St Peter's Church, Barton-upon-Humber
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St Peter's Church is the former
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, ...
of
Barton-upon-Humber Barton-upon-Humber () or Barton is a town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 11,066. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary at the southern end of the Humber Bridge. It is s ...
in
North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a unitary authority area in Lincolnshire, England, with a population of 167,446 in the 2011 census. The borough includes the towns of Scunthorpe, Brigg, Haxey, Crowle, Epworth, Bottesford, Kirton in Lindsey and Barton ...
, England. It is one of the best known Anglo-Saxon buildings, in part due to its role in
Thomas Rickman Thomas Rickman (8 June 17764 January 1841) was an English architect and architectural antiquary who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival. He is particularly remembered for his ''Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture'' ...
's identification of the style. It has been subject to major excavations. The former
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
church is now run by
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
and houses an exhibition exploring its history.


Origins

The church lies immediately east of the remains of a near circular enclosure which contained a hall. This is, on average, in diameter and was originally surrounded by a ditch and timber
palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...
known to date to before 900. An early pagan Saxon cemetery, believed to be linked with this enclosure and dated to the first half of the seventh century, was discovered at Castledyke, south of the church, and was used to bury high-status individuals. In 669
Saint Chad Chad of Mercia (died 2 March 672) was a prominent 7th-century Anglo-Saxon Catholic monk who became abbot of several monasteries, Bishop of the Northumbrians and subsequently Bishop of the Mercians and Lindsey People. He was later canonised ...
founded a monastery in neighbouring Barrow-upon-Humber. An Anglo-Saxon charter dated 971 suggests that Barton became a
grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...
attached to this monastery.Ann Williams, "A bell-house and a burgh-geat", in Robert Liddiard, ''Anglo-Norman Castles'', pp.34–36 The earliest graves on the site of the church date from the ninth century, around one hundred years after the southerly cemetery was abandoned. At this stage, it appears to have been reserved for burials associated with the hall and there may have been an associated chapel, although no trace of this remains. This was Barton's first Christian cemetery.Gail Drinkall and Martin Foreman, ''The Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Castledyke South, Barton-on-Humber'', pp.16, 24, 363–364 The dating of the church is somewhat controversial.
English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...
date the
baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
to the ninth century and the tower
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 ...
to the tenth century. Some other sources give a slightly later date, between 970 and 1030. In particular, it is uncertain whether the baptistery does predate the tower or if the two are contemporary.
Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...
, ''England's Thousand Best Churches'', p.367
Around the date of construction the ditch to the east was infilled, allowing level access between the hall and the church. Unusually, graves disturbed by the laying of foundations were carefully relocated.Dawn M. Hadley and Jo Buckbery, ''Pastoral care in late Anglo-Saxon England'', in Francesca Tinti, ''Pastoral care in late Anglo-Saxon England'', p.132-134


Architecture

The church was originally turriform: the ground floor of the tower served as the nave. The tower shows typical features of
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
architecture: walls of rendered
rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...
, with decorative
pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...
strip work, and long and short work.Timothy Darvill et al, ''England: an Oxford archaeological guide to sites from earliest times to AD 1600'', p.135 The pilasters do not provide any possible support—some are only very shallowly set into the wall. They are cut from Roman
ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
s.
Warwick Rodwell Warwick James Rodwell (born 24 October 1946) is an archaeologist, architectural historian and academic. He was lately Visiting Professor in the Department of Archaeology, University of Reading, and is Consultant Archaeologist to Westminster Abbey ...
, "Anglo Saxon Church Building: Aspects of Design and Construction", in ''The Archaeology of Anglo-Saxon England: Basic Readings'', pp.196–225
Oak beams survive at two levels in the tower; these would originally have supported higher floors. The first floor must have been a gallery, as there are no windows at ground floor level. The tower has only a few, small, windows, with either round or triangular
head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
s, and they are divided by a shaft. There are north and south doorways, which appear to have originally possessed timber
porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...
es. The roof would have been of timber construction, probably of stepped pyramidal form, and covered with shingles. The tower is linked to the baptistery by a narrow doorway, which originally had a timber doorcase. Excavations have revealed a
font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...
base buried in the floor of the room. Externally, it is plainer than the tower, with even fewer, simple windows. On the opposite side of the tower to the baptistery, a
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. Ove ...
was constructed. Foundations of a permanent
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
and a screen have been found under this space. Both baptistery and chancel would have had flat ceilings with
attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
s above. Barton thrived as a town, and was recorded in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
housing two mills and a ferry, worth £4 per year. In the early
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
period, perhaps the late eleventh century, a third storey was added to the tower of St Peter's, using dressed
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
in a Romanesque style. The chancel of St Peter's was demolished c.1100 to make way for a larger early Norman building east of the existing tower, the foundations of which were found under the present nave during the 1970s excavation. This was gradually expanded in the 12th and 13th century before being largely replaced in the fourteenth century by the present nave and chancel. The earliest parts of this extension are in the
Decorated Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...
style, with some of the arcade
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
s reused from the earlier building. One of these depicts a
Green Man The Green Man is a legendary being primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of new growth that occurs every spring. The Green Man is most commonly depicted in a sculpture, or other representation of a face which is ...
. The window at the east end of the north aisle, now inside the church because of the later addition to the east, contains a rare example of figural carving on the
tracery Tracery is an architecture, architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of Molding (decorative), moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the s ...
. It is of the mid-14th century, with four lights and flowing tracery, and carved against the central
mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...
is a
rood A rood or rood cross, sometimes known as a triumphal cross, is a cross or crucifix, especially the large crucifix set above the entrance to the chancel of a medieval church. Alternatively, it is a large sculpture or painting of the crucifixion ...
flanked by the
Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
and St John on the other two mullions: a complete rood group. The
clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
dates from around 1430. The chancel was rebuilt in the second half of the 15th century, and the east window retains fragments of early 14th-century
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
depicting
Saint George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
and Saint James. Other historic monuments include the fifteenth century chancel effigy and
rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...
, and wall monuments from the late sixteenth century. In about 1310 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 ...
was constructed in the churchyard. This is
Grade II listed 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 ...
in its own right, as is part of the churchyard wall.


