LILFORD HALL 133 



repeated expressions of wonder at the large 

 growth of nettles in the wood ! 



The house, which is built of grey Ketton 

 stone, and has a S.S.W. aspect, is ' set,' as 

 Mr. Robinson writes, ' in noble woods ' and 

 stands well above the river Nene. The pleasant 

 ante-room, library, and billiard-room lie nearly 

 to the east, and catch all the glow and sparkle 

 of the morning sun. The dining-room, which 

 contains portraits of Sir Littleton Powys, and 

 of his brother Sir Thomas Powys, and a good 

 copy of the ' Concert ' by Giorgione, has festoons 

 of fruit and foliage over the fireplace, carved in 

 pitch-pine by Grinling Gibbons. The disfiguring 

 whitewash which covered them was removed 

 many years ago, but their effect is slightly 

 marred by the addition of gilding. 



The study, on the left hand as you enter 

 the hall, has recently undergone a process of 

 restoration, and the beautiful oak panelling, 

 which experts pronounce to belong to the 

 Elizabethan period (being rough hewn and not 

 sawn through), is now allowed to appear in its 

 former condition. Upstairs, over the dining- 

 room, and also facing the front, is the beautiful 



