Church of the Holy Cross, Ilam

 Ilam has been a place of pilgrimage since the days of St Bertram, a Saxon saint and hermit who lived here, and today there are more 'pilgrims' (in the form of tourists) than ever. The saint was a Saxon prince of Mercia who travelled to Ireland to marry an Irish princess. On their way back to Mercia she had a child and they rested in the forest here while Bertram went off to seek food. When he returned he discovered that wolves had killed both his wife and child and, broken-hearted, he lived as a hermit around here for the rest of his life. ​   A recent addition is the Chantry Chapel, added by Jesse Watts Russell in a Victorian Gothic style which jars slightly with the rest of the church. The chapel is a mausoleum to Jesse Watt Russell's father-in-law, David Pike Watts, and takes its name from the sculptor of the fine marble statue which depicts David Pike Watts on his deathbed.   The Saxon font is carved with humans and dragons. Post Code:DE6 2FX

http://www.crsbi.ac.uk/site/536/