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Notable Barton Buildings
St James Church
Page last updated 18 October 2004
A 1929 view looking west
St
James church is a building whose story is inexorably linked with
that of John Taylor, Doctor of Decrees, the most famous native of
village. He was one of triplets of poor peasants but, under royal
patronage, he soon rose to power and fortune in government
service. He had a distinguished career in both politics and the
church. He served both Henry VII and Henry VIII, being 25 years
in the latter’s service as foreign envoy, lawyer and Master of
the Rolls. He used his wealth to endow this lovely church and
many of the treasures can still be seen, including the apse,
original coloured glass depicting in rich hues the Apostles and
the crucifixion, and the family arms proudly displayed over the
naves arches. The name of the remarkable man is also commemorated
in the John Taylor High School.
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The first church built in 1157 was a chapel of ease in the
parish of Tatenhill and was possibly situated near to the present Church
in a field called Hall Orchard, the location of Church Lane. A chest
from that medieval church dated from between 1100 and 1300 is all that
remains. John Taylor inherited his father’s land and endowed his new
church there. Work commenced in 1517, as carved on the south side of the
tower, with completion in 1533 the year before John Taylor died. The
register dates from 1571 in the reign of Elizabeth I. The church is a
Grade II* listed building and is a rare example of a church being
completed in one lifetime. It was originally dedicated to St. Mary
Magdalene but when things Catholic fell from favour in the middle of 16th
century the church changed its name to St. James. The church has a
three-sided apse, a rare form in this county, part of the John Taylor
design. Inscriptions over alternate pillars of the nave tell of John
Taylor’s career, together with representations of his coat of arms, the
head and shoulders of three children and a Tudor rose. |
In 1739 the churchwardens, Edward Crainbridge and
William Fisher, had their names recorded on one of the six church
bells that were cast that year and still hang today in the belfry. Two
more bells were added to complete the peal before 1929, when they were
all taken out and re-tuned and the belfry strengthened. The
benefactions of Thomas Webb of Blakenhall built the West gallery of
Barton Church in 1758. The Victorians widened St. James Church in 1864
to its present form. The ecclesiastical parish of Barton was formed in
1881; Barton had been until then in the parish of Tatenhill.
The history of the village life and charitable
works is preserved around the church. There is a monument to Joseph
Sanders dated 1691 the reign of William III & Mary II, a marble
tablet to Edmund Antrobus 1732 and his wife 1728 the reign of George
II, several inscriptions about the Broomfield family who were Lords of
the Manor from 1634. During the Commonwealth period William Key gave
two closes called Lincroft and Bonthorne to the village for the
benefit of the poor. He directed that ten shillings be paid yearly out
of the rent to the curate, for preaching a sermon on Good Friday. The
details of the benefaction are given on a brass tablet of 1651. The
charity is still going strong along with the Good Friday sermon. John
Holland (1798-1876) the first village post master, his daughter
Elizabeth Holland (1838-1877) the first postmistress, his
granddaughter Anne Jervis Holland (1854-1924) the second postmistress,
his granddaughter Mary Emma Holland (1856-1938) the third postmistress
are commemorated in church at the base of a window on the south aisle
wall. John Holland was a trustee of the William Key Charity according
to the Charities Commissions report of 1839.
The Church Wardens were responsible for the charity
accounts, which are recorded on the wooden boards on the walls of the
priest’s vestry. The beneficence of William Key is carried out today
under the auspices of the trustees for the Henry Warford and William
Key Charities, all the other charities were amalgamated into the
Eleemosynary Charities in 1902. The master’s desk from the
Elizabethan Thomas Russell Free School still stands today in the
church vestry, with the year 1689 embossed on the front. A Chapel of
Peace was dedicated on Easter Sunday 1946 as a memorial to the dead of
two World Wars. Two stone tablets on the Chapel wall recall the names
of the 32 men from the village that died serving King George V during
the World War One and the 12 men who died serving King George VI in
World War Two.