A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



in Glapthorn from his tenants in Fotheringhay, 

 Lilford, etc. f and on 1 8 August 154.2 a messuage in 

 the tenure of WiUiam W'hyte of Lilford, which had 

 belonged to the preceptory at Dingley, was granted 

 to Robert Tyrwhitt, the king's Serjeant, with meadow 

 lands, rent, etc.''' 



The church of ST. PETER was taken 

 CHURCH down in 1778, and no part of it remains 

 on the site."- Three arches from the 

 nave arcade were, however, set up in The Lynch, 

 below Achurch, close to the river, and the monument 

 to Sir Thomas Povvys was removed to Achurch church. 

 According to Bridges,^ the church of Lilford consisted 



.>iLFORD Church Ruin 



of chancel, nave, north and south aisles, and west 

 tower and spire, but part of the south aisle appears 

 to have been taken down before his time.®* There 

 were four bells in the tower. The registers began in 

 1560, the first volume containing all entries to 1778, 

 together with a long list of briefs (1712-54), and 

 accounts of perambulations of the parish in 1718, 

 1722 and 1726. A vicarage house was built in 1714. 

 The communion plate is now at Achurch. 



The presentation to the church 

 ADFOIVSON was made in 1 228 by Walter Oliphant, 

 and the early liistory of the advowson 

 is to be found with that of the manor (q.v.), with which 

 it was held until, in 1383-4, Robert de Willoughby of 

 Eresby and his wife Margaret made a conveyance 

 of land in Lilford and of the advowson to Sir John 



Holt, kt., and others, from whom they were acquired 

 in 1387 by John de Buckingham, Bishop of Lincoln.*' 

 The bishop bestowed them as ' bought and acquired 

 with the goods bestowed on him by God,' on the 

 dean and chapter of Lincoln, for the endowment of 

 a chantrey called Buckingham's or Burghersh (Burg- 

 hervvahas) Chantrey in the cathedral, of two chaplains 

 and two clerks, to pray for the good estate of Pope 

 Urban \'I, the King (Richard II), Queen, bishop, 

 etc., and the souls of Edward III, Queen Philippa, 

 the bishop's parents, etc.'"" In 1398 a vicarage was 

 ordained by the Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield" 

 and in 1535 Thomas Palfreman was receiving iod. for 

 the church of Lilford as chantrist of Bishop John 

 Buckingham.^ On 26 September 1552, among much 

 monastic property then granted to Thomas Cecill 

 and Philip Bold, the rectory, church, and advowson 

 of the vicarage of Lilford, late belonging to this 

 chantry, were included.''' Before 1558 they had been 

 acquired by Edmund Elmes, who was then holding 

 them with the manor (q.v.) with wliich since then 

 they have again been held. 



Lilford was one of the parishes wliich received an 

 augmentation of its living under the Commonwealth."" 

 About 1755 Thomas Powys, father of the first 

 Lord Lilford (see above), pulled down such of his 

 tenants' houses as were in Lilford, and built others in 

 their place in Wigsthorpe; he then petitioned the 

 Bishop of Peterborough (alleging as his reason that 

 it was now necessary for the vicar to reside at Wigs- 

 thorpe in consequence of the removal thither of the 

 inhabitants) for leave to obtain a conveyance to 

 himself of the old vicarage house in Lilford, and to 

 erect instead, before I January 1757, a substantial 

 house of stone for a new vicarage upon a certain piece 

 of land in Wigsthorpe. The bishop gave his consent 

 in an instrument dated 27 March 1756," but when 

 Thomas Powys died on 2 April 1767, the old vicarage 

 house and lands had not been conveyed to him. By 

 indenture of 21 August 1767 the ground on which the 

 old vicarage formerly stood was conveyed by the 

 vicar and churchwardens of Lilford to his son, the 

 fourth Thomas Powys of Lilford.'- He completed 

 the work his father had begun, by obtaining in 1778 

 an Act of Parliament" authorising the consolidation 

 of the rectory of Achurch and vicarage of Lilford 

 (he was lord of both manors and owner of the advow- 

 son in each parisii), and the removal out of Lilford 

 parish of both church and vicarage into Acliurch. 

 Lilford church was to be pulled down and the materials 

 used for the repair of that of Achurch, the vicarage 

 newly erected in Wigsthorpe to be exchanged for a 

 house and 2 acres of land near the rectory lands in 

 Achurch, and an acre added by him for a graveyard 

 there ; this was accordingly done. In this Act it 

 was stated that the parish church of Lilford was 



"> Plac. de Quo ll'arr. (Rcc. Com.), 



" Pat. R. 34 Men. VIII, pt. 6, m, 30; 

 /.. and I'. Urn. /'///, xvii, g. 714 (1 5). 



" An cngr:iving of ' Lilford, ncir 

 Oundlc, taken from Ay Church ' dated 

 1757, ihowt the church Handing 3 ihort 

 distance to the louth-eait of Lilford Hall. 

 The tower wai of three itagei, lurmounted 

 by a ipirc. In 1310 an indulgence wai 

 granted to thoic viiiting the altar of 

 the Blcned Virgin Mary in the pariih 

 church of Lilford and giving to the fabric 



of the church or maintenance of the 

 chaplain lerving that altar (Line. Epii. 

 Reg. Memo Dalderby, 161.) 



•• Ilist. Northonis. ii, 242. 



•* Among the monumenti were a 

 frecjtone figure of a prieit on a tomb in 

 the chancel, a bran tablet--to Arllnir 

 Devenshyre (1573) and Oicth hii wife 

 (1574) — a itone with a bran inscription 

 torn off, and otheri to members of the 

 Elmci and Powyi familiei j Bridge), 

 op. cit. 243-3^ The dimeniioni of the 

 bmlding are given ai follow! ; church 



and chancel 102 ft. 2 in. long, body and 

 aislei 48 ft. broad, tower 12 ft. by 

 9 ft. 10 in. 



•' Chan. Ini|. p.m. S Ric. II, no. 42. 



•« Cal. Pal. 13S.S-9.PP- 3'2, SyS- 



" Line. Epi«. Reg. Memo. Buckingham, 

 iii,4S2. 



"' I'alor Kill. (Rcc. Com), iv, 9. 



•" Pal. R. 6Ed. Vl.pt. 9. 



'» Cal. S.I'. Don,. i'>58-5(), p. 274. 



" Close R. 7 Geo. Ill, pt. 23, no. 17. 



" Ibid. 



'• I'M. Stal. 18 Geo. III.c. 9. 



