The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 15th April. It was described as payment for showbread and wine. The amount was 1 penny, which was the equivalent of about £1.84 today. This entry poses a lot of questions that we have been unable to answer. There is no question that Sir Henry Willoughby was a very devout Catholic. However, showbread is categorically not a feature of the Catholic religion. It is only present in the Je

The 13th April 2026 is the 850th anniversary of the founding of an abbey by an owner of Middleton. On 13th April 1176, Robert III de Marmion, 2nd Baron Marmion of Tamworth, officially founded the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Barbery, which was located in the communes of Barbery and Bretteville-sur-Laize in Calvados, Normandy, about 20km south of Caen. On 14th November 1140, Robert III’s father, Robert II de Marmion, 1st Baron Marmion of Tamworth and Lord of Fontenay-le-Marmion in N

The next three entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were undated except for the month. However, from their location in the accounts, it can be determined that their date was probably either the 2nd or 3rd of April. The amount for each of these individual entries was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. The first entry was described as a reward to the young men of the town (Middleton village) that gathered for the chur

The next three entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were all made on 1st April, which was Easter Sunday. The first entry was described as a payment at Easter for bread and wine for Middleton Church and the amount was 9 pence, which was the equivalent of about £16.55 today. The second entry was described as a payment for oil and chrism and the amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. Finally, the third entry was

The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were both dated as Shere Thursday. Shere Thursday was the ancient name in English for what became Maundy Thursday, which is the Thursday before Easter. The word “shere” meant “clean” or “bright”. The name referred to the act of cleaning which was a key feature of the day and it is known to have been customary for men to have their beards shorn as part of this. The word maundy, which has

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was described as money paid to Thomas Slade for holy water for the three quarters due to him on Our Lady’s Day. Lady Day was the common English name for the Feast of the Annunciation, which was celebrated on 25th March. The amount was 12 pence, which was the equivalent of about £22.06 today. St John's Church, Middleton, Warwickshire, 2015. Photograph taken by Debbie Jordan. There is some uncer

This entry and post are a déjà vu from last year. In this entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby from 1526, we get to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day a day early, yet again! The entry was described as a reward to my Master’s valentine for Saint Valentine’s Day and was dated 13th February. His gift to his valentine was also again 4 pence, which is the equivalent of about £7.35 today. So how was Valentine’s Day observed in Tudor times? St Valen

The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby for 1525 were both dated as the 28th December. The first was described as a reward to the child bishop of Lichfield. It was for 6 shillings 8 pence, which was the equivalent of about £147.09 today. The second entry was described as a reward to the bishop’s servants and the amount for this was 20 pence, which was the equivalent of about £36.77 today. These entries refer to a popular English mediev

For this entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby from 1525, we get to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day a day early! This entry was described as a reward to my Master’s valentine for Saint Valentine’s Day and was dated 13th February. His gift to his valentine was 4 pence, which is the equivalent of about £7.35 today. Sir Henry Willoughby was married four times. His first wife was Margaret, the daughter of Sir Robert Markham, and she died about 1

This post contains two entries from the 1525 accounts that were simply dated as April. The first entry was a reward to Henry Pilkington, who was described as Sir Henry Willoughby’s godson. The amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. Henry Pilkington’s name appears once more in the Middleton Manuscripts but it was after Sir Henry had died and his son, Sir John Willoughby, had inherited. In an accounts entry, dated 24th March 1542, a number of Sir Joh

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 entry in the Middleton accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 was described as a reward to my Lady Abbess of Polesworth’s maids when Mistress Alice was fetched home from Polesworth. This entry was dated as the 18th August and the amount was 16 pence, which was the equivalent of about £29.42 today. Mistress Alice was Sir Henry Willoughby’s youngest daughter. Polesworth Abbey often appears in our records. It had a long connection with Middleton, from the 12th century

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby for 1525 was dated as the 22nd October. It was described as a payment to the warden of Grey Friars in Lichfield on the commandment of Sir Henry Willoughby when Sir Henry had gone to pray in the town. The amount was 10 shillings and 8 pence, which was the equivalent of about £235.35 today. Grey Friars was the common name, as a result of the colour of the habit of the friars, for the Franciscan Friary in

The first entry in December in the Middleton household accounts of 1525 was undated except for the month. It was described as Sir Henry Willoughby’s payment towards the making of a chalice for St Nicholas’ Church at Wollaton, Nottinghamshire. The amount was 20 pence, which was the equivalent of about £36.77 today.   The most common definition of a chalice identifies it as a Christian religious ceremonial cup from which wine is drunk during services. However, technically a cha