The 16th December 2025 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of the novelist Jane Austen, who was born on that day in 1775. Jane Austen had a connection to the Willoughby family of Middleton Hall and her knowledge of this connection is recognised as being evident in her novels. Memorial to Jane Austen in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey, 2022. Photograph by Maggie Jones, PD, via Wikimedia Commons . Emma Barnard was the wife of Francis Willughby FRS. Her sister Elizabeth married James Brydges,...

The next entry in the Middleton accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 was described as a reward to my Lady Abbess of Polesworth’s maids when Mistress Alice was fetched home from Polesworth. This entry was dated as the 18th August and the amount was 16 pence, which was the equivalent of about £29.42 today. Mistress Alice was Sir Henry Willoughby’s youngest daughter. Polesworth Abbey often appears in our records. It had a long connection with Middleton, from the 12th century until its...

The next entry in the Middleton accounts of Sir Henry Willoughby in 1525 is one of the few remaining ones for this year that specifically refers to the activities of Sir Henry. This entry was dated as 22nd August and was described as being his costs to Feckenham Forest in Worcestershire and rewards to the keepers of the Forest. It added that he had gone there with “my lord prior” of Kenilworth and Sir Edward Ferrers. The amount was 34 shillings 6 pence, which was the equivalent of about...