St James

The interior of the main church contains stained glass windows installed by the forth Lord Lilford, famous ornithologist patron of the artist Archibald Thorburn.

The arrangements of tombs here is amusing. Those to the Elmes Family who built the original Lilford Hall in the 16th century and remained there until the early 18th century have been banished by their successors to the base of the tower.

Their successors, the Powys Family, later Lords Lilford, take up the south transept here you will discover one of the great baroque monuments in the county to Sir Thomas Powys (1649-1719) who was solicitor general and attorney general both to James 2nd and William and Mary. It is set in a colossal architectural framework which is over 20ft high, the recumbent figure, dressed in legal robes, sprawls over his tomb. It is a work of the sculptor Robert Hartshorne. Around on the walls are further memorials to the family.

The village here, with its hedges of box and its formalised housing, leads towards Lilford Park, much of which can be seen from the elegant bridge which crosses the river. The remains of old Lilford Church, demolished in 1778, has been reassembled as a picturesque folly in the churchyard.