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In the 12th century, this family built their first fortified castle with rights granted
by Henry I. Four hundred years later, in the reign of Elizabeth I, they built the
more domestic but regal Wollaton Hall. In time, Robert Adam, Chippendale
and the great portraitists were employed to fill out this Tudor palace. A colourful
pageantry of Middleton ancestry illuminates the pages of our history books:
“Signatory at Richard II’s resignation of rights,” and as Shakespeare records,
“imprisoned and beheaded by Edward IV as a rivaling power.” Subsequent
centuries saw the Middletons settle to more peaceable positions, such as founders
of the Royal Society in the 17th century and successful pursuers of parliamentary
power. The present Lord Middleton, the Right Honourable Sir Digby Michael
Godfrey JohnWilloughby, 12th Baron Middleton, Holder of the Military Cross,
was highly decorated as a battle commander in the last war. The family now lives
in 18th-century Birdsall House with its haunted Abbey and sweeping parkland,
surrounded by collections amassed over the centuries.
W O L L A T O N H A L L
Y O R K S H I R E , E N G L A N D
T h e R i g h t H o n o u r a b l e T h e L o r d M i d d l e t o n M . C .
