St Bartholomew's Church is in the village of Great Barrow in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of Barrow, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as a designated Grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It is an active Anglican

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the

diocese of Chester The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside. History Ancient diocese Before the si ...

, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester.

History

A church has been present on this site since at least the reign of Henry II when it was given by Robert de Bachepuz to the Knights Hospitallers of St John who had a

preceptory A preceptor (from Latin, "''praecepto''") is a teacher responsible for upholding a '' precept'', meaning a certain law or tradition. Buddhist monastic orders Senior Buddhist monks can become the preceptors for newly ordained monks. In the Buddh ...

here. It became a

during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

was built in 1671 for Dean Bridgeman and the tower is dated 1744. By the 18th and early 19th centuries the church was in a poor condition. A limited

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

was carried out in 1871 by John Douglas, who performed a more substantial scheme in 1883.

Architecture

Exterior

The church is built in red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

ashlar with a red tile roof. There is some

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

stone work in the north

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

. The church consists of a four- bay

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

with a north aisle, a south porch and a three-bay chancel. The four-stage tower is at the west end, with a clock in its third stage. Two lead down spouts are inscribed with the date 1744. The roof of the chancel is hammer beam and the ends of the hammers bear the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of Dean Bridgeman.

Interior

In the church is an octagonal sandstone font with a lead bowl dated 1713. The stained glass in the east window of the chancel and the east window of the north aisle is by Kempe. In the tower is an early

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

chest dated 1718. In the church are charity boards dated 1711, 1725 and 1848. A monument to a Mrs Wallis who died in 1848 is by T. and E. Gaffin and depicts an angel kneeling by an

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

. The

parish register A parish register in an ecclesiastical parish is a handwritten volume, normally kept in the parish church in which certain details of religious ceremonies marking major events such as baptisms (together with the dates and names of the parents), ma ...

s begin in 1572, with a gap between 1679 and 1681. The

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...

s' accounts begin in 1857. The single bell bears the date 1767 and was probably cast by

Rudhall of Gloucester Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 cast more than 5,000 bells. History There had been a tradition of bell casting in Gloucester since before the 14th century. ...

. The two- manual organ was built by Binns.

External features

The tower was formerly decorated with urns but these were considered to be dangerous and were removed in 1929. They are now placed outside the church at the foot of the tower. In the church yard is a sandstone sundial. It consists of a square base of two steps with a socket containing a slightly tapering octagonal shaft and a cap of buff sandstone. The base and the shaft were originally part of a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

dating from the early 15th century. The cap was added later together with a small square plate inscribed with the date 1705. The plate is now missing. The sundial is listed at Grade II, and is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. Also listed at Grade II are the gates of the churchyard, their overthrow and the gate piers. The churchyard also contains the war graves of four soldiers of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. File:Sundial, St Bartholomew's Church, Barrow.jpg, Sundial File:Gates and overthrow, St Bartholomew's Church, Barrow.jpg, Gates and overthrow

References