Parishes: Lowick

LOWICK

Lofwyc, Lufwyc (xi, xii cent.); Lufwik (xiii cent.); Lufwyk, Luffewyk (xiv cent.); Luffwyke (xvi cent.).

The area of the parish is 2,028 acres. The soil is clay, limestone and ironstone, and produces wheat, barley and turnips. Harper's Brook flows in a southeasterly direction through the village and parish, eventually falling into the Nene, and the land rises from 50 ft. to 100 ft. on each side. From the high land here are striking views down the valley of the Nene. In a field to the south of the village is 'the Lowick oak,' one of the largest in the country and a survival of Rockingham Forest. Bridges states that about half a mile south-east of the church in the open fields are Huxlow Furlong and Huxlow Cross where the statutes have been kept within the memory of persons now living. (fn. 1) This probably indicates the place where the hundred court was held.

The village lies along the road from Thrapston to Brigstock. Leland about 1545 described it as 'the pratiest place in these quarters' (fn. 2) and it still retains its beautiful surroundings. The church stands at the north end of the village; south of it are the White Horse Inn and a stone 14th-century barn belonging to a once important grange where Jones of Nayland (1726–1800), the well-known divine, was born. The barn has a thatched roof and good end gables. It is of five bays measuring internally 60 ft. by 21 ft., and has four original loops on the east side and one in the south gable; two in the west wall are blocked. There is a wide modern opening on the west side. Near the corner of the road to Aldwinkle is a house bearing the date 1731. The rectory house, standing to the south-west of the church, a substantial stone building in Elizabethan style, was erected in 1855–6. To the east of the rectory is the Manor Farm, which lies south of St. Peter's Church and, like it, east of the main road. The school, formerly called from the costume ordained for it by its founders the Green Coat School, lies further south still.

In the south of the parish is the house known as Lowick Lodge, with an old quarry to the west of it, and another to the east. In the north of the parish is Glebe Farm.

About a mile south-west of the village is Drayton House standing in gardens of remarkable beauty and surrounded by a park of about 200 acres. The house consists of a main block, substantially of 14th-century date, with its longer axis from north-east to south-west, which is covered on the north side by a range of buildings added in the 15th century. Its main entrance is from a courtyard on the south side, inclosed by buildings of different dates, and bounded on the south by a 14th-century wall, in which is an arched gateway of much later date in a line with the principal doorway of the house. On the east side of the court the buildings, chiefly Elizabethan, are continued along the end of the main block to a tower at the north-east corner, beyond which they are prolonged by a wing projecting northwards. Those on the west side, of various dates, are carried across the end of the main block as far as the north-west tower, which stands above this end of the 15th-century addition already mentioned.

The main block, containing the hall and present dining-room, together with a smaller block at the east end, which projected a bay northward and contained the vaulted cellar with the solar or great chamber above, was the dwelling-house of the Draytons and the Greens, and is probably rather earlier than 1328, when Simon de Drayton obtained licence to crenellate the house. (fn. 3) The building thus followed the usual plan of the medieval manor-house, with a hall between the solar block at one end and the kitchen and its offices on the other. The crenellated wall of 1328 inclosed the court on three sides: a considerable length of it remains on the south, and there are portions of it in the lower parts of the east wall. The house thus stood across the middle of a walled inclosure, with another court upon the north side.

The arrangement of the buttresses in the south wall of the courtyard indicates that there was originally a gateway on the site of the present one, and it is probable that the screens of the hall were entered at the position of the present doorway. (fn. 4) Henry Green, however, who died in 1467–8, appears to have made an entrance-porch upon the north side of the hall, which he covered with a range of buildings, continued westward and returned southward as a south-west wing nearly as far as the boundary-wall. The old building was thus inclosed on the north and west sides by these additions; and about the same time a two-floored building was added at the southeast corner of the house, communicating with the cellar and great chamber.

In 1584 the north-east wing, which bears the date upon its west front, was added by the second Lord Mordaunt of Turvey. At the south-east end of it a tower was built, and was joined to the 15th-century projection at the other end of the solar block. The whole of the east side of the house was thus covered, and, beyond these buildings, a lower range was constructed as far as the boundary wall, forming a southeast wing and inclosing the east side of the court. Lord Mordaunt appears also to have heightened the north-west angle of the house into a tower corresponding to that at the opposite end of the building.

Some important alterations were made by Henry Mordaunt, second earl of Peterborough, towards the close of the 17th century. The main entrance to the house, which, at any rate since 1468, had been on the north, was shifted from north to south, what had been the basecourt now becoming the entrance courtyard. A new gateway was made in the boundary wall. The gardens were laid out, the small banqueting houses at the corners of the east garden were built, and the work of refurnishing the interior of the house was begun. These works were continued and completed on a lavish scale after the marriage of Lord Peterborough's daughter and heiress, Mary, Duchess of Norfolk, to Sir John Germain. The whole south front of the main block, now the principal front of the house, was refaced and transformed; sash-windows were freely inserted in place of the old mullioned windows in other parts of the building; and the fine series of iron gates and stone gateposts was made for the approaches to house and gardens. The interior of the building was greatly altered by the insertion of new staircases, and the hall and great chamber received their present form.

During the long tenure of Drayton by Sir John Germain's widow, Lady Betty (Elizabeth Berkeley), the entrance courtyard received some additions. The buildings adjoining the east and west sides of the gateway, behind the 14th-century wall, are earlier than her time; but she fitted up the chapel east of the gateway, and added the colonnades on the east and west sides of the court. Towards the close of the 18th century, Lord George Germain (Sackville) decorated the dining-room on the west side of the house and the drawing-room in the Elizabethan north-east wing. Subsequently, in the time of Mr. W. B. Stopford-Sackville, new kitchen offices were built west of the dining-room, and various minor works of restoration and repair were effected by him and his son, the late Mr. S. G. Stopford-Sackville.

The house stands in a hollow, and the best general view is obtained from the rising ground at some distance to the south, by the gate, now standing isolated at the head of a grass slope, which formed the main outer approach. From this point, at a level higher than the roofs, it is possible to distinguish clearly the component parts of the building and trace the additions which have inclosed and transformed the main block: the view is one of remarkable interest and beauty, and from this point alone the symmetrical balance of the towers at the further corners of the main block can be fully appreciated.

The present south front, through which the courtyard is entered, measures approximately 240 ft. from east to west. At the west end, on the site of the old brewhouse, is a modern building, projecting westwards and southwards, the space between which and the line of the 14th-century wall of inclosure is filled by an Elizabethan addition at the end of the south-west wing. The 14th-century wall, which slopes slightly south of east, is continued for 65 ft. with three buttresses to the point where, beyond the third buttress, it is broken by the gateway. This, 18 ft. wide, with a round arch between two curved niches, and with a pediment in which is the shield of Mordaunt with an earl's coronet, apparently occupies the site of an earlier gateway. East of this is a fourth buttress, and the old wall is continued for another 65 ft., with an intermediate buttress, to the end of the south-east wing, which is 20 ft. broad. The face of the lower part of this end, with an inserted 16th-century window, is still part of the old wall, which is slightly gathered in at this point.

