Middle

The Middle family could be described as one of the families with the longest history in the village. A Henry atte Middel was listed in the 1227 lay subsidy (tax) list for Chewton Mendip but ‘middle’ could refer to his stature or that he lived in the Middlesex tithing or a number of other things. There were a number of different branches of the Middle family in Chewton Mendip and nearby villages.

This is a picture of Stanley Middle taken from the ‘Handbell Ringers’ picture. He lived in the Cottage in Brays batch. His sister, Alice, married Leonard Pullen of Marshfield which introduced the Pullen family to Chewton Mendip. They had five boys and one girl

These young ladies are Beryl and Hazel Middle. They were the daughters of Stanley Middle and they had a brother, Dennis. His son Bob now lives in Canada.  The picture is taken in Brays Batch in 1933 with Stanley Cottage behind. The picture  is provided courtesy of Chewton Mendip School and Eric Brain who supplied the original photograph. Information about Stanley Middle’s family is supplied by John Pullin, Alice Middle’s grandson.

This is a picture of Reg Middle taken from the Cricket 11 of 1904. There is no known family relationship between Reg and Stan. It is known that Reg worked as a gardener for the Waldegraves and was one of the last members of the Ancient Order of Foresters.

Other members of the Middle family so far identified are R Alfred Middle who was killed in World War 1, W Middle who ran a shop in Litton,  a W H Middle who was the Hunt Master and the Middle Family who may have lived in Lynch Cottage.