MIDDELTON Family of Stockeld Park _1763-1947_

The Lords of Ilkley Manor - The Road to Ruin

The Middelton Family of Stockeld Park (1763-1947)

By David Carpenter

http://www.angelfire.com/ms/middelton/index.html

Who were the Middeltons?

The Middelton family of Myddelton Lodge and Stockeld Park had become the dominant family in the parish of Ilkley, in Yorkshire, England, within a hundred years of the Norman conquest.

Over the years they consolidated their power and their ownership of land until by 1750 the

whole of the township of Middleton, most of Ilkley, Nesfield-with-Langbar, Stockeld, and

further extensive estates in Wharfedale, Yorkshire and beyond were their exclusive freehold.

The Middeltons were strong supporters of Catholicism, and a local tradition says that they

'lost everything at gambling'. Old Squire Middelton, it is said, could stand on his front

doorstep at Myddelton Lodge and from that wonderful viewpoint see no land which was not his

own exclusive freehold. Collyer and Turner's Ilkley: Ancient and Modern, the only substantial history of the town, has eighteen pages devoted to the family. The reader will discover that

they claimed descent from Hypolitus de Braham, who had established himself as a landowner in

Middleton, in Ilkley parish, by the second half of the twelfth century. In subsequent years

they came to own substantial property in Ilkley itself, though little mention is made of their

extensive holdings elsewhere in Wharfedale, in North Duffield in the East Riding, Maunby and

Great Habton in the North Riding and Ireby in Cumberland. The rank of the family at the

forefront of the gentry is confirmed by the offices they held - including those of sheriff of

the county, judge of oyer and terminer, coroner, and commissioner of array.

These public roles were to cease abruptly with the Reformation in the mid-sixteenth century.

The Middeltons, like much of the northern gentry, refused to accept the religious changes and

for more than a century the main outlet for their energies seems to have been their support

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for the ancient and illegal forms of worship. Dr Collyer ends his essay with the conclusion that

the family 'has "worn the white lily of a blameless life" in Middelton and Stockeld these eight

centuries'. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries occupy a single paragraph, a deficiency

hardly remedied by Speight's hagiography of William Middelton (1760-1847).

The author's own interest in the family was sparked by spending some months amongst the

surviving family papers at the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, which largely date from the seventeenth century or before. He began to wonder what had happened to the later papers of

the family, which must have been very extensive. These would no doubt shed a great deal of

light on the history of nineteenth century Ilkley. So he decided to find out what had become

of the Middeltons, in the hope that he might trace their later papers.

Initial enquiries proved fruitless. He could find no one who knew what had happened to them.

Was a branch still in existence somewhere? What happened to their money? Why did they

leave Ilkley? What forced them to sell up? These and other important questions found no

answers.

Little was added to his knowledge by the respectful obituaries contained in the Ilkley Gazette

and other newspapers, nor by other notices of the family and its activities. He searched in vain

for anything beyond straightforward genealogical facts. And these were available only to the

earliest years of the twentieth century. No photographs or drawings of any member of the

family had been published and none were known to exist, despite the wealth of Ilkley picture-books published this century and the last. It seemed strange that so much remained unknown.

By degrees he became more intrigued as he realised how deeply the real story was buried. As

his researches brought him no closer to them, he began to suspect that the family had

deliberately withdrawn from public life - that a veil had been drawn over their affairs. An aura

of mystery now surrounded them. His interest grew, and he determined to discover as much of

their history as he could.

The search has taken much spare time over many years and led David to many different places

in Britain and overseas. Once he had begun work in earnest, the answers started to come. In

time, much of the hidden story was brought to light. And what a story it turned out to be.

Many of its features - the squandering of immense wealth, sexual misconduct, family feuds, courtroom battles, hereditary madness, the killing of a maid by a younger son, selfless work

amongst the poor, the rescue of a poor girl from the workhouse - would not seem out of place

in a sensational and romantic novel.

The original Middelton line came to an end in 1763, with the death of William Middelton (b.

1707) when the estates passed through the female line to a great nephew, then in his infancy.

Elaborate provisions were made so that the estates would not be merged with others, and to

ensure that the name and arms of Middelton would continue. This fortunate second son

inherited an estate worth at least £3,000 a year, as well as two mansions. The grander of

these, Stockeld Park, a mile or two from Wetherby towards Spofforth, had recently been

rebuilt by the fashionable architect James Paine. Myddelton Lodge, situated on the hillside of

Middleton above Ilkley and dating from Tudor times, was a less imposing but nevertheless substantial house. At that time Father Watkinson, the family chaplain, was resident there, and

attended to the needs of Catholic communities in both Ilkley and Spofforth parishes. By the

second half of the eighteenth century the Middeltons' priests no longer went in daily fear of


arrest and imprisonment. The substantial financial burdens imposed by the state on Catholic

families were now a distant memory. The second house of Middelton could surely have looked

forward to growing prosperity and strength, free at last not only from religious persecution

but also from the huge debts which they had run up during and after the Civil War.

But it was not to be. The Middeltons' long and distinguished history came to a close after the

Second World War when the last of the line was laid to rest. The decline had been dramatic. Marmaduke Middelton's burial, in a North London cemetery, was paid for by charity, his

effects estimated at no more than £5. There was no estate to will to a relative in the female

line, no change of name by a fortunate younger son, no spurious use of the Middelton arms.

This time the Middeltons had gone for good.

A little of the real story behind the 'blameless life' has recently been brought to light with

the retelling of the facts of the divorce of 1793-96 in print and on national television. The

infatuation of William Middelton's wife Clara for a household servant scandalised society, and

the resultant court case was so extraordinary it was used to illustrate a point in a

parliamentary debate. This sorry episode was the first of many crises which were to engulf

the family. Some years later came the near bankruptcy of William's son Peter and the desperate feud which developed between Peter and his eldest son, another William. William

failed to learn from the experiences of his grandmother Clara: his later life was to be

overshadowed by his own sexual indiscretions.

The last generation presents the weakest and saddest picture. None of them married, and we

know of no descendants. In the background lurks a shadowy hereditary insanity. The eldest son

Marmaduke was addicted to gambling and survived by the goodwill of his friends and wider

family, before being laid to rest in his charity grave. His brother Reginald, a Jesuit, had died

some years earlier tormented by his manic depression. Their sister Hilda too, suffered some

serious mental affliction and disappears from the records after 1901. We do not know what

became of her. And then there was Lionel, exiled in Australia after a tragic incident in his

youth in which he shot and killed a maid. Each generation had shown a lack of financial caution and scant regard for the family's survival. Mortgages and land sales were the inevitable result:

these had started early in the nineteenth century and continued steadily for over a century

until there was nothing left to sell.

