The Middleton Accounts of 1526: #63
The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were dated 20th October. The first was described as payment for six caps for the Children of the Chapel and the amount was 6 shillings, which was the equivalent of about £132.38 today. The second was described as payment for six pairs of shoes for the Children of the Chapel and the amount was 3 shillings 7 pence, which was the equivalent of about £79.06 today.
As mentioned in previous posts, the Children of the Chapel were Sir Henry’s private choir of boys and they were classified as servants. Sir Henry was responsible for all their needs, as explained in a previous post. Furthermore, this is not the only purchase of shoes for the boys within the previous three months (#46, #60).
However, this is the first mention of caps. These caps were not an item of fashion in the way that they are today. In Tudor times, religious tradition in England meant that etiquette required the head to be covered when outdoors and to remove it when entering.
The type of cap in this entry would have been a low-crowned flat cap with a small brim. They were most likely to have been made out of wool. For the highest nobility, this sort of cap would have been made of velvet. However, the price paid in this entry and Sir Henry’s rank, provides a strong indication that they were made of a high-quality wool, which would have been tightly-knit, felted and dyed in the household colours.
Essentially, this entry indicates that Sir Henry was providing the boys with their uniform. All servants in wealthy Tudor households were required to wear livery, which were matching uniforms. These uniforms signalled to visitors that the boys belonged to a knight of substance. Furthermore, if they were outside of the household, their livery would immediately make them recognisable as part of Sir Henry’s household.
In post #60 it was questioned how many members Sir Henry’s choir had. This entry appears to answer it: he had six boys. The highest tier of these choirs can be revealed by the Chapel Royal, which maintained a choir of about 10-12 boys, who were supported by about 20-30 adult singers. The high-nobility who had choirs of this nature, including Cardinal Wolsey, are known to have had about 8-10 boys in their choir. Finally, the affluent knightly gentry, which included Sir Henry Willoughby, would have operated with a standard choir of about 4-8 boys. These numbers and the differences were in part due to: the nature of the music; the need to have a back-up to cover the issues of the breaking of the boys’ voices and ill-health; and the extremely significant issue of the cost of keeping the boys.
Tudor polyphony music had a minimum of four parts. However, not all parts were sung by the boys. Adult male minstrel servants would sing the lower parts, specifically the bass and tenor. The boys would sing the treble and alto parts. In order for the boys’ voices to project over the powerful male lower voices, multiple boys were required to sing the same part. By having six boys, Sir Henry had a choir beyond the minimum basic requirement ensuring that the choir would be able to perform complex, multi-part sacred and secular music.
Further Reading: W. H. Stevenson, Report on the Manuscripts of Lord Middleton, Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1911. p.386.
Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.
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