Middleton-on-the-Hill
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Middleton on the Hill is a village in north east
Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
, England, near the
border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
with
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
. Middleton-on-the-Hill lies a few miles to the east of the A49 between
Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...
and Leominster. Middleton on the Hill is one of the 53
Thankful Villages Thankful Villages (also known as Blessed Villages; ) are settlements in England and Wales from which all their members of the armed forces survived World War I. The term Thankful Village was popularised by the writer Arthur Mee in the 1930s; in '' ...
in England and Wales that suffered no fatalities during the Great War of 1914 to 1918; as it did not suffer any losses in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
either, it is one of 13 villages considered "doubly thankful".


Etymology

Middleton on the Hill does ''not'' mean "middle town or village" (from
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
''middel'' "
middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...
" and ''tūn'' "farm, village, estate, enclosure, manor (which gives us the modern
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
"
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
") as with most places of the name (e.g.
Middleton, Greater Manchester Middleton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk. It is southwest of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. Middleton had a population of 42,972 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the nort ...
: instead the
etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
derives from
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
'' micel'' "large (related to modern
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
much" and ''tūn'' "farm, village, estate, enclosure, manor", here in the sense "estate" meaning "large village" (i.e. one that is broad in size). The name was recorded in 1086 in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
as ''Miceltune'' when it was reported as part of the lands belonging to Leominster''Domesday Book: A Complete Translation''. London: Penguin, 2003. p.497 and 1576 "TRE".TRE in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
is ''Tempore Regis Edwardi'', which means in the time of
Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
before the
Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...
.
After 1086 it belonged to Durand, the Sheriff, and was worth ten
shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...
s.


Buildings

Saint Mary's church is in the Norman and Early English styles and has a large tower which contained three bells. This older church had outlived the chapel which was demolished in 1800. In the churchyard is a war memorial that unusually is shaped like a lantern. The inscription reads: A thank offering to Almighty God "At evening time it shall be light " for the safe return of all the men from this parish who fought in the Great War 1914 - 1918 and 1939 - 1945 In 1874 a school was erected at a cost of £210 that could cater for 42 children. A building stood here was called Moor Abbey and was the remains of a much older building. This building would have had a moat.Extract from Littlebury's Directory and Gazetteer of Herefordshire, 1876-7 in Genuki
accessed 7 November 2007
A short distance away, about 3 miles (5 km) south east of Middleton and near
Tenbury Wells Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a small market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the north-western extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Situated 6 miles southeast of Ludlow, its northern border ...
is the church of Saint Michael, which was founded by the Reverend Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley, Bart, M.A. at an outlay of nearly £30,000. Frederick Ouseley was the musical prodigy son of
Sir Gore Ouseley Sir Gore Ouseley, 1st Baronet GCH, PC (24 June 1770 – 18 November 1844), was a British entrepreneur, linguist and diplomat. He was born in 1770 and died at Hall Barn Park, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire in 1844. He negotiated an important t ...
, the diplomat who served in Persia, Russia and India. accessed 12 September 2007 The church is a magnificent structure of stone, in the Middle Pointed style of architecture, and was consecrated on the 29 September 1856. There is beautiful stained glass in the east and west windows in particular, which represents figures of angels and the Crucifixion. The font is placed in a complete baptistery well of water, and there were only two of its kind when it was installed. The organ, a remarkable instrument that has 64 stops and four manuals, with many other novel and effective features, was installed under the direction of the Rev. Sir Frederick Ouseley.


Population

The village is now primarily home to commuters. Its population in 1861 was 445 and in 1871, 382. In the
United Kingdom Census 2001 A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th Census in the United Kingdom, UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organise ...
the Middleton on the Hill
ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
headcount was recorded as 244.


Local radio

The village is covered by
Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire, formerly Free Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire, is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Herefordshire and Worcestershi ...
on 96.7 FM and
Hits Radio Birmingham Hits Radio Birmingham, formerly Free Radio Birmingham, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Birmingham and the West Mid ...
, and Sunshine 855, as well as
BBC Hereford and Worcester BBC Hereford & Worcester is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, which were one county from 1974 to 1998. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and online via BBC Sounds from studios on Hylt ...
.


References


External links


Middleton on the Hill - Essay about the town

St Mary the Virgin Middleton on the Hill - Parish website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton On The Hill Villages in Herefordshire