But there is another story besides that of decline and fall. The family's endowment of

Catholic institutions 'after the fashion of our Norman ancestors' has left its mark: the 'Peter

Middelton Trust' continues its work in Sicklinghall and mass is still said in the Catholic chapel

built more than 170 years ago at Myddelton Lodge. And the Middeltons supported more than

just Catholic institutions. Through each of the generations a concern for the poorer members

of society is manifest, reaching its height in the examples of Major John Middelton and his

sister Marianne, whose humanity shines brightly through the years. Frequently charitable benevolence and lack of concern for the family's future were two sides of the same coin. The

nun Apollonia Middelton preferred to use her £10,000 inheritance to further the works of her

order rather than help her father Peter who was in a parlous financial state. Whilst his

brother Charles struggled with mortgages and was forced to put the ancestral mansions on the

market, Major John Middelton was busy ensuring that Selina Yeadon, who he had rescued from

Otley workhouse and adopted, was the main beneficiary of his substantial estate.


Sir Peter de Middelton (c.1290-1335) - A Prominent Fourteenth Century

Knight from Ilkley

An edited version of this article was published in the Ilkley Gazette on 1 April 1993

Tucked away in a quiet corner of the ancient Parish Church in Ilkley is one of the town's

greatest historical treasures. Under an arched recess, in the small chapel off the north aisle,

lies a finely carved effigy of a knight, which is over six hundred and fifty years old. We must

thank Eoian Lewis for his recent drawings of this monument which are, I believe, the first to

accurately portray it.

A description of c.1929, by Mr. William I'Anson, runs:

The knight, whose head rests upon pillows which are supported by angels, wears a

round-topped skull-cap under a hood of mail; his hands, uplifted in prayer, are protected

by mail gauntlets secured at the wrists by buckled leather straps; a guige [a strap for

the shield], passing over the right shoulder, carries the shield; the surcoat, which

reaches almost to the ankles, is girt at the waist by a narrow buckled strap, the

pendent tag of which is looped up and tucked away at the right side; below and beneath

the skirt of the hauberk [the coat of mail] is seen the lower extremity of the padded

and quilted gambeson [a coat for wearing underneath chain mail]; the cuir-bouilli [boiled


leather] knee-cops are ridged and decorated by miniature shields; the mail-clad legs are

crossed; short prick spurs are worn, and the feet rest upon a lion.

The knight's shield carries the arms of Middelton but for many years there has been

uncertainty as to which member of the Middelton family it represented. The Middelton family,

who took their name from Middleton in Wharfedale, can be traced back to the twelfth century

and continued their association with Ilkley until the twentieth.

Camden, writing in the late sixteenth century, attributed the effigy to Adam de Middelton,

who died in 1317. But the will of Sir William Middelton, dated 11 March, 1552, in which he

requests to be buried under the stone where his ancestor Sir Peter Middelton lay in Ilkley

Church, throws doubt on this attribution. Collyer and Turner, in 'Ilkley: Ancient and Modern' decided that the effigy belonged to Adam's father Peter, but I'Anson, who looked at many

monuments in the county, believed it was of a later date.

I'Anson's suggested date for the effigy of c.1335 indicates that it was made for Sir Peter de

Middelton, nephew of Adam and grandson of Adam's father Peter. However, some scholars

thought that I'Anson was dating monuments too late, and discussion on this issue was cut

short by the destruction of I'Ansons library by fire and his death before the publication of

his work. At the moment, however, we must give his opinions the benefit of the doubt until

further work is done.

Sir Peter was the son of William de Middelton and Agnes, daughter of Nigel le Boteler of

North Deighton. He must have been born c.1290, but we know nothing of his early life. He was

married c.1319 to Eustachia, daughter of Robert de Plumpton, knt., who settled on them lands

in Nesfield and Plumpton. Peter and Eustachia had several children, and Peter's eldest son and

heir Thomas was born c.1321.

Peter's uncle Adam de Middelton was lord of Middleton, and joint lord of Draughton and

Askwith. He also became the lord of Stockeld, near Wetherby, after a series of transactions in the last decade of his life. Adam was a justice of the king, and rector of Arncliffe, and

other public positions he held included the offices of keeper of the town of Kingston-upon-

Hull, custodian of the Abbey of Furness, warden of the Hospital of St. Leonard in York, and

keeper of the seal of the bishopric of Durham. Sir Adam died on or about 24 February, 1317,

leaving Sir Peter as his heir.

Sir Peter followed his uncle's lead into the legal profession, and we hear of him in 1327 being

asked to investigate an assault at Ellerker near Hull. He was subsequently recorded as a

justice for the county of Northampton, and in 1332 was appointed with others to be 'keeper

of York Castle'. In 1334 he was appointed a Justice in Eyre of the forest of the county of

Nottinghamshire, and later that same year of the county of Yorkshire. His last position was

that of Sheriff of York, which he was granted in 1335.

The effigy of Sir Peter makes it plain he was seen as a man of arms. We know of several

episodes in his life which would today be seen as 'incompatible with his public duties'.

In May, 1316, commissioners were sent to investigate a complaint by John de Goldesburgh that

Adam de Middelton, Peter de Middelton and many others had assaulted him at Stockeld, killed


three of his horses to the value of £100, and carried away his goods and assaulted his men and

servants. Later that year a further commission investigated the death of John Folbaroun of

Goldesburgh [possibly the 'John de Goldsburgh'] which was said to have been caused by Peter and others, several of whom had been involved in the earlier offence. Sir Peter was later

acquitted. A payment of 10 marks, in part payment of 100 marks, to Alice, widow of John

Folbaroun, from the executors of the will of Adam de Middelton, recorded in Nov. 1318, was

perhaps related to this murder.

In 1317, a further complaint was made against Peter by John de Stockeld that with others he

had burned his houses, hedges, and hays at Stockeld, and three horses to the value of £10,

'broken his park there', and felled and carried away his trees.

Later, in 1329, John de Moubray made a complaint against him and others that they had driven

away 40 horses and 300 sheep of his in Ingleton, and committed trespasses at his hunting

grounds at Kirkby Malzeard, Burton in Lonsdale, Hovingham and Thirsk in Yorkshire.

