St Bartholomew's Church, Barrow

St Bartholomew’s stands in the village of Great Barrow in Cheshire, a quiet rural settlement north-west of Chester. The church is built of red sandstone ashlar with a red-tiled roof and a four-stage tower at the west end. A south porch opens into a four-bay nave with a north aisle and a three-bay chancel. The tower carries a clock in its third stage and two dated lead downspouts from 1744. Medieval stonework survives in the north aisle, while the chancel roof is a hammer-beam structure bearing the arms of Dean Bridgeman. The church has been on this site since at least the reign of Henry II, when Robert de Bachepuz gave it to the Knights Hospitallers. It became a parish church in Elizabeth I’s reign, the chancel was added in 1671, and the tower dates from 1744. John Douglas carried out restorations in 1871 and a more substantial scheme in 1883 after earlier neglect. Inside, an octagonal sandstone font from 1713 and early Georgian chest from 1718 remain in place. Stained glass by Kempe fills the east windows of the chancel and north aisle. Outside, the churchyard holds a 15th-century cross base converted into a sundial in 1705. Four urns once stood on the tower but were removed in 1929 and now sit at the base. Grade II listed gates and gate piers mark the entrance, and war graves of four First World War soldiers lie among the headstones. The registers begin in 1572, with a gap between 1679 and 1681, while the two-manual organ was built by Binns.