Middleton, Warwickshire
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Middleton is a small village in the
North Warwickshire North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in Warwickshire, England. The borough includes the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and Coleshill, and the large villages of Hartshill, Kingsbury, Ma ...
district of the county of
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
, England. The population of the
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
at the 2011 census was 630.


History

At the time of the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
Middleton was under a
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
Overlord
Hugh de Grandmesnil Hugh de Grandmesnil (c. 1032 – 22 February 1098), (known in French as ''Hugues'' and Latinised as ''Hugo de Grentmesnil'', aliter ''Grentemesnil'', etc.), is one of the proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Bat ...
who had several holdings in
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...
. When he died it passed to the Marmions of Tamworth. In 1291 the estate was divided into three and Middleton was held by the de Frevilles. In the mid 15th century Sir Richard Bingham married Margaret Willoughb (born Freville) of
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...
. There is a brass
memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...
to Sir Richard in the
Parish Church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...
. When Margaret died in 1493 she left the estate to her grandson (by her first marriage) Sir Henry Willughby.
Ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
Francis Willughby Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, ) Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithology, ornithologist, ichthyology, ichthyologist and mathematician, and an early student of linguistics an ...
was born at Middleton Hall in 1635. The Hall stayed in the family until 1924. St. John the Baptist Church holds an ornate
memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...
commemorating
Francis Willughby Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, ) Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithology, ornithologist, ichthyology, ichthyologist and mathematician, and an early student of linguistics an ...
, his parents, Francis senior and Cassandra, and his son, also Francis; this was erected by his second son, Thomas Willoughby. The title of Baron Middleton, of Middleton in the County of
Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...
, was created in 1711 by Queen Anne as a hereditary barony in the Peerage of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
for Thomas Willoughby, of
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 ...
in the County of
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
(1670–1729).


Recent history

By the late 1970s Middleton Hall and the surrounding estate came under the ownership of the Amey Roadstone Construction (ARC) for
sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...
and
gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...
extraction. The Hall and its outbuildings, with some remains dating back to the
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...
period, was in serious danger of being lost. It was saved by the establishment of the Middleton Hall Trust in 1980, a group of volunteers who are restoring the Hall with the help of local authorities and national bodies. ARC have assisted in this by renting at a low rate the Hall and surroundings to the Trust, and by restoring a
Tudor period In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...
stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...
block as a craft centre. By the 1980s Middleton was in the middle of a 'leisure area' with
The Belfry The Belfry is a golf resort and hotel in Wishaw, Warwickshire, close to Sutton Coldfield, England, located approximately 8 miles from the centre of Birmingham. It was acquired by KSL Capital Partners in August 2012. The resort has three golf ...
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
resort to the south,
Aston Villa Football Club Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional Association football, football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English foot ...
's
Bodymoor Heath Training Ground Bodymoor Heath Training Ground is Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa Football Club's training ground, located at Bodymoor Heath in the North Warwickshire, North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. The site was purchased from a farmer by ...
to the east,
Drayton Manor Theme Park Drayton Manor Resort is a family theme park, zoo and accommodation in the grounds of the former Drayton Manor, in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England, UK. It covers , of which about are in use, and hosts about 1.5 million people each y ...
to the north and the
M6 Toll The M6 Toll, referred to on some signs as the Midland Expressway (originally named the Birmingham Northern Relief Road or BNRR), and stylised as M6toll, connects M6 Junction 3a at the Coleshill Interchange to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton ...
being built to the west. Demographic change brought about by the recession of the early 1980s, which saw many local farms and businesses fail, has led to many humble buildings being expanded into luxury homes. Various public entertainment and business sites were created. A children's farm, two garden centres and numerous small industrial units now attract many people from the surrounding urban areas. In the 1990s one farm diversified into the
car boot sale Car boot sales or boot fairs are a form of market in which private individuals come together to sell household and garden goods. They are popular in the United Kingdom, where they are often referred to simply as 'car boots'. Some scientific ...
market. This now occupies several fields in the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
throughout the year, alternating between sites at weekends.
Gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...
excavation at the eastern boundary finished in this decade and two more leisure sites were established, Kingsbury Water Park at Bodymoor Heath and Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve. These have grown into busy centres in the first decade of the 21st century. In March 2010 the Government announced plans for an extension to the
HS2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a high-speed railway which has been under construction in England since 2019. The line's planned route is between Handsacre – in southern Staffordshire – and London, with a branch to Birmingham. HS2 is to be Britain ...
rail link that was already planned from
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. This proposal, extending northwards, places a route just 300 yards to the east of the main village. An elevated track, some 80 yards wide and 20 yards high, would take up to 14 passenger trains, capable of 250 mph, an hour. Many local roadways would be affected.


References


External links


Middleton Hall Trust

Middleton Parish Council

HS2 homepage
{{authority control Villages in Warwickshire