The east or garden front of the house is 235 ft. long from north to south, and consists of four portions. For some 80 ft. from the south end, the Elizabethan south-east wing, a low building of two stories, incorporates, as on the south side, portions of the boundary wall in its lower part. North of this is a three storied block, the south part of which is the 15thcentury projection from the great chamber and cellar, while the north part belongs to the Elizabethan additions, but was largely refaced in the 18th century. This is followed by the north-east tower, which rises a story above the roofs, with tall angle-turrets, and is crowned by an elegant leaded cupola on wooden pillars, added in the 18th century. The front is completed by the north-east wing, 100 ft. from north to south, with three floors above a vaulted basement. The lowest floor, on a higher level than those in the rest of the house, is entered from the garden by a stone stair parallel with the wall of the tower, and an excellently proportioned doorway, inserted by Sir John Germain, whose shield is carved above it. The style of this wing is the local variety of Elizabethan stonework, without any mixture of foreign influence: the gables and their kneelers, at the north end of the block, are ornamented with stone balls, but otherwise the work is simple and severe. The garden front has three projecting chimneyblocks, rising into massive stacks, with moulded tops and shafted angles. As already mentioned, this composite east front was much altered by the substitution of sash-windows in the 18th century for the earlier mullioned windows; but in recent times some of the mullioned openings have been restored.

The north-east wing is returned eastwards at its north end, and there is a similar, but wider projection on the west side, which gives it a T shape. The north front, 60 ft. long from east to west, rises from the ground without any projection, and was somewhat altered in the 18th century by the insertion of a row of alcoves at the ground level and of a large Venetian window, now removed, on the top floor. The northwest projection is externally 20 ft. east to west and 18 ft. north to south. The west front of the range is well lighted, as the fireplaces and chimney-blocks are all on the opposite side; and mid-way in the wall between the north-west projection and the return which covers the junction of the building with the older part of the house, a rectangular projection with mullioned windows lights the north end of the drawing-room and the rooms on the upper floors.

At its south end this wing was returned 20 ft. westward along the north face of the cellar at the end of the main block, the first floor being added to the area of the great chamber. The return, with a small 18th-century addition on the west, projects about 10 ft. from the north front. This, though somewhat modernised, is mainly of the 15th century. The main portion, 95 ft. from east to west, forms a range covering the hall and dining-room in the principal block, and has an inserted doorway approximately in the middle, the story above which is crowned by battlements with a high half-octagon centrepiece, entirely different in design from the battlements of the rest of the building. It is clear, as stated already, that this part of the front originally formed a projecting porch with a room above, and that the spaces on either side were filled in later, so that their outer walls were flush with the north wall of the porch. There are signs of a break in the masonry east of the porch which point to this. If these additions were originally battlemented, the battlements were removed and wooden dormer windows with square pediments substituted, probably by Lord Peterborough. The mullioned windows of this part of the front have been very thoroughly restored. To the west is a modern projecting block with a front of 20 ft., and to the west again the 15thcentury work, slightly recessed from the rest, continues for 32 ft. to the angle of the building, this portion forming the base of the north-west tower, which, like the other, is finished with battlements and an added cupola.

The west front retains considerable portions of 15th-century walling, and the wing added to the house at that period had a frontage of 118 ft. The modern kitchen, which projects westward, occupies most of the north part of this front. At the south-west angle is a large modern projecting building, which, as previously stated, is connected with the rest of the entrance front by an addition of Elizabethan date.

Returning to the gateway in the south front, we pass beneath its vault into the paved courtyard, which is an oblong measuring 50 ft. from north to south by 108 ft. between the colonnades from east to west, the latter measurement being slightly reduced, owing to the inward, though not exactly parallel slope of the colonnades, on the north side. The vaulted gateway-passage measures 25 ft. from north to south, including the archways at either end. East of the passage is the chapel, internally 48 ft. from east to west by 18 ft. from north to south, and on the west side a line of offices connects the gateway with the kitchen. These belong to Lord Peterborough's buildings, but the furniture of the chapel was added by Lady Betty Germain. (fn. 5) The colonnades which form covered passages on the east and west sides of the court were also added by her. They are of rather poor Tuscan Doric design: the columns, six on each side with pilasters against the end-walls, are set at somewhat wide intervals. The entablature is heavy: in the middle on each side is the shield of Germain impaling Berkeley. The friezes, instead of being composed of triglyphs alternating with metopes, have the awkward arrangement of a single triglyph above each column.

The buildings on either side of the court, at the back of the colonnades, contain a number of rooms, but nothing worthy of special remark: their date and relation to the plan have been noticed already. On the north side rises the principal front of the house, the core of the wall being of the 14th century, but entirely hidden by the Palladian casing added by Sir John Germain after 1701. The name of the architect whom he employed is not known, but the design is so unlike the ordinary English work of the age that he may have been a foreigner, probably a Frenchman. The doorway, approached by a flight of steps, the sides of which curve inwards as they ascend, is in the middle of the facade, and is flanked by Corinthian columns supporting a pediment. This rather overwhelming composition, which fills the whole height of the front, is treated with much liveliness and originality of detail: in the capitals figures of hawks, in allusion to Sir John Germain's crest, take the place of the conventional volutes. Above the doorway is Sir John's shield, charged with the escutcheon of Mordaunt. On either side the wall is pierced by three tall windows, which light the hall on the east and the dining-room on the west. Each of the windows next the doorway is finished at the top by curious scrolled ornaments: the rest have pediments, one on each side round, and the other triangular. There is no order between the windows, but the angles are finished with flat pilasters. The design as a whole is unorthodox and restless; but the general effect is sumptuous, and the omission of pediments from the windows next the doorway gives relief to the imposing central composition. The building has a low attic, almost hidden by a tall parapet.

The doorway gives access to the south end of the hall, which measures 53 ft. east to west by 32 ft. north to south. The inner walls were cased at the same time as the facade, and all medieval features, including the screens, were removed. The timber roof, however, remains above the flat plaster ceiling. The fireplace is in the middle of the north wall. In 1850 the walls were painted in imitation of marble by an artist named Roos. Apart from its fine proportions, the room has no striking architectural features, and its general plainness is in strong contrast to the elaborate decoration of the facade.

On the west side of the hall are two doorways, one at either end. That on the south opens into the diningroom, which occupies the site of the original kitchen and buttery, and measures nearly 40 ft. east to west by 22 ft. north to south. This room was magnificently decorated by Lord George Germain in 1771 and 1772: his crest appears above the doorway on the inner side. The ceiling is ornamented with coloured plaster reliefs, executed with great delicacy and representing patterns of fruit and flowers: festoons of vine-leaves and bunches of grapes decorate the coved cornice. The walls and window recesses have white plaster reliefs of classical figures, foliage and vases on a buff ground; while long moulded panels on the walls frame portraits. The general character of the work, including the ornamentation of the fireplace, is very like that of the brothers Adam; but the plaster-work is in much bolder relief than their usual designs, and was long attributed to Italian artists. An examination, however, of the household books of Lord George's steward, Henry Gladwell, the results of which were published by the late Mr. Stopford-Sackville in 1915, (fn. 6) showed that the plasterwork was designed by William Rhodes, the carving by one Foxhall, and the painting by one Hakewill, and that workmen from London were employed in the execution.

