The name Middleton is of Anglo-Saxon origin and it means middle-farm or middle-settlement. Tyas is a Normanfamily name but there seems to be no evidence that Middleton Tyas once belonged to a family of that name. The village lies on a substratum of limestone, which has been extensively quarried. Limestone quarrying still takes place at the nearby Barton roundabout. There was also an 18th-century copper mine and works near the village. Just outside the village is the Middleton Lodge Estate. Middleton Lodge itself was built in 1760 and is a listed building. It also has a number of Grade II listed buildings and of private parkland. The Church of St Michael and All Angels lies just outside the village on the road towards Moulton. It is an ancient structure, with Norman arches and pillars on the north side, and Early English on the south. It was restored and renovated between 1867-79 under the direction of Sir George Gilbert Scott. A Primitive Methodist chapel was erected in the village in 1877; only three years later it was sold to the Wesleyans. It is no longer used as a church being closed down in 1984.
There is one pub in the village: The Shoulder of Mutton; there is also The Scotch Corner Hotel at the famous roundabout. The village is served by Middleton Tyas Church of England primary school, which moved premises from the old Victorian building in the village to a new purpose-built building on the outskirts. The old school was built in 1861-62 and the new school was built in 2003-04. The old school has been sold and is now being extensively refurbished. The village had a post office and shop but it closed in April 2003. This left the village with no retail facilities within its boundaries, so the local community decided to open a new shop. Using grant aid from the Countryside Agency and DEFRA the villagers founded the Community Co-operative village store at Memorial Hall. It was opened by local MPWilliam Hague in April 2004. The shop is open 55 hours a week; it sells basic groceries, local produce, deli, fruit and vegetables, newspapers and magazines; it has an in-store bakery and serves as an off-licence. The shop employs two part-time staff and there is regular input from eight volunteers. The nearby Scotch Corner Service Station acts as a useful 24-hour shop for Middleton Tyas and other neighbouring villages.
Governance
An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches south west to Skeeby and had a total population at the 2011 Census of 1,183.
