Middleton, Warwickshire

St John the Baptist is an Anglican parish church in Middleton, Warwickshire. It is a Grade II* listed building. The 17th-century ornithologist Francis Willughby is buried there.The church contains an ornate memorial commemorating Francis, his parents, Francis senior and Cassandra, and his son, also Francis; this was erected by his second son, Thomas Willoughby, 1st Baron Middleton.

Middleton Hall (grid reference SP193982) is a Grade II* listed building dating back to medieval times. It is situated in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England, south of Fazeley and Tamworth and on the opposite side of the A4091 road to Middleton village.The Manor of Middleton was held by the Freville family until 1418 and came to the Willoughbys by virtue of the marriage of the heiress Margaret de Freville to Sir Hugh Willoughby. The Willoughbys already had extensive estates in Nottinghamshire and elsewhere, their principal seat being Wollaton Hall, Nottingham. In the mid-17th century the hall was the home of Francis Willughby, the mathematician and naturalist, and passed to his descendants the Middleton barons. The hall was also for a time the home of the parson-naturalist John Ray. The Georgian west wing dates from the late 18th century. In 1812 the estates and the barony passed to Henry Willoughby of the Birdsall, Yorkshire branch of the family and Middleton declined in importance in family terms. The Middleton and Wollaton estates were sold in the 1920s. The hall was allowed to fall into disrepair over many years and since 1980 has been restored by a charitable trust. Much work has been done on the main hall, walled garden, Tudor barn complex (now craft shops) and a 16th-century jettied building, which was close to collapse before restoration commenced. The stables and lodging block are on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register due their poor condition.The surrounding 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land include two walled gardens, the largest man-made lake in Warwickshire, much woodland and Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve.

Bodymoor Heath Training Ground is Aston Villa Football Club's training ground, located at Bodymoor Heath in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. The site was purchased from a farmer by then Aston Villa Chairman Doug Ellis in the early 1970s. The ground is situated near Fazeley, in the Tame Valley, by the side of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, a short distance from Drayton Manor Theme Park and Middleton Hall. It lies close to The Belfry Golf Club, Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve and Kingsbury Water Park, just a few hundred metres from the M42 link to Tamworth and Birmingham. Many of the past and present Aston Villa players have taken up residence in the area, one of the more rural parts of the Midlands, enabling them speedy travel to training sessions. The training ground houses both the first-team and the youth academy. The facilities at Bodymoor Heath are also used as the home ground for the academy teams using provided pitches and changing rooms. The Under-23s previously played at Villa Park, although the construction of a 500-seater match complex in 2019 allowed for all of the academy teams to play within the training ground.

Drayton Bassett is a village and civil parish since 1974 in Lichfield District in Staffordshire, England. The village is on the Heart of England Way, a footpath. Much of the housing is clustered together but more than half is 20th century in the parish as a whole. In the parish is Drayton Manor Theme Park, occupying a large minority of its land. North of the adjoining suburb or town of Fazeley is the large town of Tamworth. The eastern lands of the parish form the bulk of Middleton Lakes RSPB reserve which has lakes of various sizes and has replaced an area of gravel workings (excavation).

The 34th Ryder Cup was held 27–29 September 2002 in England, on the Brabazon Course at The Belfry in Wishaw, Warwickshire (near Sutton Coldfield). The European team won the competition by a margin of 151⁄2 to 121⁄2, the largest margin of victory in the Ryder Cup since the European team won 161⁄2 to 111⁄2 in 1985, also played at The Belfry. Both teams were tied at 8 points going into the Sunday singles matches. Sam Torrance had put most of his best players out early while Curtis Strange had opted to do the opposite. Momentum swung for Europe and after Phillip Price defeated Phil Mickelson 3 & 2, Europe needed 1⁄2 point for victory. The decisive 1⁄2 point was secured by Paul McGinley in his match against Jim Furyk after he holed a 10-foot par putt on the 18th hole.The victory prompted Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister to joke in his speech at the following week's Labour Party conference: "What about the Ryder Cup, eh? Britain in Europe at its best. Me and George Bush on opposite sides".The event was originally scheduled for 28–30 September 2001 but was postponed for a year on 16 September following the September 11 attacks. "The PGA of America has informed the European Ryder Cup Board that the scope of the last Tuesday's tragedy is so overwhelming that it would not be possible for the United States Ryder Cup team and officials to attend the match this month." The manager of Phil Mickelson and Mark Calcavecchia had earlier announced that the two players would not travel to Europe. Other American players were said to be concerned about attending the event. It was agreed that the same captains and players would participate in the 2002 event. It was later decided to thereafter play matches in even-numbered years instead of odd-numbered, shifting the already-scheduled 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013 editions to 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2014, respectively. This in turn caused a corresponding change in schedules for the Presidents Cup, Solheim Cup, and Seve Trophy (all of which are played in years the Ryder Cup is not played). The Presidents Cup was in turn delayed by a year, while both the Solheim Cup and Seve Trophy played their 2002 matches as scheduled then subsequently started playing in odd-numbered years in 2003. The Junior Ryder Cup, which was also scheduled for 2001, was rescheduled for 2002. In a case of anachronism, the display boards at The Belfry still read "The 2001 Ryder Cup", and U.S. captain Curtis Strange deliberately referred to his team as "The 2001 Ryder Cup Team" in his speech at the closing ceremony. 18 years later, these changes would be reverted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which postponed the 2020 Ryder Cup to 2021. This was the second of seven consecutive victories at home by Europe, a streak that remains intact through 2023.

