Middleton Estate - Sale Catalogue, 1924
It was in 1924 that the extensive Middleton Hall estate, in north Warwickshire and adjacent to Drayton Bassett, comprising over 3,600 acres including cottages, smallholdings and farms – in fact, most of the village plus surrounding farm land - was dispersed.
A copy of the original 1924 sale particulars is in the possession of a Society member and it is in a very sorry condition after spending many years forgotten in a barn. It is this extensive catalogue of some 85 large-format pages, and its attendant two coloured, large-scale and wonderfully detailed estate maps, that have been scanned, cleaned up and made available on CD, courtesy of the present catalogue owner.
The auction took place on 9 December 1924. There had been a previously advertised sale a few weeks earlier; on that occasion the estate was withdrawn under offer but it would seem the deal fell through. The second catalogue was identical – bar the cover! The sale particulars include a detailed description, published in 1901 by the then tenant of Middleton Hall, which includes notes taken from Dugdale’s Antiquities of Warwickshire, originally published in 1656.
Each property is set out within the schedule detailing tenant, location, acreage, rent and land tax. Every property is explained including the cottages and smallholdings, as well as the farms and the Hall itself. One hundred and two lots were up for sale – including property at outlying hamlets such as Allen End, Cross Green, Hunt Green, etc. Anyone who has family connections to Middleton, or who has lived in the parish, will find this CD fascinating. Those with an interest in local or family history, or in the large estates of the area, will be delighted to have this material made readily available.
The two detailed estate plans that accompanied the sale catalogue will provide interest to all who know the area. These are drawn on a scale of 12½ inches to one mile - the originals are over thirty inches across. Tinted to distinguish farm from farm, with each field boundary shown, and with each property numbered, these plans could be reproduced and framed. These are scanned and in PDF format; you can zoom in to view parts of the maps in considerable detail.
There are over 85 pages contained in the catalogue and these, with the maps, are on CD in PDF format, viewable on any computer using the freely available Adobe Reader. The proceeds from sale of this CD will be used to enable other local resources to be made more widely available.
If you hold any original documents, or perhaps a complete catalogue for one of the other estate sales in the area – and would be willing to share it with others – please contact Jacqui Simkins.
The CD is available from NNWFHS – to purchase or for more information please visit the Bookshop.