In arms for the Government he was equally active. After Robert the Bruce led the Scots

incursion into Yorkshire in 1319, when Ilkley and many other places were badly burnt, he was

ordered in November of that year to raise arms against the Scots. It is unlikely that any

further fighting took place that year, as shortly afterwards King Edward II agreed to peace

terms with the invaders.

In 1330 he was appointed with others by Henry de Percy, at his manor of Spofforth, to array

all men-at-arms and men on foot, and to bring them to him suitably equipped to go on the

King's service, giving him power to punish rebels and contrariants.

Three years later, in May 1333, King Edward III ordered Peter de Middelton and William de

Mohaut to raise twenty light horsemen and two hundred foot soldiers, either bowmen or

others, to fight the Scots and in June was ordered to take them to Richmond or Northallerton. A grant by Edward I of Scotland [Edward Bailiol] to Sir Peter of several manors

in Scotland, was probably made as a result of Sir Peter's role at the battle of Halidon Hill

[near Berwick], on July 19, 1333, when David II, King of Scotland, was defeated by Edward III

in support of Bailiol.

Back home, carrying out his duties as Sheriff of York, Sir Peter was again in trouble in 1335:

...when Peter de Middelton, the Sheriff, went into the West Riding to hold his Tourns

[the Sheriff's twice yearly tour of the courts of the county], on Saturday the vigil of

Palm Sunday, 1335, Robert de Stopham, with other malefactors, viz. John le Vavasour

of Weston, Mauger le Vavasour the younger, Alan le Venour of Storthes and Simon son

of Peter del Chirche of Oxton, and others unknown, by procurement of John Vavasour,

came against the King's peace, and lay in wait for Peter to slay him, at Ottelay and

divers other places, so that the Sheriff could not hold his Tourns, and scarcely escaped

death through their malice....

There seems to have been something of a blood feud between the Middeltons and the Vavasours, for Peter son of Richard de Middelton [I believe this Peter was first cousin of Sir


Peter] had been murdered near Dacre Grange in Nidderdale in 1333 at the instigation of

Thomas son of Mauger le Vavasour. Peter's son Richard avenged his father in 1345 when he

mortally wounded Thomas Vavasour by stabbing him sixteen times about the heart as Thomas

was walking in his orchard at Denton.

By 1335 Sir Peter was back in Scotland as is shown by an order to the Exchequer to pay Sir

Peter and his household their expenses and wages to cover their recent trip from York to

Edinburgh and back to attend the king.

We last hear of Sir Peter at the castle at Wark on the Tweed, on 11 Sept. 1335, when Michael

de Presfen, one of the king's yeomen and keeper of the castle, gave him a receipt for £100 in silver which Sir Peter had been assigned by the bishop of Lincoln, treasurer of England, to

deliver to Sir Michael's lord, Sir William Montague.

A receipt for monies paid by his executors shows us that by 24 October 1335 he was dead. No

details have yet come to light as to the manner of his death, but perhaps future researches

will tell us more of the history of this prominent fourteenth century knight.

Middelton Mini-Biographies

William and Clara Middelton (1760-1847) Originally named William Constable, this fortunate

younger son inherited the Middelton estates through his grandmother and took up the name

and arms of Middelton. But it was the longest and most expensive divorce case in history that made William Middelton's name known throughout the country. William at first refused to

believe his servants' stories about his wife Clara and the groom John Rose, but once compelling

evidence made him reconsider he expelled them from the house and pursued them through the

courts with extraordinary tenacity. His retirement to Myddelton Lodge and lack of enthusiasm

for development ensured that Ilkley remained a rural retreat quite unlike its neighbours at

Burley and Addingham.


The Middelton Divorce Case 1793-96

William Middelton and Clara Grace had been married in London on February 11, 1782 and made

their home at Stockeld Park, the family's mansion near Wetherby. For many years it seems they lived together happily and by 1792 they had six children, three others having died earlier.

The few letters which survive show us a contented family. Clara was wrapped up in

matchmaking and gossiping about the romances of the wider family and friends whilst William

looked forward eagerly to the start of the shooting season. He would often come over to

Ilkley to stay at Myddelton Lodge to shoot game during the season and also enjoyed following

the hounds.

But the happiness of the privileged couple was soon to be overturned. In 1791 a new face

appeared amongst the servants at Stockeld when John Rose was appointed groom to the

family. By all accounts he was a handsome fellow, but what first awoke Clara's uncontrollable

passion for him we have no way of knowing. Soon the other servants were gossiping about the intimacy which had developed between the lady of the house and the groom. They had noticed

how often she was visiting the stables, and saw the pair out riding together 'as near as two

horses could go together, side by side'. They would meet together in the shrubbery after

dark, and Clara had been known to return with her gown 'remarkably dirty, and her sash' as if

she had been 'pulled about by a man'.

At the end of 1792 one of the servants left a note for Middelton's brother Marmaduke who

was visiting the house, telling him that Clara had 'taken an unfortunate affection for the

groom'. Most of the servants took a dim view of the business. Quite apart from any moral

judgements they may have made they knew that the affair might lead to the breaking up of

the household and hence the loss of their jobs. But though Marmaduke had been convinced

that the groom must be dismissed, Clara managed to persuade her husband of her innocence. She convinced him that it would not only be unfair to sack Rose, but that this would also

confirm to the world that the rumours circulating widely were true. So for the time being Rose

kept his job.

But over the ensuing months Middelton saw or heard enough to realise that he had been

mistaken to keep Rose on the premises and determined that he would have to go, though it

seems he still believed in his wife's innocence. On the evening of 2 April 1793 Middelton

returned from a short visit to his brother's house in London to discuss the situation and two

days later heard from one of the servants that Rose had been seen entering his wife's

bedroom one night during his absence. Faced with such an accusation Middelton called his

lawyers from York and together they interviewed the servants one by one. This time even Middelton was convinced. Through his attorney William Carr he ordered Clara to leave the

house and so on the morning of 6 April 1793 she left Stockeld in the family coach, never to

return.

Almost immediately Middelton began proceedings to be legally separated from his wife. Clara

continued her denials that she had been having an affair with the groom and some of the

allegations the servants were making about her conduct were shown to be false. This led to

some doubt about the outcome of the separation proceedings. To add to the confusion and


torment Clara gave birth to a daughter almost exactly nine months after being thrown out. But

whilst the denials were being made in court, Clara continued to meet the groom in secret. The

immense risk she was taking in doing this demonstrates the intensity of her passion for Rose. Soon Middelton had found out about the renewed liaison and produced enough evidence in

court to win his case.