North of the dining-room, a passage, on the probable site of the pantry and part of the old kitchen offices, leads to the present kitchen and the southwest wing. About half way down this passage on the right hand is a wide opening to a hall in the 15th-century block, from which a wooden staircase of rectangular plan, with elegant newels and balusters, simple in design, ascends to the first-floor rooms of this part of the house. This is of early 17th-century character, contemporary with the chimney-pieces of the rooms to which it leads. The rooms at the end of the passage are entered from lobbies in and adjoining the ground floor of the tower at this end of the building, in the north-east corner of which is a vice belonging to the 15th-century work.

At the west end of the north side of the hall, a doorway, cut obliquely in the wall, opens into the ground floor of the 15th-century porch, which gives access to the garden and to two rooms, one on either side. These contain no features of interest. The two bedrooms, however, on the first floor of this block, approached by the staircase which has been mentioned, have good chimney-pieces of the beginning of the 17th century, and in the south wall of one of them a blocked window opening has been uncovered, with a cusped head and hollow chamfer, which was formerly one of the outer windows of the hall.

The second doorway on the north side of the hall at the east end, opens to the foot of the grand staircase which leads to the great chamber on the first floor at the east end of the hall. This staircase, rectangular in plan, was added by Sir John Germain, and probably took the place of an earlier stair. It has a wrought-iron baluster, similar to the fine ironwork of the outer gates and railings, which may have been designed by Tijou. The walls are painted, in the sumptuous but rather tasteless fashion of the period, with representations of Olympus and Hades by Lanscroon, a Dutch disciple of Verrio.

Opposite the foot of the stair, a doorway leads into the cellar beneath the great chamber, which is also entered by two doorways in the east wall of the hall. This, structurally unaltered since the 14th century, measures internally 45 ft. north to south by 20 ft. east to west, and is divided by three octagonal pillars on the centre of the longer axis into eight bays of vaulting with chamfered ribs. The work, like much local work of the period, is plain, and, as has been noted above, is probably some years earlier than the fortification of the house by Simon de Drayton in 1328. The capitals and bases of the pillars have convex mouldings. The pair of bays at the north end project beyond the north wall of the hall, and so communicate directly, as already noticed, with the grand staircase. In the north part of the west wall is a two-light window of the 15th century, now opening into an adjoining room. On this side also there is a doorway into the colonnade on the east side of the courtyard, which communicates with the rooms in the south-east wing. There are two doorways in the east wall, the southern one of which leads into the ground floor room of the small building added to this corner of the house in the 15th century.

From the north-east bay of the cellar a stair descends to the vaulted basement which occupies the whole length of the Elizabethan north-east wing. This has a middle row of pillars, dividing it into ribbed compartments, the details of which have been modelled upon those of the medieval cellar. The bosses are carved with the arms of Northamptonshire families. From the south-east bay, in which is the doorway from the grand staircase, a short flight of steps leads to a lobby, from which two steps ascend eastward to the passage which forms the vestibule of the Elizabethan wing. At the farther end of this passage is the doorway to the east garden, and on the right hand at this end, in the tower, is the geometrical stair to the upper floors on the east side of the house.

The geometrical staircase, a wooden spiral without supports, was part of the additions made by Sir John Germain, and gives access to the whole of the upper part of the east range, including the great chamber, which is entered by a doorway directly opposite the doorway from the head of the grand staircase. This room, as has been said, occupies the site of the medieval solar, which corresponded in dimensions to the cellar below, but was enlarged northward by Sir John Germain. It is now called the King's dining-chamber, a name given to the solar after the visit of James I to Drayton in 1605. It is lighted by pairs of long sash windows in the east and west walls, and is wainscoted with tall oblong panels of handsome proportions with bolection mouldings, in which are hung a series of portraits of the Mordaunt owners of Drayton. There is a good plaster ceiling, contemporary with the panelling: the cabinets and other furniture belong for the most part to the time of the second Lord Peterborough. A doorway at the south-east corner communicates with the rooms in the south-east wing, which contain much tapestry. From the southernmost of these, in which the Elizabethan panelling remains, a doorway leads into the private gallery at the east end of the chapel.

Above the entrance to the great chamber, doorways from the geometrical stair open into the upper floors of the north-east wing, which remains to be described. The lowest floor, entered from the passage which leads to the geometrical stair, contains three rooms which open into one another. The south room, 38 ft. north to south by 21 ft. east to west, is the drawing-room, with a projecting bay in the northwest corner. It was redecorated by Lord George Germain in 1773–4, whose portrait by Romney is above the handsome marble fireplace. William Rhodes was employed for the plaster work. The ceiling has a formal and elaborate pattern; but the beautiful relief-work which has been noticed in the diningroom appears again in the frieze. North of the drawing-room is a smaller drawing-room, and beyond this is the state room, fitted up as a bedroom by Lord Peterborough, whose arms are on the chimney-piece, attributed with high probability to John Webb. Side doors at the end of this room open into the projections which give the wing its T shape. That on the east side is a powdering closet, with panels of Chinese work. From the room on the west there is a stair to the upper floors, at the foot of which is a doorway to the terrace along the west front of the wing.

These rooms contain much fine furniture and china, to describe which would require a detailed inventory. The furniture of the state room, including a handsome four-post bed and Mortlake tapestry hangings, is practically left as it was in the time of Lord Peterborough and his daughter, the duchess of Norfolk, while the other rooms chiefly reflect the taste of Lady Betty Germain and her heir, Lord George.

The suite of guest-chambers on the first floor calls for no special description, their most interesting feature being the small concealed chamber or hidingplace between the floor of the powdering-closet which leads out of the northernmost room and the ceiling of the one below. The whole length of the top floor is occupied by the long gallery or library, which was fitted with book-shelves by Sir John Germain, who also, as already said, inserted a Venetian window at the north end. This was removed by the late owner and a mullioned window substituted; at the same time a new coved plaster ceiling was made in place of the plain ceiling which had been put in during the 18th century. This is relieved with shields bearing the arms of Mordaunt, Germain, Berkeley, and Sackville. Here, as in the rooms below, a powdering-closet projects from the wall near the north-east corner. This was fitted up as a boudoir for the duchess of Norfolk with inlaid Chinese panelling, a mirrored ceiling, and parqueted floor.

Between the doorways from the geometrical stair to the first-floor bedrooms and the gallery, there is a door to the two rooms upon the top floor of the building upon the south side of the tower, the lower rooms of which are entered from the great chamber and cellar respectively. Of these, the northern, known as the Norfolk room, is hung with panels of Mortlake tapestry.

