Both manors were described in the Domesday
Book, the former a small estate valued at 20 shillings, and the latter much
larger, worth £20, and both have parish churches whose earliest fabric
may be dated to the 12th century, but with subsequent additions,
particularly in the 14th century.
Both churches contain 14th century stained glass, while Barton
incorporates fragments of early sculpture, including an early 11th century
grave-marker that was reworked in the later 11th century to serve as a
lintel, and again in the 13th century as a window-head. These two
churches, which together exhibit features and details that run from the
Saxo-Norman overlap to the late medieval period, will be the focus of our
site visits. Both of these churches also include additions or alterations of
the 14th century, a period described by the late Professor Colin Platt as
one of a ‘crisis of faith’, as the country, and with it the Church, faced the
challenges of economic difficulties, social tensions and unrest, and above
all, the impact of the ‘Great Pestilence’, marked in Barton for instance by
a fall in population of some 67%. The introductory lecture session, in
addition to introducing the two parish churches that provide the focus for
our day, will briefly discuss some of the challenges of the 14th century for
the Church, including the Black Death, and consider their impact upon
parish churches.