Middelton was devastated by the whole business. He couldn't bear to live at the family home of Stockeld Park any longer and made his home at Myddelton Lodge in Ilkley. From that time

onwards the Lodge was the main residence of the family and for much of the time Stockeld

stood empty or was let out.

Peter Middelton (1785-1866) Though William had ten children only three survived him. His eldest son Peter had no grasp of

financial affairs and caused much of the family's decline by

mortgaging the family estates beyond hope of redemption. His

'immense family' of eleven children, all of whom survived him,

provides some excuse. Dominated by his bullying wife Juliana, it

was said that he 'enjoys his liberty amazingly' after her death.

As a result of his extravagances the whole of the manor of Ilkley

was put up for auction but Peter's death the day after the advertisement for sale appeared thwarted the scheme.

William Middelton (1815-1885) William Middelton continued the family decline by living beyond his means. After his

father's death in 1866 he started the sale of the manor of

Ilkley in lots, and it was his agents who designed the new town

of Ilkley which replaced the backwards village which had stood

there before. Together they managed to instil confidence in

the future prosperity of Ilkley and by encouraging investors

and speculators raised a huge sum from land sales over several

years. Middelton never married but evidence abounds of his amorous indiscretions, which led in one instance to two boys

from Germany, apparently his illegitimate sons, appearing in

Ilkley and demanding money.

How Ilkley Squire's past caught up with him in 1878

We don't know much about William Middelton's early life. He was born in 1815 and was educated at Stonyhurst, the Catholic school in Lancashire. He inherited the family estates on

the death of his father Peter in 1866 and was soon auctioning off land in the town which


enabled him to pay off the debts he and his father had run up in previous years. It was this

series of sales which allowed the modern town of Ilkley to develop. Middelton never married

but this was not for any lack of interest in the opposite sex. Frequently his amorous exploits landed him in trouble. On one occasion he narrowly avoided fighting a duel over a woman and on

another his solicitor had to arrange a payment of £1 a week to a former housemaid who had

been seduced by him. Doubtless there was a great deal of gossip about the many unmarried

girls who made up the household staff at Myddelton Lodge, his home on the hillside above

Ilkley.

An unexpected visitor who called at the Lodge on November 6, 1878 must have caused

Middelton a great deal of consternation. Middelton's visitor was Mr William Muhlke, a German.

And he had not arrived in Ilkley alone. For waiting in Ilkley were two men in their early

twenties, Oscar and Adam Geil. Middelton must have known immediately the reason for their

visit. In his early forties he had lived near Worms in Germany, and there he had taken his

housekeeper Juliane Louise Bruck as his mistress. The young men were her children. Juliane had since died, and the boys had taken the surname of her husband Friedrich who she had

married after they had been born. Though Middelton never acknowledged the boys as his sons

and claimed he did not know if they were of his paternity, in 1862 he had signed an agreement

to pay certain sums for their upkeep which had clearly not been observed.

Soon Middelton had come to an agreement with Muhlke as to the amount outstanding, and that

day instructed his solicitors to draw up papers to release him from any further liability. But it

must have been with a heavy heart that he determined not to see the boys waiting for him in

the village. Nevertheless Middelton was generous towards them, sending a cheque for £50 only half of which was 'on account', the remainder being a gift to help with their 'travelling and

tavern expenses'.

But soon the atmosphere had changed. Middelton received a telegram from Muhlke asking for

a further £15, which made him determined to see him no more and give orders that if he came

to Myddelton Lodge he was not to be admitted. But by February 1879 the business looked as if

it was over. Middelton had paid out £300 in settlement, as well as more than £100 in legal

fees, and had obtained signed documents from the Geils that they had no further claim against

him. But it seems that the boys continued to ask him for more money. Middelton was so

disturbed in 1880 that he hired private detectives in an attempt to discourage them, and

asked his bankers to pay particular attention to his signature on cheques in case the boys tried to steal money by forging it. By June of 1880 Middelton's solicitor Thomas Constable was

asking his agent to 'assure Geil that Mr Middelton is determined never to give him one

farthing more and that if he Geil comes into the country with the object of getting money, he

will at once be handed to the police and incarcerated'.


Charles Middelton (1820-1904) Charles was William's younger brother and Ilkley's last 'squire'. He shared the

family's incompetence in financial matters and in 1866 was

forced to sell his attractive country mansion at Linton

Spring as he could not afford to keep it. It was during his time that the manorial rights of Ilkley were sold to the

local authority and in 1892 he and his family left the town.

Myddelton Lodge was subsequently let to tenants, and

Stockeld Park sold.

The Major and the Workhouse Girl

'The Major' stands out amongst the Middelton family because of his prominent role in the life of Ilkley and the genuine respect, admiration and affection which were felt by the

townspeople towards him. A lifelong bachelor, he mixed much more with the townsfolk than did

his brothers, and his charity, particularly towards the young, was much commented on. He

would invite parties of underprivileged youngsters to visit him at his home, Laurel House, on Wells Road, which was well known in later years as the home of the British Legion. Sometimes

he would hire the assembly rooms to give a party for the local children, and once entertained

more than three hundred children at Wells House.

He was involved with the Black Hats and White Hats novelty cricket matches, was an active

member of the School Board, and acted often as a magistrate at Otley. It was said of him that

he always showed great sympathy to the 'poorest of persons' and that 'through his special

sympathy and efforts many young people had been wrested from lives of misery and

criminality'.

The Major had been born in 1830 and educated at Stonyhurst and Downside, two popular

Catholic schools. His title came from his days with the 5th Royal Lancashire Militia in the

1850s and '60s, where he gathered a number of entertaining reminiscences from his service in

Aldershot and in Ireland. Later he came to live with his older brother at Myddelton Lodge and

subsequently built Laurel House. One of his public roles was as a guardian of Otley Workhouse, and it was on a visit there in about 1885 that he met Selina Yeadon Young, 'a pretty, bright-

eyed, intelligent creature' about seven years old. Her father, William Calvert Yeadon, a maker

of weaving tools, had died and doubtless it was this circumstance which threw the young Selina

into Otley Workhouse.

The Major must have been immediately taken with her and formed the idea of educating her

so that she could become a governess, but had soon made an agreement whereby her mother

Margaret had assigned her care and guardianship to the Major. Thenceforth, after spending

some months in a convent school, Selina made her home at Laurel House.

