The Childe of Hale, Brasenose College portrait -photo credit Brasenose College, University of Oxford
This is a tall, tall tale
About the Childe of Hale
Who, a long time ago,
To nine foot three did grow
Actually, scratch that… This is a tale about the Childe of Hale and it did happen a long time ago but I’m not going to rhyme my way down the page, so here’s the factual version – as far as it can be established:
John Middleton was born in Hale, Merseyside, in 1578. He was of normal height until… well, there are two legends about how he grew: one, the more boring one, that it happened overnight; the other, that one day he drew the outline of a large figure in the sand by Hale lighthouse, lay down inside it, went to sleep, and when he woke up – yes, you’ve got it – he was 9ft 3in tall. The legend doesn’t recount what happened to his clothes – did they grow as well or was he ‘indecently clad’ until he could get home and have someone run up a new outfit to fit his much larger form? Then there’s the issue of getting into that home, a cottage on Church Road which still stands there today. It is said that he had to sleep with his feet sticking out of the windows at the gable end, which must have been chilly in the winter!
Anyway, John had a patron, a man called Gilbert Ireland – Lord of the Manor of Hale, whose forefather, John Ireland, had the original chapel built. (The stories don’t seem to say why he had a patron, whether it was on account of his remarkable size or for another, more prosaic, reason.) In 1617, Gilbert took John to the court of King James I in London – presumably to show off this giant of a man. Whilst there, John challenged the king’s wrestler to a wrestling bout and won, to the dismay of both the wrestler and the king (although surely not a shock). He was given £20 for this victory – a very large amount for those times. One legend has it that he was swindled out of this money on the way back to Hale, but there are, unfortunately, no details of how or by whom.
Also on the way back to Hale, the pair called in at Gilbert’s old alma mater, Brasenose College, Oxford – Gilbert presumably wanting to show off his protégé to even more of his acquaintances. Whilst there, John’s hand was measured and the span was said to be between 15 and 17 inches, which apparently indicates that he was around 7ft 9in rather than over 9ft, although that’s still pretty impressive. He also left a handprint on the wall, which Samuel Pepys mentions in his diary in 1668, but which – again unfortunately – no longer exists, although there is a painted version of it at Brasenose, along with a quite marvellous portrait of him in his fine clothes, as seen above. (There’s an identical one at Speke Hall, and it’s said that both were painted during his time at Brasenose, so he must have been there a while!)
Painted outline of the Childe of Hale’s hand – photo credit Brasenose College, University of Oxford
John’s death is recorded in the church register at Hale; he died on the 23rd August 1623. The entry includes his name and his nickname, written in pencil. As we already know, his grave is in the churchyard, surrounded by iron railings and bearing an inscription in the stone, these days picked out in white paint: “Here lyeth the bodie of John Middleton the Childe Nine feet three Borne 1578 Dyede 1623.”
Childe of Hale’s grave
The inscription on the Childe’s grave
The Childe of Hale is commemorated by a statue near the start of Within Way; it’s the same height as he was said to be and depicts him in similar garb to that shown in his portraits, and it is an imposing presence that casts a large shadow – just like the Childe himself. One wonders what he did for the rest of the time, when he wasn’t beating wrestlers or being shown off at court and college, but that’s a job for the imagination and this is a factual piece (give or take all the ‘legend says’ malarkey).
Childe of Hale statue, sculpted by Diane Gorvin
Finally, I owe the details in this post to a number of sources, referenced below.
References
The history of Hale, the manor, the tall Childe and the village – article from
Historic Liverpool: https://historic-liverpool.co.uk/interactive-maps/historic-townships/hale/
The BBC website, 11th April 2013: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-22065684
Two paintings – one at Brasenose College and the other at Speke Hall: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Childe_of_Hale,_Great_Hall,_Speke_Hall.jpg