Of the numerous portraits in the house the most interesting are the Mordaunt portraits in the great chamber, the series of portraits of the Berkeley family, to which Lady Betty Germain belonged, in the firstfloor rooms of the Elizabethan wing, and the two portraits of Lord George Germain, of which that in the drawing-room, by Romney, has been mentioned. The other, by Reynolds, is in the sitting-room on the east side of the 15th-century porch. A portrait of Lady Betty, by Kneller, was added some years ago to the Berkeley series. The large portraits of royal and noble persons in the hall, and of Louis XIV and William and Mary in the dining-room, were placed in the house by Sir John Germain.

The fine lay-out of the gardens and approaches has been referred to. The iron gates are of great beauty. The finest of these afford access to the wide open space in front of the entrance gateway. On each side of the middle gate, in the head of which is wrought the shield of Howard impaling Mordaunt, are stone gateposts crowned with figures of birds in allusion to the crest of Mordaunt; while Sir John Germain's hawks crown the posts of the lateral gates. The date mdcci is worked as a monogram into the heads of some of the gates, and occurs elsewhere in the house. Other gates were placed at the extremity of the east garden, and at the top of the long incline of park in front of the house. The iron railings of the stair to the doorway of the hall, and of the stair from the east front to the garden, are also of the same period. All this work was probably designed by Tijou, to whom the iron gates at Hampton Court are due. The east garden is ornamented with a great profusion of lead statues and vases, which form one of the largest collections of the kind remaining; these, like most similar work of the day, probably came from the workshop of Van Noodt in London.

Manors

LOWICK formed part of the great fief of the Bishop of Coutances in 1086, (fn. 7) and the overlordship passed after his forfeiture to the Clares, later earls of Gloucester, (fn. 8) and followed the descent of the overlordship of Thrapston (q.v.).

The under-tenants holding of the Bishop in 1086 were Edwin and Algar, who held 2 hides less one virgate, which had increased in value from the time of Edward the Confessor from 10s. to 25s. (fn. 9) Edwin's holding possibly represented that of the Nowers (de Nodariis), as he also held Stanion, which went with this holding, while Algar also held Islip which went with Drayton manor. In 1217 Robert de Nowers presented to the church. (fn. 10) His successor Almaric was dealing with an eighth part of a knight's fee here in 1240 (fn. 11) and held three parts of half a fee of the honour of Clare in 1242–3. (fn. 12) He presented to the church in 1247 (fn. 13) and was succeeded before 1261 by Robert de Nowers, (fn. 14) who may be the Sir Robert son of Sir Ralph de Nowers who in 1285 granted lands here to Thorney Abbey, reserving to himself 6 'stikkes' of eels yearly. (fn. 15) Robert was followed by William de Nowers, who married Isabella, daughter and co-heiress of Peter de Goldington, in the time of Henry III. (fn. 16) Robert de Nowers, possibly as trustee, granted the advowson and land in Lowick to Almaric son of William and Isabella, in 1303. (fn. 17) John, son of Almaric, in 1313 conveyed, possibly in settlement, the manor and advowson to John de Chetyngdon and Elizabeth his wife, (fn. 18) who in the following year were returned as holding with Henry de Deen half a fee in Lowick and Stanion. (fn. 19) In 1316 Robert de Vere, Robert de Arderne, John de Tychmarsh, Simon de Drayton and Robert le Lord (fn. 20) were returned as holding Lowick apparently as feoffees. John de Nowers, who died in 1327, was succeeded by his grandson John, son of his son John. (fn. 21) Grace, widow of John de Nowers, the grandfather, was holding an eighth of a fee in 1346, (fn. 22) and presented to the church in 1349. (fn. 23) In 1357, Roger Tony, evidently a trustee, granted to John de Nowers and Maud his wife an acre of land in Lowick called Lolesacre, the advowson of the church, and the reversion of the manor of Lowick. (fn. 24) John de Nowers in 1364 granted to John Barker a rent of 8 marks from tenements in Chester and Lowick. (fn. 25) Between this last date and 1367 the manor and advowson had passed to Sir Henry Green of Boughton, and from this date it followed the manor of Drayton (q.v.).

This manor of DRAYTON passed, after the forfeiture by the Bishop of Coutance in 1088, to either Aubrey de Vere, senior, or his son Aubrey the Cham- berlain and was held by the latter in the reign of Henry I. (fn. 26) On his death in 1141, this manor passed to Robert his younger son, who undertook to keep to the agreement made by his father as to the tithes of certain lands in Drayton. (fn. 27) As shown under Great Addington (q.v.), Robert married twice and had a family by each wife, Drayton passing on his death to Henry, his son by the second wife Maud, daughter of Robert de Furnell. Henry died about 1193–4, and his son, who was known as Walter son of Henry son of Robert, succeeded him. Walter married Lucy daughter of Gilbert Basset of Weldon, and either he or his son Henry discarded the name of Vere and took that of Drayton. Walter (fn. 28) died in 1210–11, leaving a son, Sir Henry de Drayton, who granted lands to the Hospital of St. John the Baptist, Northampton. (fn. 29) He died in 1253 seised of 2 carucates and 3 acres of land in Drayton and Islip held of the king in chief, and a toft held of Robert son of William de Lowick by the rent of 1d. yearly. He was succeeded by his son Baldwin, then aged 30 years. (fn. 30) Baldwin died in 1278, seised of a capital messuage, fishpond, 2 dovecots, a mill, 6 virgates of land, £5 4s. 7d. rent of freeman at Drayton and Islip, perquisites of court and 19 acres of land at Lowick, all held of the king in chief, by the service of finding a serjeant at his own cost when the king was with his army. (fn. 31) His son John, aged 24 years and more at his father's death, did homage for his father's lands before 14 August 1278, (fn. 32) and in 1284 he was returned as holding 4½ hides in Islip and Drayton of the king in chief by serjeanty. (fn. 33)

