Parish Church Of St Barnabas

Parish Church of St Barnabas

A parish church of 12th-century origin, substantially altered in the 14th and 16th centuries and restored in the 19th century. The building is constructed of flint rubble, partly plastered, and red brick with limestone dressings, roofed with handmade red clay tiles and slates. The south porch and spire are timber framed, the latter weatherboarded.

The nave dates from the 12th century. A west tower was added at an unknown date but has since been demolished; the chancel was rebuilt in the early 14th century, and the south wall was altered in the 16th century. The north porch dates from the 15th century, and the south porch is of unknown date. The church was restored in the 19th century by Sir Arthur Blomfield.

The chancel, dating from the early 14th century, is faced on the north and east with dressed flint, renewed in the 19th century. The east window is mostly 19th century. The north wall contains three windows: the two eastern ones are mostly 19th century except for their splays and rear-arches, dating from around 1300. The western window dates from around 1300, restored, consisting of two pointed lights with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head, carried down below a transom to form a low-side window, fitted with wrought iron grilles and rebated for shutters. The south wall contains two windows; the eastern is 19th century except for its 14th-century splays and rear-arch, while the western matches the one opposite except that it retains one original or early shutter, remounted. Between these windows is a 14th-century doorway with chamfered jambs and a segmental-pointed arch. The 14th-century chancel-arch is two-centred with three chamfered orders; the semi-octagonal responds have moulded capitals and bases. The chancel roof has plain tiebeams and king-posts of the 17th century.

The nave contains two windows in its north wall: the eastern is early 14th century, consisting of two trefoiled ogee lights with tracery in a two-centred head with moulded label and wrought iron grille; the western window is 15th century, with three cinquefoiled ogee lights with tracery in a four-centred head with moulded label. Further west is a blocked 12th-century round-headed window, visible from inside. West of this window is a 13th-century north doorway, probably reset, with chamfered jambs and two-centred arch. The door is 14th century, made of V-edged boards on ledges with strap-hinges inscribed with a diaper pattern. It retains a pierced scutcheon-plate with drop-handle, probably original, and a latch with S-shaped plate handle dating from the 17th century. The early 14th-century south arcade comprises three bays with two-centred arches of two chamfered orders; the octagonal columns and semi-octagonal responds have moulded capitals and bases. In the west wall is a 19th-century window, and to either side of it are the responds and springers of the demolished tower-arch. The nave roof is in seven cants with exposed rafters, collars and soulaces dating from the 15th century, with two later tiebeams added.

The south aisle has an early 14th-century east window consisting of three trefoiled ogee lights with reticulated tracery in a two-centred head. The south wall contains three windows: the two eastern ones date from the 14th century, each with two trefoiled lights with tracery in a two-centred head, with wrought iron grilles; the westernmost is 17th century with an oak frame and square head. Between the two western windows is the early 14th-century south doorway, with chamfered jambs, two-centred arch, moulded label and head-stops.

The north porch, dating from the 15th century, is largely timber framed with later dwarf walls of brick. It is built in one bay with a two-centred outer arch; the sides formerly had moulded mullions, now removed. At the inner end is one cambered tiebeam with arch-braces. The roof is of collar-rafter construction. The south porch is irregular and markedly out of line with the south doorway, constructed of plastered rubble repaired with brick, and of unknown date. It has a four-centred outer archway with weathered bargeboards, a plain loop with timber lintel in the east wall, and a collar-rafter roof.

The church contains three bells: the first and third are from the Bury foundry, around 1500, inscribed "Sancte Gorge Ora Pro Nobis" and "Sancte Maria Ora Pro Nobis" respectively; the second is by Austen Bracker, around 1550, inscribed "In Honore Scaunte Marie". There is a brass in the chancel floor to Margaret Sidey, widow, 1607, with inscription only.

The font has a square bowl of Purbeck marble, late 12th century, with five shallow round-headed panels on each side and a later stem. The font cover is 17th-century oak, domed and panelled, with a turned ball-finial and fretted supports. There is 15th-century glass, reset, in the side windows of the chancel, with fragments of figures, suns and tabernacle work. In the southeast window of the south aisle is 14th-century glass, reset, showing borders of yellow fleurs-de-lys and cups on a black ground.

The chancel's north wall contains an early 14th-century locker with moulded jambs and trefoiled ogee head with finial. In the same wall are two piscinas: one from the 14th century with mutilated moulded and cinquefoiled head, moulded label and octofoiled drain, the jamb-shaft restored; and another from the 13th century, reset, with chamfered jambs, two-centred head and damaged quatrefoiled drain. In range with the first are three sedilia with detached shafts with moulded bases and capitals, moulded and cinquefoiled arches with moulded labels and horizontal string, dating from the early 14th century.