The whole of Ilkley mourned the major's passing when he died suddenly in 1891. Flags flew at

half mast, the dead march was played at churches of all denominations. Along the funeral route shops had their shutters closed and blinds drawn. The procession include representatives of


the Otley Board of Magistrates, Otley Board of Guardians, Otley and Ilkley Police, Ilkley Local

Board, Ilkley Overseers, Ilkley School Board, Ilkley Constitutional Club, Ilkley Liberal Club,

Ilkley Football, Lawn Tennis, Golf and Cricket Clubs and many others.

The major's will provided for Selina well. She had just reached the age of twelve at the time

of his death. Her care and guardianship was left to Ann Curtis, the major's housekeeper and

wife of John Curtis of Ilkley, an upholsterer, until Selina reached the age of 25. £1,000 was left to Ann for her attention and services. A bequest of the majority of the Major's estate,

amounting to some £12,000, was left to Selina. What the rest of the Middelton family made of

this is not recorded. As usual they were struggling with debt and mortgages, trying to sell of

parts of the estate to keep their heads above water.

Selina made the most of her start in life. It seems she did initially work as a governess, and it

was probably through this work that she met her husband John Tucker, a London solicitor.

They were married on August 16, 1906 in Leamington. Their first child was named John

Cuthbert Middelton Tucker. John also became a solicitor and partners at his firm recollect

that he was always very pedantic about the spelling of his third name.

The last generation - Charles Middelton had four children, none of whom married. The eldest, Marmaduke, who inherited what was left

of the family estates, continued the pattern of mortgage and sale.

Said to have been a gambler who suffered heavy losses, he finished

his days living on the charity of distant relatives. His brother Reginald

became a Jesuit priest, and another, Lionel, after an unfortunate incident in Northumberland in which a maid was shot and killed,

retreated overseas and ended his days in a remote settlement in

Western Australia. Like many of the family their sister Hilda

suffered from mental illness and disappears from view just after

1900.

Genealogy of the Middelton Family 1700-1947

XIX. PETER MIDDELTON, of Stockeld, second son of William Middelton and Katherine,

daughter of Henry Constable, 1st Viscount Dunbar, and Mary his wife, succeeded to the

estates on the death of his brother; aged 11 years on August 15, 1665; married firstly Ann,

daughter of Roger Meynell of Kilvington, and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir John Middelton of

Thrintoft. They had issue:

1. William, born September 2, 1689; buried Thornton-le-Street November 27,

16[89?].

2. John, born September 28, 1690, died in infancy.


1. Mary or Maria, born 1691; entered nunnery at Cambrai, June 1703, aged 12;

later joined her aunt at the English Augustinian convent at Paris; took the name

Magdalen Teresa, professed 1711, died February 27, 1773.

married secondly Elizabeth (buried in the Haggerston Aisle, Holy Island Church, March 20,

1735/6), eldest daughter of Marmaduke, 3rd Lord Langdale of Holme on Spalding Moor in

Yorkshire, by settlement dated February 21, 1700/1. Peter died July 25, 1714, buried at

Spofforth July 28, 1714. They had issue:

1. Peter, baptised December 17, 1702, Spofforth; died under age and intestate 3

July 1718.

2. Marmaduke Middelton of Stockeld, succeeded to the estates; died unmarried

and intestate May 6, buried at Spofforth May 9, 1757.

3. William Middelton of Stockeld, baptised March 18, 1706/7; succeeded his

brother Marmaduke; married Frances, daughter of John Errington, of

Beaufront, co. Northumberland, and his wife Maria, daughter of James Levery of London, September 13, 1759, at St. George’s, Hanover Square, London, died

without issue August 10, buried at Spofforth August 15, 1763. Frances (died

June 25, 1787) remarried May 16, 1766 William Fermor of Tusmore,

Oxfordshire (died 1806) and had issue by this marriage.

4. John, baptised June 8, 1710, Spofforth; a resident of York, will December 1,

probate December 12, 1734, buried at Spofforth December 9, 1734.

1. ELIZABETH MIDDELTON (XX).

XX. ELIZABETH MIDDELTON; baptised at Spofforth December 8, 1701 married November 30, 1721, SIR CARNABY HAGGERSTON, (born c. February 1698, died July 17, buried July 20,

1756, Ellingham, aged 59), 3rd Bt., of Haggerston, co. Northumberland, son of William

Haggerston and Anne his wife, daughter and heiress of Sir Philip Constable, 3rd Bt., of

Everingham. She died January 1, buried January 4, 1770, at Spofforth. They had issue:

1. Sir Thomas Haggerston, 4th Bt., born September 11, 1722, married 1754,

Mary, (died May 22, 1773), daughter of George Silvertop, of Minsteracres,

Northumberland, and had issue:

2. WILLIAM HAGGERSTON-CONSTABLE (XXI).

3. Edward Haggerston of Ellingham, married Anne Mary, 4th daughter of William

Plowden, of Salop (by Frances, daughter of 5th Baron Dormer) and died without

issue March 17, 1804, aged 72.

1. Ann, born October 18, 1723, married Thomas Clifford or Clifton, of Lytham,

Lancs., and died without issue

2. Mary, born April 2, 1725, a Poor Clare at Gravelines, professed 1744, died

before 1786.


3. Elizabeth, born October 10, 1726, a Benedictine nun at Pontoise, took the

name Bernarda in 1747, removed in 1786 to Cambrai.

4. Frances, born October 4, 1728, buried Holy Island February 14, 1731/2.

XXI. WILLIAM HAGGERSTON-CONSTABLE, of Everingham and Terregles, succeeded to

his great uncle Sir Marmaduke Constable’s estates. Born November 21, 1731, married October

17, 1758, Lady Winifred Maxwell, only child of William Maxwell, ‘titular’ Earl of Nithsdale (died

August 4, 1776, ‘aged 72’), and his first wife (married 1730) Catherine (died June 16, 1765)

daughter of the 4th Earl of Traquair. William died at Terregles House June 20, 1797, and his

wife died there July 13, 1801. They had issue:

1. Marmaduke William Constable, of Everingham and Carlaverock Castle,

Dumfriesshire, assumed by Royal Licence the name of Maxwell; born January 2, 1760; married November 26, 1800, Theresa Apollonia (died November 8, 1846,

aged 76, buried at Everingham), daughter of Edmund Wakeman, of Beckford. He

died 1819 leaving issue.

2. WILLIAM CONSTABLE (XXII).

3. Charles Constable, born March 25, 1764. He married firstly, on July 21, 1793 at Marylebone, Elizabeth, sister and heir of Sir William Stanley, Bt., of Hooton,

when he assumed the name of Stanley. She died without issue June 23, 1797. He

married secondly, November 24, 1800, Mary, daughter of Thomas Macdonald,

son of Angus Macdonald, of Gellovie, of a junior branch of Macdonald of

Keppoch. She died February 18, 1831. He died September 14, 1844, leaving issue.