Early investigations

Thomas Rickman Thomas Rickman (8 June 17764 January 1841) was an English architect and architectural antiquary who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival. He is particularly remembered for his ''Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture'' ...
, a keen
architectural historian An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it. Professional requirements As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...
and author of ''An Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture'', investigated the church in 1819. His inspection led him to describe the principle of "structural stratification"—where one phase of building rests on another, the second must be of an earlier date. This enabled him, for the first time, to persuasively argue that a standing structure must be of Anglo-Saxon date, as the Norman top storey of the tower was supported by two stories constructed in a very different, then unknown, style. Previously, while some work had been labelled as Saxon, this was all Romanesque, and only guesswork attempted to distinguish this from
Norman architecture The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used fo ...
. Rickman presented his influential hypothesis that St Peter's and St Thomas of Canterbury Church, Clapham possessed Saxon towers in an updated edition of ''An Attempt to Discriminate...''.


Excavation and restoration

The church has been Grade A listed in 1965, a status since converted to
Grade I 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 was closed in 1970, its former
chapel-of-ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...
, St Mary's, becoming the parish church. Ownership was taken over by the
Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...
.St Peter's Church Project Barton-upon-Humber
Harold McCarter Taylor Harold McCarter Taylor, (13 May 1907 – 23 October 1995) was a New Zealand-born British mathematician, theoretical physicist and academic administrator, but is best known as a historian of architecture and the author, with his first wife Joan Ta ...
identified the church as an ideal location for an archaeological excavation, given that it was, uniquely, a substantial Saxon church which was no longer used for worship. He noted that, as the building had been examined repeatedly by architectural historians, there was little possibility of resolving the considerable questions about its construction and history without excavations. In 1977, he secured funding from the Department of the Environment, and began the most extensive archaeological investigation ever undertaken of a British parish church, not completed until 1985. 3,000 skeletons were removed from the site, providing what has been described as "an
osteological Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, func ...
record unparalleled for any small town in England". Due to waterlogged conditions, in some cases, wooden coffins had also survived. Some of these were dug-out logs, while some are believed to be constructed from old boats. At least ten burials were accompanied by
hazel The hazel (''Corylus'') is a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K. (1999). ...
rods, and one had a pillow of organic material. Alongside the excavation, extensive repairs to the building were undertaken. In 2007, the skeletons were placed in an on-site
ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years the ...
, so as to leave them in consecrated ground close to their original location, while still permitting future study. Three skeletons remain on display in the church, alongside a selection of
grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...
and two coffins. The church was opened by English Heritage as a visitor attraction in May 2007.


Bells

In 1859, following the internal renovation by
Cuthbert Brodrick Cuthbert Brodrick FRIBA (1 December 1821 – 2 March 1905) was a British architect, whose most famous building is Leeds Town Hall. Early life Brodrick was born in the Yorkshire port of Hull where his father was a well-to-do merchant and shi ...
, the ''Hull Packet'' described the bells thus:
There are six bells in the tower, the first or treble bell being 2 feet 4 inches in diameter, with a latin inscription. The second, 2 feet 5 inches in diameter with this inscription, "Daniel Hedersley, founder 1741." The third, 2 feet 7 1/2 inches in diameter, with this inscription, "George Adamson, William Bygott, C.W., 1741." The fourth, 2 feet 8 inches in diameter, with this inscription, "Sweetly tolling, men do call to taste, on meats that feed the soul." The fifth, 2 feet 10 1/2 inches in diameter, with this inscription, "John Fairwether, Richard Green, churchwardens, 1666." The sixth or tenor bell, 3 feet 4 inches in diameter, with this inscription, "Henry Nelthorpe and William Gilders, churchwardens, 1743." (''Hull Packet'', 3 June 1859)
Dove's guide for church bell ringers states that there are now eight bells, of which the tenor weighs 522 kilograms.Dove's guide for church bell ringers, part B
/ref>


References


External links


English Heritage: St Peter's Church Information on the church for teachers: English Heritage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barton-upon-Humber, Saint Peter 9th-century church buildings in England 10th-century church buildings in England English Heritage sites in Lincolnshire Church of England church buildings in Lincolnshire Grade I listed churches in Lincolnshire Borough of North Lincolnshire Standing Anglo-Saxon churches Museums in Lincolnshire Archaeological museums in England Religious museums in England Museums established in 2007
Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...