John Middleton (giant)
English giant commonly known as the Childe of Hale
John Middleton (1578–1623) was an English giant who was born in the village of Hale and is commonly known as the Childe of Hale. He was allegedly 9 feet 3 inches (2.82 m) tall, and legend tells that he slept with his feet out of the window of his small house, and tales credit him with great strength. He was employed as a bodyguard by the sheriff of Lancashire.
History
Middleton was born in the village of Hale, near Liverpool. According to contemporary accounts and his epitaph, he grew to the height of 9 feet 3 inches (2.82 m) and slept with his feet hanging out the window of his house.
Because of his size the landlord and sheriff of Lancashire, Gilbert Ireland, hired him as a bodyguard. When King James I stopped by in 1617 to knight Ireland he heard about Middleton and invited both of them to the court, which they accepted in 1620. Middleton beat the King's champion in wrestling and in doing so broke the man's thumb. He received £20, approximately £3,500 adjusted for inflation (2024). Jealous of his wealth, Middleton's companions either mugged or swindled him out of his money while he was returning to Hale.
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This entry incorporates text from “John Middleton (giant)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.