1. Catherine, born January 7, 1762, died unmarried May 17, 1783, aged 21, buried

in St Pancras churchyard, London.

2. Mary or Mary-Ann Constable, born July 18, 1766, married June 24, 1794, John

Webbe Weston, of Sutton Place, Surrey. Died 1847.

3. Theresa Constable, born August 18, 1768, died unmarried May 18, 1846

4. Clementina, born December 29, 1774, died an infant, buried St Pancras.

XXII. WILLIAM CONSTABLE, born December 25, 1760, assumed the name of MIDDELTON

on succeeding to the Middelton estates on the death of his great-uncle William Middelton in 1763. Of Stockeld Park and Myddelton Lodge; married February 11, 1782, Clara Louisa (died

March 26, 1833, Paris), daughter of William Grace (grandfather of Sir William Grace, 2nd Bt.)

by his wife Mary, daughter and heiress of Richard Harford, of Marshfield, co. Dublin, and died

December 16, 1847. They had issue:

1. William Middelton, born December 4, baptised December 7, 1782, died

September 27, 1800.

2. Marmaduke Middelton, twin of John, born December 7, baptised December 9,

1783; died at Stonyhurst on January 6, 1801.


3. John Middelton, twin of Marmaduke, born December 7, baptised December 9,

1783; died February 14, 1789, of ‘fever’.

4. PETER MIDDELTON (XXIII).

5. John Francis (known as Frank or Francis) Middelton, of Park Hall, Spinkhill,

near Sheffield, born July 16, baptised July 17, 1792, married Miss Alicia Maria

Taylor on November 27, 1821, at Brindle, Lancs. He died, without issue, July 26,

1855, at Park Hall and she died January 9, 1864, aged 70, at the same place.

1. Mary Middelton, born 15 March, baptised 16 March, 1786; died March 14,

buried March 16, 1796, aged 9.

2. Clara Middelton, born and baptised 11 June, 1787; died February 7, 1789, of

‘fever’.

3. Anne Middelton, born October 16, 1788, died unmarried 30 Kalend (sic) of

December, 1826, aged 38, buried at Myddelton Lodge.

4. Frances Mary Middelton, born and baptised December 8, 1790; died April 30,

1791, of smallpox.

5. Barbara Clara Middelton. Born January 3, 1794, and possibly the daughter of

John Rose. She married in 1827 Pierre Auguste Hippolyte Charles Frederic

(known as Fritz), Vicompte de Cussy, only son of Francois Augustin, Chevalier de

Cussy (died 1848), and his wife Caroline Agathe de Steinhausen. Fritz was born

at Mannheim January 24, 1793 and died at Bayeux January 27, 1867 leaving

issue.

XXIII. PETER MIDDELTON, of Stockeld Park and Myddelton Lodge, succeeded to the

estates on the death of his father. He was born and baptised February 1, 1785, married July

23, 1812, at Allerton Mauleverer, the Hon. Juliana Stourton (born May 12, 1789, died November 27, 1861); daughter of Charles Philip, 17th Lord Stourton; died June 3, 1866. They

had issue:

1. William Joseph Middelton, of Myddelton Lodge, Yorks., born and baptised

February 11, 1815 at Stockeld, died unmarried February 26, 1885.

2. Marmaduke Middelton, born and baptised September 26, 1816, Stockeld, died

in infancy.

3. CHARLES MARMADUKE ---- JOSEPH MIDDELTON (XXIV).

4. Peter Aloysius Joseph Middelton, born and baptised 29 June, 1822, Stockeld,

died in infancy.

5. John Joseph Middelton, of Myddelton Lodge, later Laurel House, JP West

Riding, Major 5th Regiment Lancashire militia, born February 13, baptised


February 14, 1830, at Little Blake Street Chapel, York; died unmarried

November 12, 1891, at Ilkley.

6. Edward Bartholemew Joseph Middelton, born and baptised August 24, 1836,

at Stockeld; of Tivoli, and later Ely Lodge, Ilkley, and of Suirmount, co.

Tipperary; married August 6, 1862, Emily (possibly born January 24, 1846, died

April 26, 1914), daughter of Nicholas Alfred Power JP, of Belleview House, co. Kilkenny, and his wife Margaret Jane, daughter of Major R.D. Cane, 5th Dragoon

Guards; died November 27, 1906. They had issue Edith Annie Middelton, married

January 20, 1900, Marmaduke Manley, 3rd son of George Manley of Spofforth

Hall, Yorks., and died April 29, 1916, leaving issue

1. Mary Middelton, born and baptised December 13, 1813, Stockeld; a Sister of

Mercy, died unmarried at Cortinburgh (Kortenburg), Belgium, March 26, 1888.

2. Juliana Theresa Mary Middelton, born and baptised May 5, 1818, Stockeld;

married July 23, 1840, at Stockeld, the Hon. Henry Constable-Maxwell-Stuart,

of Traquair, JP and DL, (born December 28, 1809, died October 26, 1890),

brother of William, 10th Lord Herries; died September 12, 1904; and had issue.

3. Apollonia Mary Middelton, born and baptised September 11, 1819, Stockeld;

died unmarried, London, May 4, 1892.

4. Marianne Middelton, born and baptised August 12, 1824, Stockeld; entered

Noviciate of the Sisters of St Vincent de Paul, June 1847; took charge of

Beacon Lane Orphan Boys’ Industrial School, Liverpool 1863; died Everton,

Liverpool, March 20, 1882.

5. Charlotte Mary Middelton, born April 5, baptised April 6, 1826, Stockeld;

married at Myddelton Lodge January 26, 1853, as 2nd wife George William

Manley of Spofforth Hall (born 1825, died 24 May, 1904, his first wife being

Isabel, daughter of Jesse Watts-Russell, of Ilam Hall, Staffs, married 1849,

died without issue 1850); died October 21, 1883. They had issue.

6. Catherine Mary Middelton, born and baptised May 24, 1827, Stockeld; married

1849, John Blundell, of Crook Hall, Chorley, co. Lancaster, JP (born 1824, died London August 1896), fourth son of William Blundell (whose mother was a

Tempest of Broughton) of Crosby, JP and DL, by his wife Catherine, daughter of

Sir Thomas Stanley Massey Stanley, 7th Bt. of Hooton; died 1889. They had

issue, all unmarried.

