The next two entries in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 were also undated but should have been between the 16th and the 22nd June due to the dates provided in nearby entries. The first entry was described as payment to Nicholas Cothett for making a songbook for the Chapel and the amount was 4 shillings 8 pence, which was the equivalent of about £102.96 today. The second entry was described as payment for a primer for Mr Draycott and the amount was 4 pence,...

Football is one of the games included in Francis Willughby’s Book of Games. However, the version he described has some notable differences to the modern game. Hence, this post will aim to place his description in its historical context, which was in the era when the game transitioned from an unstructured “mob” version to a more defined, albeit still violent, version with rules. One of the earliest known references to football was by William FitzStephen in 1174 who described it as a...

The next entry in the Middleton household accounts for Sir Henry Willoughby in 1526 was undated but should have been between the 15th and the 22nd June due to the dates provided in nearby entries. It was described as Sir Henry’s offering at Mr Arthen’s burial. The amount was 4 pence, which was the equivalent of about £7.35 today. It is not certain who the Mr Arthen mentioned was and there is no other mention of the specific surname Arthen in the Middleton Manuscripts. Given John Lewissay’s...