St Mary's Church, Barnetby

St Mary’s Church stands in the quiet village of Barnetby in North Lincolnshire, a redundant Anglican church built from ironstone, chalk, limestone and brick. Its squat west tower rises in two stages above a plinth, and the roofs are slated over the nave and tiled over the chancel. The plan is simple: three bays for the nave, three for the chancel, and the tower at the west end. Anglo-Saxon masonry survives in the south wall of the nave, while the tower itself dates from the 11th–12th century. The church is worth visiting for its layered history and rare survivals. Parts of the building reach back to the 11th century, and the tower arch, north arcade and chancel belong to the 13th. The 15th-century Perpendicular window in the north wall and the lion-carved lintel of an 11th-century window are notable details. RAF navigator Don Charlwood recalled the church in his memoir “No Moon Tonight,” written after his wartime service at nearby Elsham Wolds. Inside, the pointed tower arch is partly hidden by a west gallery carried on wooden columns. The octagonal pulpit, painted with panels, dates from the late 18th or early 19th century. A carved stone infant’s coffin rests in the tower, and three bells hang unringable, the oldest cast in 1578. Outside, the churchyard holds war graves of three Royal Engineers from the First World War.