John died in 1291, seised of the manor of Drayton, held of the king as half a knight's fee, doing suit at the court at Geddington. (fn. 34) Simon his son was a minor in 1299, (fn. 35) but in 1302 he had done homage without proving his age, and he had seisin. (fn. 36) Simon settled Drayton Manor on his wife Margaret, daughter of Sir John Lindsey, in 1321–2. (fn. 37) He was frequently engaged in public affairs. (fn. 38) He served on a mission to the abbey of Cluny in 1323, (fn. 39) and attended the king with men at arms for service against Roger de Mortimer and other rebels in 1326, (fn. 40) and for an expedition to Gascony in 1331, (fn. 41) and represented Northamptonshire in the parliaments of 1322, 1329 (fn. 42) and 1336. (fn. 43) He had licence to impark 30 acres at Drayton and in 1327 had received a grant of free warren in Drayton, Islip, Lowick and Irthlingborough. (fn. 44) In 1331 he was appointed forester of Brigstock and Geddington in Rockingham Forest. (fn. 45) In 1338 Simon settled the manor, (fn. 46) and was returned in 1346 as holding half a fee in Drayton, Islip, Addington and Twywell. (fn. 47) He made a further settlement of lands in Brigstock and Lowick in 1355 on his wife Margaret, with remainder to his grandson Baldwin son of John de Drayton and his wife Alice in tail, and then to Gilbert, brother of the said Baldwin. (fn. 48) Earlier in the same year he had been indicted for the death of Sir Ralf Darcy, (fn. 49) but on 3 May 1355 received the king's pardon. (fn. 50) He died on 31 May 1357, (fn. 51) and on 4 August following the manor of Drayton held of the king in chief, and messuages, land and rent in Lowick held of the Earl of Gloucester, (fn. 52) were delivered to Margaret his widow. Margaret died in 1358, (fn. 53) and was succeeded by her son John in the manor of Drayton, the messuages, land, etc., she had held in Lowick being delivered in 1359 to Baldwin, son of John de Drayton and Alice his wife. (fn. 54) In the same year John de Drayton settled the manor of Drayton, held of the king in chief, on Baldwin and Alice. (fn. 55) From John and Baldwin de Drayton the manor passed in 1362 to Henry Green, (fn. 56) son of Thomas Green of Boughton, who married Katherine, the sister of John and daughter of Sir Simon de Drayton. (fn. 57) He was Lord Chief Justice of England and the father of two sons, Thomas his heir, and a younger son Henry, described by Halstead as 'the delight and hopes of his old father,' who endowed him with Drayton, Lowick, Islip and Slipton, and procured his marriage with Maud, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Mauduit, lord of Warminster and other manors. Sir Henry Green settled the manor and advowson of Lowick on the younger Henry in 1367, (fn. 58) and died in 1369. (fn. 59) Thomas the son succeeded, but his homage was respited because he was fighting in France. (fn. 60) Drayton was fur- ther settled on Henry Green by John de Drayton and his son Baldwin in 1372–3. (fn. 61) In 1385 he received the grant of a market every Thursday in his town of Lowick, and of a fair there yearly at Whitsuntide, together with free warren in his lands in Lowick and Islip. (fn. 62) His faithful service to Richard, by whom he was knighted, won him various rewards, including the house of the Lord Cobham in London with all its furniture. He shared the king's downfall, and was executed with the Earl of Wiltshire and Sir John Bushey on 29 July 1399 after the treacherous surrender of Bristol Castle. (fn. 63) He left two sons, Ralf and John, and upon the petition of Ralf his forfeited property was restored to his family by Act of Parliament in 1400. (fn. 64) In the same year he was returned as seised of the manor and advowson of Lowick, held of the Earl of Stafford, and of the manor of Drayton held in chief. (fn. 65) His heir Ralf complained in 1401 that his houses at Lowick had been broken into and his property damaged. (fn. 66) After his brother John had in 1415 released his right, he settled Drayton and Lowick and the advowson of Lowick on his wife Katherine, daughter of Anketill Mallory, (fn. 67) who survived him. At his death in 1417 she was holding the manor of Drayton of Joan Queen of England as of her manor of Geddington, and the manor of Lowick of Sir Thomas Green, kt., by knight service. (fn. 68) She married as her second husband Simon Felbrigge, who in 1428 was holding of the honor of Gloucester the half-fee in Islip, Drayton, Great Addington and Twywell which had formerly belonged to Simon de Drayton. (fn. 69) Ralf was succeeded by his brother John, who inherited all the lands his father Henry had held except those which fell to Ralf's widow Katherine in dower. He married Margaret, daughter of Walter Green of Bridgnorth, and died in 1432–3, leaving issue Ralf, who died young, Henry afterwards lord of Drayton, Margaret wife of Sir Henry Huddlestone, and Isobel the wife of Sir Richard Vere of Thrapston and Addington. (fn. 70) Henry, son of John Green, who was sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1455, was dealing with the manor in 1454. (fn. 71) In 1457 he settled the manor on the marriage of his daughter and heir Constance, one of the richest heiresses of England, with John Stafford, younger son of Humphrey Duke of Buckingham, who was afterwards created Earl of Wiltshire. (fn. 72) By his will dated 3 September 1467 Henry Green directed that the feoffees of his lands and tenements in Lowick called Coles Thynge and Besviles Thynge should grant them to Sir John Stafford and his wife on condition they did not hinder the performance of his will, and also his woods of Langhill, Farthingshaw, and Tolkethorp. He left directions for the disposal of his property and of a chantry for two chaplains in the parish church of Lowick. He was succeeded by his son-inlaw, John Stafford, who though a Lancastrian was made Earl of Wiltshire in 1469–70. The earl died in 1473 leaving a son and heir Edward, aged three years. Edward Earl of Wiltshire married Margaret daughter of John Viscount Lisle, on whom he settled Lowick, Islip, Sudborough, Ringstead, and other manors and died without issue on 24 March 1498–9, following on a sickness said to have been contracted when on his way to fight for the king (Henry VII) at Blackheath Field against the Cornish rebels. (fn. 73) The succession after his death was the subject of a long dispute between the Earl of Shrewsbury, his cousin, and the heirs of his grandfather, Henry Green. (fn. 74) His heirs were Elizabeth Cheney, late wife of Sir Thomas Cheney, kt., and daughter and heir of Margaret (who had married Sir Henry Huddlestone), a sister and heir of Henry Green, father of his mother, Constance Green, and the four daughters of her sister, the other sister and co-heir of Henry Green, Isobel, who had married Sir Richard Vere of Addington. These last were Elizabeth, wife of John Mordaunt, serjeant-at-law; Amy or Anne, late the wife of Humphrey Browne; Constance, late the wife of John Parr; and Audrey or Etheldreda Vere, who married John Browne. (fn. 75)

