![Middleton Hall 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Middleton_Hall_04.jpg)
Middleton Hall () is a Grade II*
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
dating back to
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
times. It is situated in the
North Warwickshire
North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Warwickshire, West Midlands, England. Outlying settlements in the borough include the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and ...
district of the county of
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, south of
Fazeley
Fazeley is an industrial town and civil parish in the Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Fazeley is located on the outskirts of Tamworth and the civil parish of Fazeley also inc ...
and
Tamworth and on the opposite side of the A4091 road to
Middleton village.
The Manor of Middleton was held by the Freville family until 1418 and came to the Willoughbys by virtue of the marriage of the heiress
Margaret de Freville to Sir
Hugh Willoughby
Sir Hugh Willoughby (fl. 1544; died 1554) was an English soldier and an early Arctic voyager. He served in the court of and fought in the Scottish campaign where he was knighted for his valour. In 1553, he was selected by a company of London ...
. The Willoughbys already had extensive estates in
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...
and elsewhere, their principal seat being
Wollaton Hall
Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuilding ...
,
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
.
In the mid-17th century the hall was the home of
Francis Willughby
Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, la, Franciscus Willughbeius) FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithologist and ichthyologist, and an early student of linguistics and games.
He was born and raised at ...
, the mathematician and naturalist, and passed ti his descendants the
Middleton barons. The hall was also for a time the home of the
parson-naturalist
A parson-naturalist was a cleric (a "parson", strictly defined as a country priest who held the living of a parish, but the term is generally extended to other clergy), who often saw the study of natural science as an extension of his religious wo ...
John Ray. The Georgian west wing dates from the late 18th century. In 1812 the estates and the
barony passed to Henry Willoughby of the
Birdsall,
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
branch of the family and Middleton declined in importance in family terms. The Middleton and Wollaton estates were sold in the 1920s.
The hall was allowed to fall into disrepair over many years and since 1980 has been restored by a charitable trust. Much work has been done on the main hall, walled garden, Tudor barn complex (now craft shops) and a 16th-century jettied building, which was close to collapse before restoration commenced. The stables and lodging block are on
Historic England
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...
's
Heritage at Risk Register
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...
due their poor condition.
The surrounding 40 acres (160,000 m²) of land include two walled gardens, the largest man-made lake in Warwickshire, much woodland and
Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve.
References
External links
Middleton Hall Trust
Grade II* listed buildings in Warwickshire
Country houses in Warwickshire
Gardens in Warwickshire
Borough of North Warwickshire
{{Warwickshire-struct-stub