1676 Inventory of Middleton Hall #11: The Soldier’s Chamber
Updated: Nov 7
This post, the eleventh in the series detailing the rooms and contents of Middleton Hall as described in the 1676 inventory, focuses on the room called “The Soldier’s Chamber”. There are three theories about the name of this room.
The first theory is that it was named as a result of someone present in the household who was in the military, which may even have been many years before. What gave credence to this were the contents, which were above a basic level, and that the room directly before it in the inventory list was the Master’s Chamber. However, the room directly after it was the Buttery.
The second theory relates to the Militia Act 1662, in which wealthy citizens were required to either serve in the local militia or fund a substitute and weaponry. There is the additional complication that Middleton Hall was technically owned in dower by women from 1665 to the time of this inventory. This law did not distinguish between genders, only wealth, and because women were not allowed to personally fight, if they were wealthy enough, they would have needed to fund a substitute. After his father’s death, Francis Willughby would likely have been subject to this, but there is no known record that he was ever involved with any aspect of the military. Therefore, it is possible he had a substitute. However, it should be noted that no weapons were listed in this room, which reduces the likelihood of this theory.
The final option is that it was a dedicated billeting chamber. For centuries, under royal prerogative, civilians were issued billeting orders, which required them to provide a room and food to military personnel. What gives credence to this idea is that in the 1550 inventory of Middleton Hall there was a similarly named room, specifically, the “Knight’s Chamber”.
It was intended that only inns, taverns or suchlike would be issued billeting orders but this system collapsed in the 1620s. At that time, King Charles I, lacking the money to fund the military, used billeting orders to provide the food and lodging for all his troops. Once the public houses were full, the Crown used the same orders against ordinary citizens to house the soldiers in their homes. The individual household was required to feed and care for the soldier at their own cost on the promise of a future repayment that rarely was paid. In response to public outrage, in 1628 Parliament forced the King to sign the Petition of Right, which specifically declared that the billeting of soldiers in private homes without the owner’s consent was illegal.
However, when the English Civil War occurred between 1642 and 1651, both Royalist and Parliamentarian armies ignored property rights and billeted troops wherever they chose. When King Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, he had a standing army but no barracks and thus he relied on illegal billeting, normally in the houses of wealthier citizens.
Eventually, after this inventory was taken, the practice ended. Firstly, the Billeting Act 1679, stated that no officer or soldier could be billeted in any private house without consent. Secondly, the Mutiny Act 1689, permanently excluded any private dwelling from billeting but obliged innkeepers and similar to take in soldiers, setting a specific financial compensation rate for them.
In the previous post on the Children’s Chamber, it was mentioned that, in this era, bedchambers were a multi-functional room, not simply for sleeping. Normally, they were located on the first floor. However, this location was not necessarily true for servants. Nor can it be assumed it was the case for soldiers too.
What can be determined is that this room was not in the first-floor area where the majority of the bedchambers were but beyond that, little is certain. It could have been on the first floor or ground floor of the main Hall. There have also been suggestions that it was located in the Porter’s Lodge in the outer moat island, where it is known that there was an armoury even though one isn’t listed on this inventory. Alternatively, it could have been one of the first-floor rooms of the Tudor Barn.
Although the inventory is a useful illustration of the household at Middleton Hall, two caveats must be taken into account when considering the items. First, many items listed in the inventory are just being stored in rooms, rather than being in their proper place. Second, this inventory was taken when the house was closed, not in its lived-in fully-furnished fine state.
Some of the items listed in the inventory of the Soldier’s Chamber have been described in the previous post on the John Ray Chamber. These were:
One bedstead. In this era, this solely referred to the corded wooden bed frame.
One feather bed. This referred solely to what would today be termed a mattress and was filled with the rigid body feathers of geese or ducks.
One bolster. A long firm cylindrical cushion that stretched the width of the bed and was placed beneath the bed sheet.
Four curtains and valons. A valon meant a valance, which was a decorative strip of fabric that hung across the top of a window or around the frame of a canopy bed.
One uncovered joint stool. This was described as a common type of stool that was jointed together, rather than nailed or glued.
The other items listed in the inventory of the Soldier’s Chamber were five blankets, two red chairs and:
One turkey work chair. In the previous post on the Still Chamber, turkey work was stated to be a luxury English textile that mimicked Middle Eastern carpets.
One table with a cover of stuff. Whilst previous posts have mentioned Kidderminster stuff, the lack of the explicit name means that the stuff mentioned in this chamber was an ordinary utilitarian lightweight worsted or mixed-fibre woollen fabric.
The presence of a feather bed, curtains and valons and an item in turkey work, indicates that this room was not a basic garrison room. If these contents are in the correct room, it was furnished to a level to house someone of a decent social status, a military family member, a soldier of rank such as a captain or billeted officer, or a very highly-valued household Estate worker.
Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.
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