In consequence of the death s.p. on 3 April 1502 of Elizabeth Cheney, and in August 1502 of Constance Parr, followed on 5 September 1506 by that of Anne wife of Humphrey Browne, who left a son George, an inquisition as to the property held by the Earl of Wiltshire at his death was held in 1513–14, (fn. 76) in which it was returned that the manor of Drayton was held in chief, and the manor and advowson of Lowick of the abbot of Peterborough; and that Thomas Montagu, William Pemberton and others had been enfeoffed of these manors to the uses of the Earl's will. After judgment for John Mordaunt and Elizabeth his wife, George Browne, John Browne and Audrey his wife, (fn. 77) an award by Robert Brudenell and Richard Elliott assigned the lands of the Earl of Wiltshire to John Mordaunt, Esq., and his wife Elizabeth; Humphrey Browne, Esq., husband of the late Amy Browne, and George Browne, his son and heir; Sir Wistan Browne, kt., and John Browne, his son and heir, and Audrey his wife, on the ground that deeds had been produced giving them in tail to the ancestors of Constance, mother of the Earl of Wiltshire, and that no will had been produced devising them to the Earl of Shrewsbury. The Earl of Shrewsbury was to receive 200 marks to be paid to him at St. Paul's in London. (fn. 78) In 1515 he released to the successful claimants all his right in the manor of Drayton. (fn. 79) John Browne and Audrey his wife were dealing with onethird of the manor and park of Drayton, and of the manor and advowson of Lowick in 1526, (fn. 80) and in 1537 a conveyance of these manors was made by George Browne to Humphrey Browne. (fn. 81) In Easter term of 1544 Sir Humphrey Browne and Elizabeth his wife and their son George Browne with Mary his wife conveyed their third of this property to Sir John Mordaunt, Lord Mordaunt, (fn. 82) the husband of Eliza- beth Vere, who had been created a baron by Henry VIII in 1529. Lord Mordaunt was dealing with the manors of Lowick and Drayton in 1560, (fn. 83) and died in 1561. (fn. 84) His son and heir John, who had been created K.B. at the coronation of Anne Boleyn, and who was a Privy Councillor under Queen Mary, married as his first wife a great heiress, Elizabeth sister and heir of John, and only daughter of Sir Richard Fitzlewis of Thorndon. He died in 1571. His son Lewis Lord Mordaunt, who succeeded him, was one of the 24 noblemen who tried Mary Queen of Scots at Fotheringhay; and he added considerably to Drayton House. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Arthur Darcy, by Mary, daughter and co-heir of Sir Nicholas Carew, and died at Drayton in 1601. (fn. 85) His son Henry, who succeeded him as Lord Mordaunt, and who in the year previous to the Gunpowder Plot entertained James I at Drayton House, came under suspicion of having been engaged in the plot, and spent a long term of imprisonment in the Tower. He married Margaret, daughter of Henry, first Lord Compton, and died on 13 February 1610 seised of the manors of Lowick and Drayton, Lowick Mill, etc. (fn. 86) His heir, his son John, later received pardon of the fine of £10,000 which had been imposed on him. (fn. 87) John, Lord Mordaunt, was created Earl of Peterborough in 1627. In 1640 he settled his manors of Lowick, Drayton, Slipton, Islip, Grafton, and Addington Magna, parcel of the forest of Rockingham disafforested, (fn. 88) and died in 1642 seised of these manors, the mansion house and park of Drayton, etc. (fn. 89) His wife Elizabeth, daughter and heir of William, Lord Howard of Effingham, a zealous Puritan and great beauty, survived him until 1671. His son Henry, who succeeded him, died in 1697, (fn. 90) his property then passing to his daughter Mary, the wife of Henry, later Duke of Norfolk. (fn. 91) The Duchess of Norfolk was divorced from her husband in 1700, (fn. 92) and married a Dutchman, Sir John Germain, bart, in 1701. She died without issue in 1705 and was buried at Lowick. She had settled the family estates on her second husband, who married as his second wife Elizabeth daughter of Charles, Earl of Berkeley, and died without issue in 1718. (fn. 93) He bequeathed the estates left to him by his first wife to her successor, Lady Elizabeth Germain, who in accordance with his wishes left them at her death to Lord George Sackville. He was the third son of Lionel Cranfield, the Earl of Dorset and Middlesex, to whom she had made a conveyance of the manors of Drayton, Lowick, Islip and Slipton in 1719, (fn. 94) the year after her husband's death. It was not until 1769 that "the divine old mistress of Drayton," as Horace Walpole called the aged Lady Betty Germain, died. In accordance with her will, Lord George Sackville (whose succession was disputed by the family from whom Drayton had been willed away) took the name of Germain by Act of Parliament of 1770, (fn. 95) and was seised of the manor and advowson of Lowick at the inclosure of the parish in 1771, (fn. 96) when about 1,150 acres were inclosed. By this Act an allotment was made for tithes due from several homesteads, gardens, orchards, home closes, ancient inclosures and woods, Drayton Park, and certain old inclosures called Drayton Old Park, and there was a saving of rights of the lord of the manor of Lowick, and of the paramount lord, the lord of the honour of Gloucester. Charles Germain, Viscount Sackville, the son and heir of Lord George Sackville, succeeded in 1785, and was dealing with the manors of Drayton, Lowick, Islip, Slipton and Sudborough by recovery in 1788 (fn. 97) and 1791. (fn. 98) In 1815 he succeeded his cousin in the dukedom of Dorset. At his death unmarried in 1843 Drayton House and the above manors descended to his niece Caroline Harriet, daughter of the Hon. George Germain and wife of William Bruce Stopford, (fn. 99) J.P., D.L., who in 1870 assumed the additional name and arms of Sackville. Mr. Stopford-Sackville was the third son of the Rev. the Hon. Richard Bruce Stopford, fourth son of the second Earl of Courtown. He was high sheriff in 1850 and died in 1872, his widow surviving him until 1908. Their son Sackville George Stopford-Sackville succeeded them and died in 1926, when the estate passed to his nephew, Mr. Nigel V. Stopford-Sackville, the present owner.

One and a half virgates in Lowick which had been held freely by Lefsi in King Edward's time was entered in the Domesday Survey as held by Sibbold of the Conqueror. Its value had risen from 4s. to 10s. (fn. 100) This seems to be the 1½ virgates held in the 12th century Northamptonshire Survey by Ralf Fleming of the fee of David, Earl of Huntingdon, (fn. 101) and at a later date by the family of Lowick of the honour of Huntingdon. Ralf, son of Sibbold de Lowick, on becoming a member of the fraternity, gave his land to the abbey, confirming the gift in the presence of his elder brother, Guy. (fn. 102) In 1227–8 Maud, widow of Ralf de Lowick, (fn. 103) was dealing with a messuage which apparently Richard, son of Ralf de Lowick, granted to Walter de Denford of the fee of Earl John (fn. 104) temp. Hen. III. It was returned in 1275–6 that Hugh, son of Alan of Lowick, had for 18 years withdrawn 2s. yearly from 2 assarts in Lowick, (fn. 105) and in 1284 that Hugh son of Alan held half-a-hide of land in Lowick of the honour of Huntingdon of the heirs of Denford, and these heirs of Robert de Brus, who was holding it of the king. (fn. 106) In the next year Robert, son of Hugh Aleyn of Lowick, was dealing with land in Lowick, (fn. 107) and in the same year Robert son of Robert de Lowick, possibly the grandson of Hugh, with Robert, son of William, settled a messuage and land in Lowick. (fn. 108)

Robert, son of Robert de Lowick, and William, son of Robert de Lowick, were dealing with lands in Lowick in 1295–1303, and Robert, son of John, and Lettice his wife from 1330–1343 with lands which Robert Aleyn senior gave them and which Thomas, son of Robert the clerk of Lowick, held in 1370, John, son of John de Lowick being a witness. (fn. 109)

In 1443 Ralf Lowick of Lowick appeared in a plea of debt of £11 6s. 8d. to Sir Simon Felbrigge, kt. (fn. 110)

The name of Anthony Lowick appears as responsible for a return of musters in 1539. (fn. 111) It seems possible that the property of the Lowicks is represented by a manor of Lowick with which Thomas Pyckeringe, Gent., and Margaret his wife were dealing in 1585. (fn. 112)

Church

The church of ST. PETER consists of chancel 30 ft. by 17 ft., north chapel 29 ft. by 14 ft., clearstoried nave of four bays 53 ft. by 16 ft., north and south aisles, south transeptal chapel 19 ft. by 13 ft., south porch, and west tower 14 ft. square, all these measurements being internal. The south aisle is 8 ft. 3 in. wide and the north aisle 11 ft. 4 in., the width across nave and aisles being 40 ft. 5 in.

