that says “Chints Room”. It is located on the north wall of the ground floor lobby on the western side of the Jettied Building. The plaque was in this location when Middleton Hall Trust was formed in 1980 and it is the only old room name sign that is present at Middleton Hall. Chints Room plaque in Jettied Building lobby at Middleton Hall, 2021. Photograph taken by Joanna Habart. Before 1721, the area where the plaque is loc

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

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

In July 2026, a record-breaking 36-year-old Avocet, which had originally been ringed as a chick in Norfolk in 1990, was identified at RSPB Middleton Lakes. The Avocet is included within Francis Willughby’s Ornithologia and this post will focus on part of his description. Willughby commented that he had seen many Avocets at Rome and Venice during the European Tour he went on with John Ray, Philip Skippon and Nathaniel Bacon. He also noted that this species often frequented the

The 4th July 2026 is National Meadows Day. In 1086, the entry for Middleton in the Domesday Book recorded that there were six acres of meadows within the northern manor of Middleton. By 1979, there were eight acres of meadows within the much smaller Middleton Estate of that time. Today, the principal meadow in the grounds of the Middleton Hall Estate is known as the Flower Meadow. It covers an area of about ten acres and is located adjacent to the north-west side of Middleton

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 Stone Building is the oldest surviving building at Middleton Hall and was constructed in about 1285. This structure replaced an earlier timber-framed structure on the same site, the foundations of which remain today. However, over the eras extra doorways were added and removed, not all of them obvious today. Stone Building at Middleton Hall, showing the west wall before restoration revealing location of four doorways (2 bricked up), 2007. Photograph taken by Audrey Bagby.

The 31st May 2026 is the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland. It took place on the 31st May 1916 and was the largest naval battle of the First World War. Henry Ernest Digby Hugh Willoughby was the eldest son and heir of Godfrey Willoughby, 10th Lord Middleton. Henry was a Commander in the Royal Navy and specifically on the HMS Indefatigable. He was killed in action when the Indefatigable was sunk at the Battle of Jutland. As a result of Henry’s death, it was his younge

St John’s Church in Middleton village contains a number of significant memorials and burials that relate to the owners and residents of Middleton Hall. The oldest of these memorials is the brass effigies on the floor of the chancel for Sir Richard Bingham, Justice of the King’s Bench, who died on 22nd May 1476, and his wife Margaret (de Freville/Willoughby), who died on 8th January 1492/3. Margaret had inherited the Middleton Estate from her brother. Brass of Sir Richard Bing

When the Middleton Estate was sold at auction in 1924, two cottages, known as the Dog Kennel Cottages, were within the boundaries of Lot 1 that included Middleton Hall. These Cottages were located in a single piece of land that covered an area about 1 rood and 6 perches (0.12 hectares). They were located to the south of Middleton Hall and just to the north of Coneybury Farm, on the southernmost edge of the Lot and the southernmost edge of Middleton Park. In 1924, Lord Middlet

Middleton Hall Trust received an enquiry asking whether it was true that the residents of the Church Row Cottages in Middleton Village had been farm workers on the Middleton Estate, maybe circa 1840. The answer is complicated as, yes, they were often inhabited by farm workers who worked on the various farms around the Estate but they were also Estate woodsmen, an Estate carpenter, gardeners, servants, a shoemaker, washerwomen, Chelsea Pensioners and more. St John's Church,

When the Middleton Estate was sold at auction in 1924, Lot 61 contained all the six cottages of Church Row in Middleton Village. These Cottages were located in a single piece of land that covered an area of about 1 acre 3 roods and 3 perches (0.76 hectares). They were directly adjacent to the north of St John the Baptist Church. Map showing in brown Lot 61 "Church Row Cottages" in Middleton Village, from the Auction Catalogue of the Middleton Estate, 1924. In the auction cata

On 31st August 1994, the school in Middleton village, what was at that time called Middleton First School, closed. It is now known as The Old School House Day Nursery and is a childcare facility. The school was located on Church Lane, directly adjacent to the west of St John’s Church, and it had a very long connection with the owners of Middleton Hall. The school was historically part of the Middleton Estate and the property of the owners of the manor. In 1924, when the Estat