AN OLD COUNTRY INN
THE ROOF TREE
MIDDLETON
The Old Middleton Hall, having witnesses the glories and strife of five centuries and the crowning of twenty three monarchs of the realm has entered retirement in the guise of a typical Olde English country pub ?The Old Roof Tree Inn.
The house as its former name suggests is situated in the manor and township of Middleton near the sands. During the reign of King Edward 111, father of the gallant Black Prince, one third of the ancient manor was imparted to the monks of Cockersand Abbey by the knight named Sir Edmund De Neville. The giving of this land by Sir Edmund to the monks brought much prosperity and added a great deal of wealth to a monastery which at the time ranked as the third richest monastery in Lancashire. The giving of this land also sowed the seed from which grew The Roof Tree. The original buildings erected by the Abbey about 1330 A>D> survived for about 110 years, to be replaced in about 1440 by the building today. The house was then probably a little smaller than the present building, but the north wing (now the snuggery ? formerly the buttery ?the old kitchen and other domestic offices now the lounge and smoke room), was most definitely in existence. The earliest reference to this later building occurs in old documents of Cockersand Abbey dated 1451, when the occupier of the Grange was Elesus Nelson, who in return for his tenancy paid the sum of three pound yearly to the Abbot.
And so as the years passed by the house was added to until it took its present day appearance with the old stone windows with lintels above, the massive chimney pieces and glass bullions.
But now our story changes, for a little over two hundred years after having obtained land in Middleton and elsewhere the monks were about to lose it. When Henry V111 dissolved the monasteries between 1536 and 1540 the end of prosperity and wealth within the walls of Cockersand Abbey was in sight and on the 29th January 1539 the Abbot of Cockersand and his senior clergy gathered in what is now the only surviving part of the Abbey The Chapter House ? to sign the documents surrendering the Abbey and all lands it possessed to the crown. Following the dissolution, the site of this once famous monastery and lands were ordered by King Henry to be either let or sold. Middleton Hall therefore was found beneath the hammer of the Auctioneer Royal and was henceforth owned by Roger Dalton. Dalton did not live in the house, so it was let to a local farmer, Alexander Gardiner who, with his family occupied the dwelling. Gardiner as well as tending to the needs of his farm was a yeoman in a local yeomanry composed of farmers, all of whom were volunteers in this gallant cavalry. This man proved to be a most ambitious farmer and late in 1539 he obtained another piece of land formerly in the possession of the Abbey and known as the Cockshottes, in the manor of Ellel. In the old documents pertaining to the sale and lease of the Abbey lands the following description of the Hall, including Cockshottes appears:- Of the farm of a tenement called Middleton Hall with feeding(s) pastures and fisheries late in the hands of the monastery but now in the occupation of Alexander Gardiner by a new demise payable at Pentecost and St Martin 66s.8d and of a pasture called Cockshottes in Ellel in the occupation of same 13s.4d.
It was probably the Salter family who purchased the Hall in 1609, who were responsible for the placing of an old key beneath the steps of the front doorway. The key was recently unearthed during the restoration work and may now be seen in the bar. Legend has it that local householders were advised to place beneath the threshold of a house a piece of scrap metal or preferably a key of the house in order to prevent a visitation by one of the Lancashire witches (ten of them) on Gallows Hill, Lancaster in 1612, they left the key in place beneath the door ? just in case. Through the 17th and 18th centuries the farm prospered under the tenancy of local farmers. During the 19th century the land and house was owned by George Marton, Esquire, who at this time was lord of the Manor of Middleton and also a member of parliament. He did not, however, reside within the walls of Middleton Hall, but lived instead in the village of Capernwray. At this time the land which covered some 225 acres was farmed by the Birkett family, who lived in the Hall until early last century. The arrival of the 20th century saw many changes in the role played up to this time by the old house. During World was 11 The Royal Air Force had possession of the property and after the war was bought by an ex police Inspector Joseph Wyatt. In March 1953 Mr Wyatt obtained a liquor license for the premises and the Old Hall was transformed into the Olde Roof Tree Inn. In 1955 the inn was bought by Daniel Thwaites brewers of Blackburn and Mr & Mrs A Chipchase arrived to take over the Inn and a great deal of money was spent on restoring the house.
Many may ask, how did the Inn get its name. Well, the Inn derives its name from the way it was built. During medieval times it was quite common for builders to incorporate full sized trees in the skeleton of a house. In this particular building, the tree is situated in the main hallway in front of the house. It rises from the ground perpendicularly and then it leans from the vertical to form a huge arch with a beam coming up in the opposite direction. This is known as the Crucks method of construction and the so-formed arch provided means of support for other beams and rafters in the roof ?hence the name Roof Tree. Now, just a word about the house prior to restoration. In what is now the lounge bar, a medieval kitchen once existed, with a huge open fireplace across one wall and a well for water in the middle of the floor. Another feature of the Old Hall was a floor in one of the upper rooms. To construct this floor, trees of considerable size were felled. The trees were then hewn ? halved lengthwise and then laid across the room. Much of the medieval character and atmosphere has been retained in the transformation and the furnishings and decorations are all in period style. The Old Roof Tree is today a delightful rendezvous well worth visiting and most important, you can always be sure of a good drink in perfect condition with comfort and cleanliness and the personal attention of Cynthia & Chris .