The Middleton Accounts of 1525: #6

This post contains two entries from the 1525 accounts that were simply dated as April. The first entry was a reward to Henry Pilkington, who was described as Sir Henry Willoughby’s godson. The amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today.

Henry Pilkington’s name appears once more in the Middleton Manuscripts but it was after Sir Henry had died and his son, Sir John Willoughby, had inherited. In an accounts entry, dated 24th March 1542, a number of Sir John’s servants who had accompanied him to the assize court quarter session in Nottingham received a payment for their dinners. The entry listed by name all the servants who had attended with Sir John and how much they were paid. Henry Pilkington was fourth on this list and he was paid 3 pence, which was the equivalent of about £5.27 today. At this time, main servants of a manorial family were often connected in some way to the family. Moreover, it was not uncommon for the servants to be relatives, or the descendants of relatives, who had not inherited and it was also not uncommon for them to be educated.

Beyond these two entries, nothing else is currently known about Henry Pilkington nor what his background was. The Pilkington family is known to have had its origins in Pilkington, Lancashire and were a notable family of that county for centuries. Interestingly, given the Willoughby family connection to Nottinghamshire, there was one member of that family, Charles Pilkington, who was Sheriff of Nottingham in 1482.

The second entry for April in the accounts was a reward paid by Sir Henry to the women of the town in honour of Our Lady’s Light. The amount was also 4 pence.

The week after Easter was known not only as Easter week but also as Bright Week. This name was reported to have honoured the light that Jesus brought to the world and the week was often referred to as the week of light. In this week, doors were symbolically left open. Bright Friday specifically honoured the “light” of the Virgin Mary, or Our Lady, as the “life-giving spring”. In 1525, Bright Friday occurred on the 26th April.

Middleton Hall entrance door in the Jettied Building, 2023. Photograph taken by Steve Davies.

The nature of Bright Friday’s honouring draws noticeable similarities with an historic association of Easter. The word ‘easter’ comes from the Saxon goddess Eostre. She was their goddess of spring, life and fertility. The celebration of this goddess was eradicated by Christianity but, beyond just the name, other aspects appear to have remained including that her feast was in April. Furthermore, one item eaten at her feasts was a special currant bread that was eaten hot and dipped in honey, which some historians suggest was the origin of the modern hot cross buns.

Further Reading: W. H. Stevenson, Report on the Manuscripts of Lord Middleton, Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1911. p. 376.

Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.

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