Middleton Hall

The first documented residents of the manor of Middleton were Palli and Thurgot, recorded in the Domesday Book. Middleton then passed to the Norman lord Hugh de Grandmesnil, who had fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and from 1120 to 1291 the manor was held by the de Marmion family. The Frevilles held it next, until 1418, when it came to the Willoughby family through the marriage of the heiress Margaret de Freville to Sir Hugh Willoughby. It would remain with them for roughly five hundred years, although the family's principal seat was Wollaton Hall in Nottingham, and their estates in Nottinghamshire and elsewhere were extensive.

In the mid-17th century the hall was home to Francis Willughby, the mathematician and naturalist, and passed afterwards to his descendants, the Middleton barons. For a time the parson-naturalist John Ray also lived here. In 1812 the estates and the barony passed to Henry Willoughby of the Birdsall branch of the family in Yorkshire, and Middleton declined in importance in family terms.

The end came in pieces. In 1924 the estate — the hall and 3,680 acres with sixteen farms — was put up for sale, and in November it was announced that Lord Middleton had sold to James Averill, a farm landlord and industrialist, with tenants to be offered their holdings by private treaty. That December, seventy of the ninety-nine lots sold for an aggregate £75,000. The hall was sold again in the 1960s, to a rubble magnate, and was allowed to fall into disrepair over many years. Since 1980 it has been restored by the independent Middleton Hall Restoration Trust, which has worked on the main hall, the walled garden, the Tudor barn complex — now craft shops — and the 16th-century jettied building, which was close to collapse before restoration began.

Middleton Hall is cared for by the independent Middleton Hall Restoration Trust, which has been at the work since 1980. Its restoration has covered the main hall, the walled garden, the rescued 16th-century jettied building and the Tudor barn complex, which now houses craft shops. The grounds take in two walled gardens, extensive woodland and the largest man-made lake in Warwickshire, with the Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve alongside — allow longer than you think for the outdoors.

Not everything is in good repair: the stables and lodging block remain on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register because of their poor condition, so respect any barriers and signage. For an after-dark visit, organised public ghost hunts are held at the venue; book through the organisers in advance and dress warmly for a historic building and its grounds. The hall stands south of Fazeley and Tamworth, just off the A4091 opposite Middleton village.