The building stands on high ground at the north end of the village and, with the exception of the tower, is faced with rubble. It has plain parapets and flatpitched leaded roofs. Internally all the walls are plastered. There were restorations in 1869 and 1887.

The church was almost entirely rebuilt at the end of the 14th century, but on the north side of the chancel are an aumbry and a small blocked doorway of the 13th century, while the two-stepped sedilia and the piscina on the south side are 14th century work earlier than the general rebuilding. Of the plan of the church before this rebuilding nothing definite can be said, but the trefoiled piscina in the south chapel appears to be of the 13th century, and although the chapel itself was rebuilt there was probably little alteration in the fabric of the adjacent south aisle.

The rebuilding is clearly due to Sir Henry Green, who succeeded his father as lord of Drayton in 1369. The shields of himself and his wife, a member of the Wiltshire family of Mauduit, occur on the roof of the north aisle and in the windows of the chancel. The first work taken in hand was the reconstruction of the nave and aisles. The nave arcades have plain octagonal piers with moulded capitals and bases, and the arches are of two chamfered orders, the outer order being considerably stilted. The clearstory is of the same date as the work below. The masonry of the aisle walls is very rough, and it is probable that here and elsewhere in the body of the church the materials of the earlier building were re-used. The narrower south aisle, as already mentioned, was probably left without much alteration, a new doorway being made and, at a later date, new windows inserted. The blocked doorway of the north aisle has excellent mouldings of two orders divided by a casement; the four-centred four-light windows are divided by battlemented transoms but have tracery of a very late Decorated character. There is a window with similar tracery in the west wall of the south chapel. The character of all this work points to the end of the third quarter of the 14th century as its date. The south chapel appears to have been finished last: its south window is of six lights with two battlemented transoms and fully developed Perpendicular tracery, and below the sill is a string-course similar in character to that of the north chapel of the chancel.

The chancel and north chapel followed, the chapel being the full length of the chancel and wider than the north aisle, from which it is divided by an arch of two chamfered orders on half-octagonal responds. The wide single arch between the chancel and chapel may be a later reconstruction of an arcade of two bays, but the eastern part of the north wall was left unpierced, and in this are the two sedilia of the chapel, with ogee gabled heads, which seem to be rather earlier than the rest of the work. The east windows of both chancel and chapel are of five cinquefoiled lights with Perpendicular tracery and traceried transoms, and the other windows north and south are of similar type but of four lights. Those in the north wall of the chapel, however, were altered to three lights as the work proceeded, it being found advisable to make a buttress in the middle of the wall, and the lights next to the buttress were left out. There is a very massive contemporary buttress covering the south-east angle of the chancel, the walls of which were weakened by the large window openings. The double sedilia of the chancel are at two levels, with ogee heads and crocketed canopies, and further west below the window of the first bay is a moulded priest's doorway. The chancel arch is of rather later character than the rest of the arches in the church and was evidently left for reconstruction to the last. The rebuilding of the chancel seems to have been undertaken as part of the work due to Sir Henry Green, but was probably not completed at the time of his death in 1399.

The clearstory windows are four-centred and of three cinquefoiled lights without tracery. The east window of the south chapel differs considerably from the other windows of the church, being of four lights with transom and thick central mullion dividing it into two pointed openings with quatrefoil tracery and a large pointed trefoil in the spandrel. The twolight west window of the south aisle is of the same character as those of the clearstory, but that in the south wall is a late insertion with Perpendicular tracery and dropped labels. The porch has an outer continuous moulded doorway and trefoiled openings in the side walls. At the east end of the north aisle is a cusped wall recess close to the ground, intended for a tomb, but too small for a full-sized effigy.

The beautiful west tower is built of dressed stone and belongs to the early part of the 15th century. It is of four stages, with a vice in the north-west angle, and is surmounted by a lofty lantern. (fn. 113) Above the moulded plinth is a band of quatrefoils, and another at the top of the second stage, level with the top of the clearstory, and a third of quatrefoiled circles below the battlemented parapet. The moulded west doorway is set in a rectangular frame with quatrefoiled circles and blank shields in the spandrels, and about it is a three-light traceried window. The twolight bell-chamber windows have tracery of distinctly 14th-century character, but this must have been the result of conservative feeling on the part of the builders. The lantern rises from behind the parapet and is supported by flying buttresses from the four great angle pinnacles which are raised so as to be nearly as high as those of the lantern. All twelve pinnacles are finished off by weathercocks. The three lower stages of the tower are blank on the north and south, except for a small square-headed two-light window in the third stage facing south. The lofty arch to the nave is of three chamfered orders, the innermost on half-round responds with moulded capitals and bases.

Of the old woodwork of the church the chief remains are the roof of the north aisle, which is of five bays with moulded beams and carved bosses, and seven bench ends with poppy-heads in the south aisle. The roofs of the chancel, north chapel and porch were renewed in 1887; the roof of the south chapel is also modern and that of the south aisle much restored. The south chapel is inclosed by a modern stone screen.

The font is of the 13th century and consists of a plain octagonal bowl on a pedestal of clustered keelshaped shafts.

An entry in the churchwardens' accounts records the taking down of the rood-loft and the filling of the holes in May 1644, and in the following July payment was made for the 'glazing of the windows when the crucifixion and scandalous pictures were taken down.'

The pulpit and other fittings are modern.

The church contains a considerable amount of ancient stained glass. The upper halves of the four windows of the north aisle are filled with 14th-century figure glass of extreme beauty. The figures, with one exception, originally formed part of a large Tree of Jesse, which may have been in the east window of the chancel, and each is surrounded by vine branches. The figures in the westernmost window are, in the centre lights, David and Solomon, and in the side lights, Rehoboam and Asa. The remaining eleven figures from west to east are Jacob, Isaiah, Elijah, Habakkuk, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaac, Joseph, Zacharias, and Micah. The glass has been rearranged and portions of a broken inscription in Norman-French occur at intervals. This inscription seems to have come from an earlier window, one figure of which, with the word 'drayton' below, is preserved in the easternmost light of this series, and represents a knight in armour kneeling and holding a church. The figure appears to belong to the early part of the 14th century, and may represent one of the Veres from whom the manor passed to the elder Sir Henry Green. His shield displays the arms of Drayton and his sword has IHS upon the pommel. (fn. 114) In the traceries are numerous small figures of saints, amongst whom are St. John Baptist, St. Andrew and St. Michael, and two female figures, perhaps the Blessed Virgin and St. Margaret. The order in which the figures are placed is arbitrary and unnatural, and the borders and other accessories have been destroyed, but the glass is nevertheless of very great interest and value.

The tracery of the lower halves of the windows in the chancel and north chapel was originally filled with a series of shields representing the alliances of the Greens, (fn. 115) but the royal shields of the east window are gone, and new shields have been inserted in this window and in one of the north windows of the chapel. In the remaining north window of the chapel and the two south windows of the chapel the old shields remain. (fn. 116)

In the middle of the chancel floor is the gravestone of John Heton, rector of Lowick 1406–15, who died in the same year as Ralph Green. The slab is plain except for a border inscription which reads 'Hic jacet Dominus Johannes de Heton quondam rector ecclesie de benyfelde et nuper de Lufwyck cujus anime propicietur Deus Amen. Credo quod Redemptor meus vivit et in novissimo die de terra surrectus sum et in carne mea videbo deum salvatorem.'

