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 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 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

The 8th March is International Women’s Day and the theme for 2026 is “Give to Gain”. This campaign theme aims to improve gender equality through generosity, collaboration and reciprocity via the sharing of resources, knowledge or time. In the spirit of this, a woman from Middleton Hall’s history stands out: Ernestine de Hamel (née Donovan). Ernestine was born on 20th July 1857 in Brighton, Sussex. She was the daughter of Alexander Donovan, Deputy Lieutenant, and Ellen Poulett

This post contains the next two entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526. The first entry was dated 8th January and was described as money to Mrs Mary Fitton, on the commandment of Sir Henry Willoughby. The amount was 6 shillings 8 pence, which was the equivalent of about £147.09 today. Mary Fitton was the daughter of Jane Harbottle née Willoughby and the granddaughter of Sir Henry Willoughby. The second entry was undated. It was described

The 16th December 2025 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of the novelist Jane Austen, who was born on that day in 1775. Jane Austen had a connection to the Willoughby family of Middleton Hall and her knowledge of this connection is recognised as being evident in her novels. Memorial to Jane Austen in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey, 2022. Photograph by Maggie Jones, PD, via Wikimedia Commons . Emma Barnard was the wife of Francis Willughby FRS. Her sister Elizabeth marrie

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 in 1525 was the sole entry in September and only dated as such. It was another payment to Lady Alice Willoughby in order for her to buy clothes for Mistress Jane. Mistress Jane was Sir Henry Willoughby’s widowed daughter. The amount was 6 shillings 8 pence, which was the equivalent of about £147.09 today or, in terms of equivalence at that time, would have been the cost of about one stone of wool or 11

The 16 th  October 2025 is the 300 th anniversary of the death of Emma Barnard who was an owner of Middleton Hall. She was the wife of Francis Willughby F.R.S. and she died on the 16 th October 1725.  Portrait of Emma Willoughby née Barnard. Courtesy of Lord Middleton. Emma was born about 1646 and was the younger daughter of Sir Henry Barnard, a Turkey merchant, and Emma Charlton. Francis Willughby, rather notoriously, could not be encouraged into marriage until his brother