7. Frances Mary Middelton, born March 31, York, and baptised 1 April, 1833,

Stockeld; a Sister of Charity of Saint Vincent of Paul, at Constantinople 1917,

where she died August 2, 1921.

XIV. CHARLES MARMADUKE MIDDELTON of Myddelton Lodge, co. York, JP and DL for the

West Riding, for co. Inverness, and for Somerset, succeeded to the estates on the death of

his brother William; born December 6, baptised December 7, 1820, Stockeld; married July 28,

1859, at the Royal Bavarian Chapel, Warwick St, London, Helen (born June 17, 1830, died July


14, 1888, daughter of James Fraser of Achnagairn, near Kirkhill, Inverness-shire, and relict of

Huntly George Gordon Duff, of Muirtown, co. Inverness

whom she had married June 17, 1847, and who died May 23, 1856, leaving issue Amy, born

June, 1849; died February 8, 1859 at Rome; and Georgina Huntly, born August 20, 1856,

married as second wife, June 12, 1889, Francis Darwin, of Elston, Notts., and Creskeld, Yorks.

He died 1920 and she died December 30, 1920}); died October 15, 1904. They had issue:

1. Marmaduke Peter Middelton, born June 28, died June 29, 1863.

2. Marmaduke Francis Middelton, born May 3, 1867, at 5, Stanhope Place, London

W2; died unmarried November 17, 1947 at St. Joseph’s Hospice, Mare St.,

Hackney.

3. Reginald Charles Middelton, Jesuit priest, born February 21, 1870, died

December 18, 1941, Oxford.

4. Lionel William George Middelton, tea planter and prospector, born January 8,

1872, Foxcote, Ilmington, Warwickshire; died unmarried January 9, 1945,

Carnarvon, Western Australia.

1. Hilda Teresa Middelton, born May 26, 1868, 26 Hertford Street, Mayfair;

died unmarried, date unknown.

Four Centuries of History at Myddelton Lodge

High above Ilkley, to the west of Middleton village, stands the impressive building most local people call "The Monastery". Known more properly as Myddelton Lodge, it is about to enter a

new phase of its long history - as an integrated part of the Pastoral Centre of the Diocese of

Leeds. The building is interesting not only because of its almost unbroken association with the

Catholic religion, but also as the home and hunting lodge of the Middelton family, who were the

"Lords of the Manor" of Ilkley, Middleton, and other estates in Yorkshire for many centuries.


The Lodge was built on the site of a medieval hamlet, now long forgotten, which was called

Scalewray. Scalewray was last mentioned in its own right in 1490, when Anne Meddilton, wife

of Peter Middilton, knight, was granted the messuage of Scalewray, then in the tenure of

Constant Curtays, and newly enclosed, as her dower.

The first mention of the Lodge, under its old name of "Stubham Lodge" comes in 1550, when

John Myddylton of Stubham Lodge was granted the inheritance of various manors by his grandfather Sir William Myddylton of Stockeld, near Wetherby, and Dame Joan, Sir William's

wife. Sir William died c.1552, and shortly afterwards his grandson John left Stubham for

Stockeld, and William's widow Jane moved to the Lodge, where she lived until she died in

c.1583. At about this time Stubham Park is first mentioned, and it seems that the Lodge was

at the centre of an estate used for hunting game, surrounded by a fence or pale.

Entries in the court rolls of the manor of Middleton show how Stubham Park and its boundary

fence were being protected from the local tenants by the laying of "pains", or penalties. These

examples date from 1574-80: "...none of the inhabitants within this Lordship shall make or use

any footways over the park pale at the Ing Gill nor any other place but where a way hath been

accustomed upon pain of every time so offending 12d...... none of the tenants of Middleton, Austby and Nesfield shall not pull down Stubham Park Pale nor put in nothing over sheep upon

pain for every time so pulling down 12d..... no man shall carry away any pale board from

Stubham Park pale upon pain of every board 3s. 4d. and every burthen of pale board 10s... none

of Middleton, Austby or Nesfield shall fell, cut down or carry away any woods within Stubham

Park [except] the farmers of the same Park...."

An agreement of 1590 between another William Middelton and his mother Isabel, and her

second husband Gameliel Draxe, who were then living at Low Hall, sheds further light on the

use of Stubham Park at that time. The indenture allowed William to set up his park pale around

the Old Wood and the Lord's Close, which was part of his mother's dower. This was for "the

enlargement of his park at Stubham..... and the better maintenance of his game". The deed

gave permission for the keepers of the park "to fell brushing within the said grounds, to walk

and view the same, and that the deer may quietly have pasturage therein".

William's son Sir Peter Middelton was clearly not satisfied with the Lodge as it was because in November 1619 he made an agreement with a carpenter named Edward Barber, of Clint, near

Ripley, "to make a staircase at the west side of the house at Stubham Lodge, and a convenient

stair to serve the great chamber and the garrets, and shall likewise repair and enlarge the

roof... and divide the same into so many rooms of such proportion.... as is agreed upon." Sir

Peter was to pay œ88 for the work, which was to be completed before Michaelmas 1620.

Barber was to fell the timber, and quarry the stones, and Sir Peter agreed to provide three

beds for him and his servants, but Barber was to provide his own sheets. The work carried out

by Barber can still be traced today.

Shortly after the completion of the work, in July 1621, an inventory was taken of the contents

of the house entitled "Henry Currer's note of such household stuff as was delivered unto him

at Stubham Lodge", implying either that Currer had taken the Lodge on a lease, or more likely that he was employed by Middelton to look after the place and keep it ready for his use when

necessary, for one of the rooms is described as "my master's chamber". So, for example, we

learn that in the "Great Chamber" (which was the large room on the first floor at the front of


the house) there was "One long table, one little table, one long carpet, and one long form". In

"Clifford's Chamber" was "one bedstead covered with green say curtains and valance with

yellow knots and cupboard cloth suitable, one high chair and two low stools suitable, one mattress, one featherbed, one bolster, two pillows, three blankets, one green rug, one green

silk quilt, one livery cupboard, one window curtain and one rod".

From a very early date the Lodge was a centre of the Catholic religion. During the days of persecution the recusant population of the county (those that refused to attend the services

of the Established Church) was to be found in small groups, at the centre of each of which was

to be found "a gentleman's household". Jane Middelton, mentioned above, was listed as a

recusant c. 1580, and the Middelton family remained true to the "ancient faith" despite the

many tribulations it brought them, including heavy fines and imprisonment. It is interesting to

note that to this day in Middleton village there are Catholic residents whose ancestors have

been part of this local recusant tradition. From 1688 there was a Benedictine missioner at the

Lodge and James Hagerty, in his historical guide to the Lodge, mentions the names of eight of them who served between that date and 1865, in a line only broken for a few years in the early

eighteenth century.

Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the Lodge seems to have served as a

"second home" or hunting lodge, with a Catholic priest in residence, with the Middelton's main

home being at Stockeld Park, near Wetherby. A grand new house was built at Stockeld by yet

another William Middelton in the period 1757 to 1763, the year of his death. His heir was

William Constable, his great-nephew, who adopted the arms and name of Middelton. This

William was married in 1782 to Clara Louisa Grace, daughter of William Grace, and over the

period 1782-1794 they had ten children, only four of whom survived to adult life. But William's

domestic life was to be shattered by the discovery that his wife had an infatuation for his groom, John Rose. He ejected her from the house, despite her protestations of innocence, and

prosecuted the groom for "Criminal Conversation" and procured a divorce. After this he was

unable to remain at Stockeld and he wrote in September, 1793 "I reached Stockeld on

Saturday night.... every object round about revives melancholy ideas, I long much to leave the

place, which I will do as soon as I can get my things removed and some little alterations made

at the Lodge. I go tomorrow to give orders about them and shall return back the next day".

From then onwards Myddelton Lodge was the main residence of the family.

William Middelton remained at Myddelton until his death in 1847, and it was he who was

responsible for the building of the Chapel adjoining which was opened in 1825. At his death his

son Peter came to live at the Lodge - he had previously been living at Stockeld, which was subsequently let to a wealthy farmer named Jeremiah Faviell. Peter, who died in 1866, was

succeeded in turn by his son William, who lived at the Lodge with his brother Major John

Middelton until 1885. William died unmarried and so at his death in 1885 the estates and the

Lodge passed to his eldest brother Charles Marmaduke Middelton. Charles lived at the Lodge

for a time, but neither Middleton nor Stockeld could have suited him, for by 1893 he had

moved away. The Lodge was let to Arthur Middleton (not a relation) but later stood empty for

some years. Charles died in 1904, and his son and heir Marmaduke Francis showed no more

inclination to live at the Lodge than his father had.

Much of the Middelton family's estate had been sold off to raise money during the nineteenth

century. The well-known series of land sales in Ilkley began in 1867 and continued for many


years. The Stockeld Park estate was sold in 1890, and it was not long before the family's

voracious appetite for cash had caused land in Middelton to be up for sale. The first major

sale was in 1899, when the Wharfedale (Ilkley) Estate Company bought 450 acres for œ55,000, and further sales during the first quarter of this century eventually disposed of the

entire estate.

The Lodge itself was sold, together with the house "Tivoli", to Sidney Kellett in October 1912. Kellett was living there before the purchase was completed, and clearly saw himself as a "Lord

of the Manor" figure, for to celebrate the coronation of George V in 1911 he and Mrs. Kellett

"entertained the whole of the Middleton tenantry to a supper and concert at the Lodge. The

gathering numbered about 120, and a splendid repast was provided in the chapel attached to

the Lodge, which had been made to present a very gay and patriotic appearance... The

proceedings were kept up until a late hour, and at dusk the Lodge grounds were illuminated

with coloured lights". After Kellett's death his widow sold the Lodge to the Passionist Fathers,

who revived the Catholic traditions which had lain dormant for almost thirty years. Their first

Mass at Myddelton was held on November 26, 1922.

The Passionists remained at the Lodge until 1985 when the Diocese of Leeds took over the

estate, but only recently has the ownership of the Lodge been transferred.

Myddelton Lodge today, despite its many additions and alterations, retains much of its original

character. It is roughly square in plan, with four floors - basement, ground, first and attic. On the west side is attached the stair tower of 1620, and careful examination of the window

surrounds reveals differences of detailing in the tower and the attic floor from the original

work. The main entrance to the hall is up a short flight of steps through an unusual doorway of

great rounded stones, which is a later addition. Above the door is a fine oriel window, flanked

on each side by five light mullioned and transomed windows which opened into the main room or

"great chamber". At each corner of the building are chimney stacks which were also extended

in 1620. Inside the Lodge is full of features from different periods. The original staircase of

1620 remains in fine condition. Woodwork of the later eighteenth century is a feature of the main chamber and includes doors, a fireplace, and a dado. The main chamber in particular has

been sadly used during the Passionists' time at the Lodge, and indeed since the building was

surveyed in 1986 by the W.Y.M.C.C. the eighteenth century window seat in the oriel has

disappeared. The nineteenth century is represented by another fireplace in the main chamber,

as well as some of the oak panelling on the ground floor and the stained glass arms of Peter

Middelton, d. 1866, and his wife Juliana.

The last hundred years have not been happy ones for the fabric of Myddelton Lodge. In 1893,

when the Middeltons left, the Chapel was closed and many of its furnishings removed. The

Calvary behind the Lodge was allowed to decline until by 1906 it was described as having "long

ago entered the stage of desuetude and neglect". The Passionists set about the altering the Lodge to suit their needs, and whilst restoring Calvary and the Chapel they divided up the

"Great Chamber" into several smaller rooms, in a fashion which would be frowned on today. The

demand for additional retreat facilities led to the building in the 1960s of the unsympathetic

buildings to the east which detract greatly from the overall surroundings of the Lodge. In

particular, since 1985 the Lodge has suffered from want of maintenance. The building is now in

a state of great disrepair, although the Diocese of Leeds deserves credit for their work

releading the roof and making it externally sound.


Very recently the Diocese has managed to purchase the Lodge from the Passionists and there

are great plans for its restoration. The task which faces the Diocese and their architects is a

difficult one, not only because of the poor state of the building. The Lodge is full of features of great interest, ranging from those of the original building of Queen Elizabeth's time, and

those which can be dated to the extension of 1620, to such later items as the eighteenth

century panelling and fireplace and the nineteenth century stained glass coat of arms. Even

such things as the old fashioned bath and w.c. have a place in the history of the Lodge. We

must not expect Myddelton Lodge to become a museum of its own past - it is important that its

ancient role as a centre for the Catholic community continues into the future. The future for

the Lodge looks brighter than it has for a considerable time - perhaps for a hundred years. Let

us hope that those living in or using the Lodge in a hundred years time are able to continue its traditions and that they will look favourably upon the great restoration of the late twentieth

century.


MIDDELTON Family of Stockeld Park _1763-1947_

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