The next entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 was dated the 12 th October. It was a payment to cover the costs incurred by Mr Swinfen who had, on the commandment of Sir Henry, taken the hawks from Middleton to King Henry VIII in London. The amount was 10 shillings, which was the equivalent of about £220.64 today. In comparative terms, this was the equivalent of about 16 days wages for a skilled tradesman at that time. It is believed that

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 was dated as the 16 th October. It was a payment for fur to use on Sir Henry's gown. The entry added that the fur was purchased at Birmingham and the costs also included John Lewissay’s expenses for undertaking this task on behalf of his master. The amount was 10 shillings and thruppence, which was the equivalent of about £226.15 today or, at that time, at least one stone of wool. By the 152

The next entry in October in the Middleton household accounts of 1525 was described as a reward from Sir Henry Willoughby to John Chapman when he was wed. Unfortunately, this entry was undated but because its adjacent entries were dated, it can be determined that it would have occurred between the 17th and 21st of October. The amount of the reward was 20 pence, which was the equivalent of about £36.77 today. This is the only mention of John Chapman in the Middleton Manuscript

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 next entry in the Middleton household accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby for 1525 was dated as the 26th October. It was described as a payment to Lewis ap John for his costs to go to Wales. The amount was 3 shillings and 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £73.55 today and comparative at that time to 5 days wages for a skilled tradesman. This is the only entry that can be clearly attached to Lewis. Lewis ap John is a Welsh name, however, because John Lewissay, who wa

The Middleton Manuscripts contains a letter that bears the date the 28th October and, due to its contents, must have been written between 1575 and 1583 although its precise year is unknown. It was written by a man called Marmion to Sir Francis I Willoughby. Marmion, who at that time was the servant of Elizabeth (Bess of Hardwick), Countess of Shrewsbury, was writing of his desire to enter the service of Sir Francis. In this letter Marmion told Sir Francis of events in the Cou

The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts of 1525 were dated as the 26 th November. They were described as Sir Henry Willoughby’s offering at William Slade’s wedding and Sir Henry’s reward to William Slade when William was married. The amount for the first was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today, and the amount for the second was two shillings, which was the equivalent of about £44.13 today. There are others with the surname of Slade that

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