Middleton Hall

Middleton Hall is a "unique" Grade II-listed country house in Staffordshire. The hall shows evidence of several phases of English domestic architecture from the late thirteenth to the early nineteenth century. There is a fine Great Hall that is of Tudor origin, which makes a classic setting for weddings, for performances and for parties.

The Hall was the home of some notable people and was visited by many figures from history. Included among these is Queen Elizabeth I, who certainly spent two nights under its roof after the festivities at Kenilworth in 1575.

The gardens offer a good opportunity for a walk amongst the Staffordshire countryside.

The position of the 40 acre estate, with its 9 acre pool, as an SSSI has been enhanced by the termination of gravel extraction in the Tame Valley. This was in 2008 and since then the area has been converted into an RSPB reserve, called Middleton Lakes.

The Tame Valley has long been recognised as a passage route for Autumn migrations nd the Lakes are a good place to find the winter waders, often featuring rare species. The birds do not recognise our human boundaries and the Hall's estate has seen a good number of species recorded over the years.

The ground around the Midlands is not noted for its variety of wild flowers, as noted by the eminent naturalist, John Ray, who wrote the first ever scientific book on ornithology, and compiled the first significant catalogue of British plants, while living at the Hall. Nevertheless the plant record is of interest.

Fungi of great variety also occur and there is a good selection of tree species. The distribution of these around the Hall gives an idea of how the parkland was laid out when the estate ran to over 3,600 acres.

Middleton Hall facts:

• Middleton Hall was built for Philip de Marmion in about 1285
• During Tudor times, Elizabeth I stayed there
• Examples of the buildings from each phase of the hall's existence can still be seen
• In the second part of the 20th Century the site was exploited for the extraction of sand and gravel and the house was allowed to deteriorate
• The hall was on English Heritage's At Risk register but has been restored by volunteers