Monument record 1880/1/2 - St Bartholomew's Parish Church Churchyard

<1> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, p.240, 286 (Book). SCH3556.

The curvilinear churchyard enclosure, combined with artefacts found in the Great Barrow area, may indicate that this was a sub-Roman Christian site. The standing cross (see CHER 1880/1/3) may date from the Anglo-Saxon period.

<2> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 55449 (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Gates, overthrow and gate piers: one pier dated 1775, the remainder dated 1908. Red sandstone piers and wrought steel remainder. Plain piers, rectangular in plan have domed caps. The left one is inscribed IP, IT CW 1775 and the right one HLS, WS, CW 1908. Semi-circular overthrow carries a now electric glazed lantern surmounted by a cross. Gates have lock bar with a circular panel and scroll work above, dog bars beneath.

<3> Historic England, 2011, The National Heritage List for England, 1439331 (Web Site). SCH6528.

Memorial was raised at Great Barrow as a permanent testament to the sacrifice made by the members of the local community who lost their lives in the First World War.

The memorial was funded by voluntary contributions, the cost amounting to £190. The work was carried out by Haswell and Son of Kaleyards, Chester. The memorial was unveiled on Sunday 17 July 1920, by Major Harry Barnston MP (who also unveiled Farndon war memorial in November 1919), and dedicated by the rector, Rev T Jenkins. ‘The church was filled to the doors…then followed a most impressive service.’ The cross was unveiled from beneath the drape of a Union Jack and the national anthem along with a number of hymns were sung. The Last Post and Reveille were sounded by buglers from the Cheshire Regiment.

Following the Second World War, the names of three men who fell in that war were added to the west facing side the plinth.

The memorial is located within the churchyard of St Bartholomew’s Church, and it comprises a Celtic-style wheel-head cross approximately 4m tall. Interlace detailing in relief to both sides, including a central leaf motif, is positioned upon an angular, tapered shaft. Five further leaf motifs in relief feature in a central column, evenly spaced, down the length of the shaft.

The shaft stands upon a square plinth with angular, pillared shoulders to all four corners, bearing bronze plaques to three sides (N, S and W) with inscriptions in relief. The plinth is positioned upon a two-stepped octagonal base.

The general inscription to the S facing side of the plinth reads: TO THE GREATER GLORY OF GOD / & TO COMMEMORATE THE SELF / SACRIFICE & DEVOTION OF THE / BRAVE SONS OF THIS VILLAGE / WHO DIED FIGHTING FOR ENGLAND / IN THE GREAT WAR 1914 – 1919. The names and individual ranks of 21 men who fell in the First World War are inscribed on the N facing side of the plinth.

‘AND ALSO OF’ followed by the names of three men who served in the 1939 – 1945 war, are inscribed in relief upon a third bronze plaque, added to the W facing side of the plinth.

<4> University of Manchester, 2002, Saint Bartholomew's Church, Great Barrow, Chester: Building Survey and Watching Brief, R4154 (Client Report). SCH8452.

During the watching brief human burials dating to the latter part of the nineteenth century were discovered. Fourteen individuals were exhumed including eight adults (four male, four female) and six children ranging from newborn to seventeen years old. The material culture associated with the graves suggests that these people were not from the poorest families as the coffins were decorated, but their fairly basic construction would imply that they were not from the richest either. The skeletal remains also gave good insight into the social status of the group. The high ante-mortem tooth loss and decay are indicative of a high sugar diet and lack of dental hygiene. There were no signs of dental restoration which exemplifies the point that the group were not from the wealthier households, and the adults, in particular the older males, showed signs of joint disease, healed breaks and other skeletal damage suggesting that they undertook some form of manual labour.

<5> Richards R, 1947, Old Cheshire Churches, p.41-2 (Book). SCH2309.

Sundial in the churchyard. The shaft is octagonal and placed on a step. The dial is inscribed: "Robert Hankinson, Richard Robinson, C.W., 1705". There formerly stood in the churchyard of Barrow an ancient cross "erected and made of squared stone with diverse costly and curious works wrought in and uppon the same". Around May 1613, the cross was destroyed by a group of "Puritan gentry".

<6> Cheshire Historic Environment Record, 1990-1992, MPP Scoring Form, Class 65 (Unpublished Document). SCH2222.

<7> Various, Various, Oral communication to the HER, Edwards R, 24/07/2023 (Oral Communication). SCH2330.

Richards' (see 5) contains an interesting account of the former use of standing crosses and the destruction of the Barrow cross in the seventeenth century as part of the Puritan iconoclasm of the seventeenth century. He also fails to identify the base and shaft of the sundial as the remains of the cross, as does the later MPP scoring (see 6). For the cross see CHER 1880/1/3.