Great Packington

After the English Civil War, the ‘Great Packington Parish: Loss Account’ included claims from 36 parishioners.

When the 3rd Barnet died without male heirs in 1729 the Packington estate passed to Mary and her husband and became the seat of the Earls of Aylesford.

It was replaced by St James' Church by the 4th Earl of Aylesford,[10] following designs after the temple at Pæstum[11] by Italian architect Joseph Bonomi.

[12] The inscription read: "On Thursday September 3 1789, William Cawley, of London, Farrier, was on this spot struck dead by lightening.

To commemorate this awful event, as well as to warn others from exposing themselves to the same danger, by taking shelter in a thunder storm under trees, this monument is erected."

[17] During the Second World War, Packington Hall hosted a barracks for the United States Army, with a capacity for 4,490 men.

[18] From 5 July 1944, the grounds of Packington Hall were also used by the United States Army as a Rehabilitation and Reconditioning centre for wounded soldiers, designated as the 825th Convalescent Center.

[19] Several Great Packington men served in the Second World War, including the 9th Earl of Aylesford, who was killed in action at Dunkirk.

When the quarrying ceased, work began to convert the area into a 22-hectare nature reserve and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) supported the development of a ten-year biodiversity strategy.