The 26th Ryder Cup Matches were held 13–15 September 1985 at the Brabazon Course of The Belfry in Wishaw, Warwickshire, England. Team Europe won the competition for the first time by a score of 161⁄2 to 111⁄2 points. This marked the first U.S. loss since 1957, previously the sole U.S. loss in fifty years. A key turning point in the matches came Saturday morning, when Craig Stadler missed a two-foot putt on the 18th hole, which would have earned a win for him and Curtis Strange over Europe's Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle. The match was halved, so instead of the U.S. being in the lead through three stages, the overall score was tied at 6-6. Europe went on to win three of the four Saturday afternoon matches. "In the past, it was always us who missed those putts," said European captain Tony Jacklin. "That has to crush them."Europe took that two-point lead into the Sunday singles and increased their lead throughout Sunday. It fell to Sam Torrance to secure the winning margin when he holed a 22-foot (7 m) putt on the 18th hole to defeat Andy North 1 up and go up 141⁄2 to 81⁄2, a six-point margin with five matches on the course.This was the last Ryder Cup played in Europe that was not shown on live television in the United States. The USA Network first televised it in 1989 on cable with video provided by the BBC. NBC Sports took over live weekend coverage in 1991 in South Carolina, and 1993 marked the first time a major U.S. network televised it live from Europe.

The 28th Ryder Cup Matches were held 22–24 September 1989 at The Belfry in Wishaw, Warwickshire, England, near Sutton Coldfield. For only the second time, the competition ended in a draw at 14 points each, but the European team retained the Cup since they had won it outright in 1987. Europe held a two-point lead, 9 to 7, entering the singles matches on Sunday, and the match which retained the Cup for Europe was the eighth, between José María Cañizares and Ken Green. Cañizares made a two-foot (0.6 m) putt on the 18th green to win 1 up and give Europe a 14–10 lead, with four matches remaining on the course. The final four matches all resulted in U.S. wins and an overall draw.This was the first Ryder Cup played in Europe to be televised live in the United States. It was carried by the USA Network on cable, with video provided by the BBC. The U.S. television coverage in 1985 was a highlight show on ESPN in early November, over a month after its completion. NBC Sports took over live weekend coverage in 1991 in South Carolina, and 1993 marked the first time a major U.S. network televised it live from Europe.

The 30th Ryder Cup Matches were held in England at The Belfry in Wishaw, Warwickshire, near Sutton Coldfield. The United States team won a second consecutive Ryder Cup, by a margin of 15 to 13 points. Europe took a slender one point lead into the Sunday singles matches in what was a close contest. Davis Love III secured victory for the U.S. by defeating Costantino Rocca at the last hole, 1 up. Through 2023, this is the most recent U.S. victory in Europe and also the last time the U.S. retained the Cup. This was the first Ryder Cup played in Europe to be televised live in the United States by a major network, NBC. The 1989 edition was carried by the USA Network on cable, with video provided by the BBC. The U.S. television coverage in 1985 was a highlight show on ESPN in early November, over a month after its completion. NBC took over live weekend coverage in 1991 in South Carolina.

The Belfry is a golf resort and hotel in Wishaw, Warwickshire, close to Sutton Coldfield, England, located approximately 8 miles from the centre of Birmingham. It was acquired by KSL Capital Partners in August 2012. The resort has three golf courses. The Brabazon Course is the main tournament course, and the others are the PGA National and The Derby. The headquarters of The Professional Golfers' Association are also located there, along with a 4-star hotel, tennis courts and a leisure spa. The Belfry has hosted the Ryder Cup on four occasions and has staged numerous European Tour events. In 2013, The Belfry underwent a comprehensive £26 million renovation of all bedrooms, meeting rooms, public spaces and other amenities. There was also a general uplift on the whole grounds appearance, including a new lobby entrance. The hotel remained open during the renovations and they were successfully completed. Further work has since been undertaken to improve other areas of the resort, including the spa. Sam's Bar, named after Scottish golfer and 2002 Ryder Cup Captain Sam Torrance, was also refurbished and renamed to Sam's Club House. The Belfry won the World's Best Golf Hotel 2019 at the World Golf Awards, Abu Dhabi.

Moxhull Hall is a hotel, wedding and conference venue in Wishaw, near Sutton Coldfield, in Warwickshire, England. The manor of Moxhull was owned by the Lisle family from the 16th century and later by the Hackett family. The last Andrew Hackett died in 1815 and his widow married Berkeley Octavious Noel, a grandson of the 4th Earl of Gainsborough. Their son sold the estate to Thomas Ryland. The original manor house, which stood in Moxhull Park, now the site of The De Vere Belfry Hotel and Golf Centre, was destroyed by fire in about 1900. Losses in the fire included a fine oak staircase which had been installed from Kenilworth Castle in 1760. The then Lord of the Manor, Howard Ryland, Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, built a new Manor House, Moxhull Hall, a short distance away at Holly Lane, Wishaw. His grandson, Thomas Howard Ryland, sold the estate in 1926 and it fell into the ownership of two other owners until, in 1969, Moxhull Hall was converted into a hotel.

The UK Championship, known as the ISPS Handa UK Championship for sponsorship reasons, was a professional golf tournament which was held 27–30 August 2020 at The Belfry, in Wishaw, Warwickshire, England. The tournament was intended to be a one-off event and was the final leg of a six-week "UK swing" on the European Tour during the 2020 season. The UK swing was created as part of sweeping changes to the tour's schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Brendan Lawlor received a sponsor's invitation into the tournament and made history as he became the first disabled golfer to play in a European Tour event.Rasmus Højgaard won the event, defeating Justin Walters in a playoff to claim his second European Tour win.

Allen End is a village in Warwickshire, England. Population details can be found under Sutton Coldfield.