The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 26th May. It was described as Sir Henry’s reward toward the church ale at Aston. The Middleton Manuscripts suggest that this refers to Aston juxta Birmingham in Warwickshire. The amount was 20 pence, which was the equivalent of about £36.77 today. It is uncertain why Sir Henry went to this church ale. Furthermore, it is uncertain what this religious feast was honouring. Saints Peter

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

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was again undated, but must have occurred sometime between the 6th and the 25th May. It was described as Sir Henry’s reward toward an ale (feast) at Lea in Warwickshire. The amount was 8 pence, which was the equivalent of about £14.71 today. Lea refers to half of the settlement known today as Lea Marston, which directly borders the parish of Middleton to the south-east. For the same reason as

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was undated. It was described as payment for ale and banners for Cross Week. The amount was 6 pence, which was the equivalent of about £11.03 today. Cross Week was an alternative name for Rogation Week. Major Rogation always occurred on 25th April but Rogation Week occurred from the Sunday to Wednesday that immediately preceded Ascension Day. Ascension Day occurred 40 days after Easter Sunday,

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated Saturday 5th May. It was described as payment at Middleton Church for ale for Sir Henry. The amount was 1 penny, which was the equivalent of about £1.84 today. A church ale was essentially a feast centred around the drinking of ale. Originally, church ales were gatherings established to honour the patron saint of the church. Ales were normally held on a Sunday and in 1526 that would

In the Domesday Book of 1086, it was recorded that a church was present at Middleton. However, the Church present today is believed to have been initially constructed in the 12th century. This was when the Middleton Estate was in the possession of the de Marmion family. They additionally had the advowson of St John’s Church at Middleton. An advowson enabled someone to propose who would hold the ecclesiastical position at a specific church. Advowsons recognised the role of the

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was probably dated 30th April. It is only probably because it was under the heading of April and was actually dated the 31st. It was described as a reward to someone who brought oranges from Birmingham. The amount was 2 pence, which was the equivalent of about £3.68 today. The last entry we had for oranges was in “ The Middleton Accounts of 1525: #5 ”. As mentioned in that post, Queen Catherin

The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were dated 29th April and came from different sections of the household accounts. The first was described as payment for stuff to make ink and the amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. The second was described as payment for a loaf of sugar that weighed 8lbs (about 3.63kg) and the amount was 4 shillings 2 pence, which was the equivalent of about £91.93 today.

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was dated 28th April. It was described as payment for aqua vitae. The amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. In the Accounts #20, we explained the history of aqua vitae (known today as liquors such as brandy and whisky) and what it was made from. Given the two purchases of aqua vitae in close proximity in the accounts and the nature of how it was used medicinally

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was undated but, given the adjacent entries were dated the 26th and 28th April and this was not stated to have occurred “on the same day”, it can be assumed to be the 27th April. It was described as money paid to one of the Children of the Chapel when he went home to his friends. The amount was 12 pence, which was the equivalent of about £22.06 today. Children of the Chapel were primarily trai

The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were dated 26th April. The first was described as Sir Henry’s reward for the christening of the child of “Corssor” and the amount was 12 pence, which was the equivalent of about £22.06 today. It is unknown who Corssor was and no other mention of him has been found. The second entry was a reward to a friar from Coventry that brought aqua vitae to Middleton Hall and the amount was 20 pence

The next three entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were dated 17th April. The first was described as payment for bread and wine at Easter at Drayton Bassett Church and the amount was 6 pence, which was the equivalent of about £11.03 today. The second was described as payment for oil and chrism and the amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. Finally, the third was a payment to Sir William, the parish priest of

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 15th April 2026 is World Art Day. A number of reproductions of paintings of the Willoughby family are on display at Middleton Hall. To mark World Art Day, this post will focus on the artistic history of two of these paintings. The original paintings of Sir Francis I Willoughby and his wife Elizabeth Littleton were commissioned on 13th September 1573. In the Middleton household accounts, it was recorded that Sir Francis paid 10 shillings (about £119.11 today) for his portr

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

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

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was undated except for being in March. It was described as money paid to the wives of Slade and Robert James to cover their costs for watching with a prisoner that was hanged at “Basset Cross”. The amount was 3 shillings 10 pence, which was the equivalent of about £84.58 today. Both Slade and Robert James are known to have been servants and tenants of Sir Henry Willoughby at Middleton. The pla