Diwrnod Ieithoedd Ewrop: Hanes Byr o Neuadd Middleton yn Gymraeg / European Day of Languages: A Brief History of Middleton Hall in Welsh
The 26th September is European Day of Languages and, to mark this, this blog will give a brief history of Middleton Hall in Welsh. Welsh is an important language in the history of Middleton Hall. For centuries, the Willoughby family were Welsh speakers due to their business interactions with the Welsh. Many of their servants were also native Welsh speakers and, as a result, Welsh words are present throughout the Middleton Manuscripts. Furthermore, it is known that Francis Willughby compiled a Welsh-English translation dictionary and could speak and read Welsh well. For those who want it, there is an English version below the line.
Mae’r 26ain o Fedi yn Ddiwrnod Ieithoedd Ewrop ac, i nodi hyn, bydd y blog hwn yn rhoi hanes byr o Neuadd Middleton yn Gymraeg. Mae’r Gymraeg yn iaith bwysig yn hanes Neuadd Middleton. Am ganrifoedd, roedd teulu Willoughby yn siaradwyr Cymraeg oherwydd eu rhyngweithiadau busnes â’r Cymry. Roedd llawer o’u gweision hefyd yn siaradwyr Cymraeg brodorol ac o ganlyniad mae geiriau Cymraeg yn ymddangos drwy gydol Llawysgrifau Middleton. At hynny, mae’n hysbys bod Francis Willughby wedi llunio geiriadur cyfieithu Cymraeg–Saesneg ac y gallai siarad a darllen Cymraeg yn dda.
Mae Neuadd wedi bod ar safle Neuadd Middleton ers canol y drydedd ganrif ar ddeg. Fodd bynnag, mae’r cofnod cyntaf o Middleton yn Llyfr y Dyddfarn o 1086. O 1120 hyd 1291, roedd yn perthyn i deulu de Marmion. Ar ôl i Philip de Marmion, y pumed Barwn Marmion o Tamworth, beidio â gadael etifedd gwrywaidd, bu cyfnod cymhleth o berchnogaeth wedi’i rhannu rhwng ei etifeddion a’u disgynyddion.
Parhaodd y cyfnod o berchnogaeth wedi’i rhannu am tua 200 o flynyddoedd cyn i’r berchnogaeth gael ei huno eto dan un perchennog ar ddiwedd y bymthegfed ganrif. Y perchennog hwn oedd Syr Henry Willoughby. Parhaodd teulu Willoughby i berchenogi Neuadd Middleton am dros 400 o flynyddoedd ar ôl hynny, ac mae’r cyfnod hwn yn cynnwys dau o’n trigolion enwocaf – y naturiaethwyr rhyngwladol eu bri, Francis Willughby a John Ray. Yn y ddeunawfed ganrif, dyfarnwyd teitl Arglwydd Middleton i Thomas Willoughby, yr Arglwydd Middleton cyntaf, ac mae’r teitl yn parhau yn y teulu hyd heddiw.
Yn 1924, bu’n rhaid i’r unfed ar ddeg Arglwydd Middleton werthu Middleton er mwyn talu dyletswyddau marwolaeth. Prynwyd Neuadd Middleton wedyn gan ffermwr a diwydiannwr, John Averill. Gwerthodd ei fab y neuadd i Amey Roadstone Construction (ARC) yn 1966. Yn ystod perchnogaeth ARC, daeth Neuadd Middleton yn adfail, er ei bod wedi’i rhestru fel Gradd II* yn 1951.
Yn 1980, sefydlwyd Ymddiriedolaeth Neuadd Middleton er mwyn adfer Neuadd Middleton a’i thiroedd ac yna rheoli’r 42 erw a’u cynnwys. Roedd yr ardal hon yn cynnwys nid yn unig Neuadd Middleton ei hun ond hefyd Safle o Ddiddordeb Gwyddonol Arbennig Pwll Middleton, a gafodd ei ddynodi yn 1973. Ers 1980, mae dros 500 o wirfoddolwyr wedi bod yn rhan o’r gwaith yn Neuadd Middleton.
Mae adeiladwaith Neuadd Middleton a chynllun ei thiroedd wedi esblygu’n barhaus drwy gydol ei hanes hir. Yn wahanol i lawer o neuaddau bonedd, ni chafodd Neuadd Middleton ei dymchwel yn llwyr na’i hailadeiladu o’r newydd i weddu i ffasiwn pensaernïol newydd. Yn hytrach, cadwyd ac ymgorfforwyd rhai nodweddion o bob ffurf ar y Neuadd ym mhob adnewyddiad, gan greu strwythur hynod unigryw sy’n cynnwys elfennau o bob cyfnod. Rhoddodd consesiwn arbennig gan English Heritage ganiatâd i Ymddiriedolaeth Neuadd Middleton adfer rhai o’r hen adeiladau sy’n ffurfio Neuadd Middleton i’w ffurf gynharach. Mae hyn wedi darparu’r cyfle prin i allu gweld heddiw saith canrif o bensaernïaeth Seisnig ar un safle.
Awdur – Debbie Jordan, Gwirfoddolwraig Neuadd Middleton
There has been a Hall on the site of Middleton Hall since the mid-13th century. However, the first record of Middleton is in the Domesday Book of 1086. From 1120 to 1291, it belonged to the de Marmion family. The lack of a male heir of Philip de Marmion, 5th Baron Marmion of Tamworth, led to a complicated period of divided ownership between his heirs and their descendants.
The divided ownership period lasted for about 200 years before the ownership was eventually reunited again under a single owner at the end of the 15th century. This owner was Sir Henry Willoughby. The Willoughby family continued to own Middleton Hall for more than the next 400 years and this period includes two of our most famous residents – the internationally renowned naturalists Francis Willughby and John Ray. In the 18th century, the title of Lord Middleton was bestowed upon Thomas Willoughby, 1st Lord Middleton, and the title continues in the family to this day.
In 1924, the 11th Lord Middleton was forced to sell Middleton in order to pay death duties. Middleton Hall was then bought by a farmer and industrialist, John Averill. His son sold it to Amey Roadstone Construction (ARC) in 1966. During the ownership of ARC, Middleton Hall became a ruin, despite it having been Grade II* listed in 1951.
In 1980, Middleton Hall Trust was established in order to restore Middleton Hall and its grounds and then manage the 42 acres that contained them. This area included not only Middleton Hall itself but also the Middleton Pool Site of Special Scientific Interest, which had received its designation in 1973. Since 1980, over 500 volunteers have been involved in the work at Middleton Hall.
Middleton Hall’s construction and the design of its grounds have continually evolved throughout its long history. Unlike many manor houses, Middleton Hall was never completely demolished and built anew to suit a new architectural fashion. Instead, some features from each form of the Hall were retained and incorporated in each renovation, creating a very unique structure that contains elements from every period. A special dispensation from English Heritage permitted Middleton Hall Trust to restore some of the older buildings that form Middleton Hall to an earlier form. This has provided the rare opportunity to be able today to see seven centuries of English architecture on one site.
Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.
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