It remains to notice the series of monuments to the lords of Drayton. The magnificent alabaster table-tomb of Ralph Green (d. 1417), son of the rebuilder of the church, and his wife Katharine Mallory, stands under the arch between the chancel and north chapel, and is one of the finest works of the Chellaston school of carvers. The monument, as agreed upon by indenture, (fn. 117) was completed by 1420. The sides of the tomb are panelled and contain 'images of angels with tabernacles bearing shields' and standing on small pedestals. The tabernaclework is now much mutilated and the shields blank. The inscription is gone. The effigies have already been described. (fn. 118)

On the north side of the south chapel is a marble table-tomb with brasses of Henry Green, who died 22 February ('in festo Sancti Petri in Cathedra') 1467–8, and his wife Margaret. He wears an elaborate suit of armour, with spurs, and his wife has a head-dress with horns. The shield of arms bears a chequered coat quartering an engrailed cross: small brass scrolls repeat the motto 'Da gloriam Deo.'

The monument of Edward Stafford, second earl of Wiltshire, who died 24 March 1498–9, is in the middle of the south chapel. It consists of a high tomb of alabaster with elaborate effigy, (fn. 119) and round the edge is an inscription formed by letters knotted in allusion to the badge of the house of Stafford. (fn. 120)

There are two memorials of the family of Mordaunt. One of these is a tablet of Raunds stone in the eastern sedile of the north chapel (which was mutilated to receive it), with a much abbreviated and ungrammatical Latin inscription commemorating William, second son of John, first earl of Peterborough, who died at the age of eight in 1625. The other monument is that of Mary, daughter of the second earl of Peterborough, who married first the seventh duke of Norfolk and secondly Sir John Germain. The duchess of Norfolk, who died 17 November 1705, is buried against the east wall of the north chapel, and her monument bears a recumbent statue, (fn. 121) and the shield of Mordaunt as an escutcheon of pretence on the shield of Germain. Sir John Germain married as his second wife Elizabeth, daughter of Charles, earl of Berkeley. He died 11 December 1718, and his monument, with a recumbent statue, (fn. 122) is against the north wall of the chapel. There is a small brass to his widow (d. 1769) in the western sedile of the chapel.

Against the east wall of the south chapel is a monument commemorating Charles Sackville, fifth duke of Dorset (d. 1843), and his brother the Hon. George Sackville Germain (d. 1836), who are there buried.

There are six bells, the treble by J. Taylor and Co. of Loughborough, 1896, the second and third undated by Hugh Watts II of Leicester (1615–43), the fourth recast by Taylor in 1884, the fifth inscribed 'Richarde Woode made me,' and the tenor by Hugh Watts, 1619. (fn. 123)

The plate consists of a cup, paten, flagon, and almsdish of 1723–4, each inscribed 'Loffwick Church 1724,' the cup in addition having the arms of Lady Elizabeth Germain: there are also a plated cup and breadholder. (fn. 124)

The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) baptisms 1542–1794, marriages 1557–1649 and 1665– 1744, burials 1557–1692; (ii) marriages 1746–1753, burials 1694–1812; (iii) baptisms 1795–1812; (iv) marriages 1754–1811.

Advowson

The advowson of St. Peter's, Lowick, was held with the manor, but has been occasionally settled or leased separately. In 1303–4 Robert de Nowers granted it with a wood in Lowick by fine to Amery or Almaric de Nowers, (fn. 125) who recovered it in the same year against Thomas Curzoun and Margery his wife. (fn. 126) John de Nowers, the son of Almaric, granted the wood and advowson in 1313 to John de Chetyngdon and his wife Elizabeth, lessees of the manor. (fn. 127) In 1347–8 Thomas Daundelyn of Brigstock and Margaret his wife conveyed it with a messuage, land, rent, and a mill to Margaret, widow of William de Ros of Hamelak, (fn. 128) from whom it had passed before 1349 to Grace Nowers, Lady of Saldene, who then presented. (fn. 129) With the said messuage, etc., it was held in 1357 by Gilbert de Bristowe and Margaret his wife, who in that year conveyed the advowson, etc., by fine to John Baskervyle. (fn. 130) It was held by Sir Thomas Bridges, Kt., in 1692. (fn. 131)

A chapel in Drayton was attached to the mother church of Islip (q.v.), and was referred to by Halstead apparently as still in existence. (fn. 132) It was probably the church in Drayton which was granted by Stephen de Ecton to the priory of St. Mary of Northampton, to which church Stephen, son of Stephen de Ecton, Beatrice de Blokeville, and Peter Poer made grants of land in Drayton.

A chantry chapel, called the chapel of St. Mary, in the parish church, was in existence in 1317, when Simon Drayton received licence at the request of Queen Isabella to alienate in mortmain 100 s. of land and rents in his manor of Drayton to a chaplain to celebrate divine service there daily. (fn. 133) At the petition of Henry, Lord Wentworth, son and heir of Thomas, Lord Wentworth, this chantry was granted in 1584–5 to Theophilus Adams and Thomas Butler of London. (fn. 134)

Another chantry, for two chaplains, was founded under the will of Edward, Earl of Wiltshire, (fn. 135) licence being obtained in 1498 for its endowment with lands to the yearly value of £13 6s. 8d. (fn. 136) The manor of Culworth was acquired for the purpose by Robert Whittlebury, William Marbury, and Thomas Montagu, gent, in the same year, with a messuage and 8 acres of wood in Lowick held of the abbot of Peterborough. (fn. 137) A commission was issued for this to be taken into the king's possession in 1546, when the chantry, with the mansion in Lowick called the Chantrey House, was granted to Sir Edward Montagu, chief justice. (fn. 138)

Charities

The sum of £110, being the amount of benefactions formerly given to the poor, was laid out in 1729 in the purchase of land in the parish of Oundle. Upon the inclosure of that parish 7 acres of land at Oundle were given in lieu of original land. This land is let for £12 yearly which is distributed by two trustees appointed by the Parish Council in money to about 14 poor.

An allotment of 20 acres was set out on the Lowick inclosure to the churchwardens in lieu of land anciently appropriated to the repairs of the church. The land was let to S. G. Stopford-Sackville, Esq., at a yearly rent of £18. The Official Trustees of Charitable Funds hold a sum of £2,501 12s. 5d., Consols representing the investment of royalties received from the Islip Iron Co., Ltd., and producing £62 10s. 8d. yearly in dividends. The income is applied to church expenses.

Mrs. Mary Wheat in 1771 gave £30 to the poor. This legacy is now represented by £43 15s. 10d. Consols with the Official Trustees, producing £1 1s. 8d. yearly in dividends, which is distributed by the churchwardens in money to three poor persons.

The recreation ground was conveyed by deed dated 25 October, 1921, which is enrolled in the books of the Charity Commissioners, pursuant to the provisions of the Mortmain Charitable Uses Act 1888 and Amendment Act 1892.