St. Peter's Church in Barnburgh - Part 3

A wooden effigy of a knight in the Cresacre Chapel

Entering the porch of St. Peter’s church in Barnburgh, having explored its exterior, the first thing that I noticed were the robust transverse arches supporting the roof and a poster referring to the Legend of the Cat and Man, for which this church is probably best known.

Inside the porch

Passing through the south door, although receiving a very warm welcome, I was reminded that, sometimes, formal ‘open days’ are not always the best time to explore the interior of a church – as I had previously discovered at Ashover and Barnby Dun, earlier in the year. 

The font and Bella Aqua Chapel

With the Bella Aqua Chapel being full of displays and members of the Barnburgh and Harlington Local History Group, the font covered with knitted items and the chancel displaying various artwork, my investigtion was limited to the principal features in the church that I could easily see. 

A view east along the nave

The 2-bay arcades, dated to c.1200, are composed of round columns with octagonal capitals that have very simple mouldings, with double chamfered pointed arches springing from them. The spandrels and the clerestory comprise large ashlar blocks, with no obvious differences between them, which is unusual when the roofs are raised and new windows added. 

The blocked Norman window in the tower

Inside the tower, which has an unusual wooden freestanding spiral staircase to the bell ringing chamber, there is distinct reddening of the masonry - which otherwise is yellow limestone as seen in the exterior – and the infilled Norman splayed window gives a good indication of the thickness of the wall, when compared to its external dimensions. 

A view west along the nave from the chancel

The arch to the tower, together with the chancel arch, is considered to be typical of the Decorated Gothic style of c.1330, when the church underwent a major phase of rebuilding and both have semi-octagonal, simply moulded responds. 

The chancel

Adjacent to the chancel is the Cresacre Chapel, separated by a Gothic Revival arcade, with a twin shafted pier made out of Carboniferous Derbyshire crinoid marble and Permian dolomitic limestone capitals that have elaborate leaf decoration. 

A twin shafted pier made of crinoidal limestone

The chapel contains a very large buttressed and canopied chest tomb to Sir Percival Cresacre (d.1477), with much ornamentation and Latin inscriptions, which is made of dolomitic limestone that is typically pale cream in colour. 

The Cresacre Chapel

Placed inside it is an unusual effigy made of wood, which shows a knight with a conical helmet and plate armour and with a heart in his hands – thought possibly to be Sir Thomas Cresacre, who lived a century earlier. 

The tomb of Sir Percival Cresacre

At the west end of the north aisle, there is the remains of a Romanesque shaft – possibly from a preaching cross - which was found buried in the churchyard during the C19, in two pieces, and is sculpted with figures, acanthus leaves and a plait design.

The Romanesque shaft in the north aisle