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Dr James Alexander Cameron @drjacameron.stainedglassattitudes.com · 26/07/2026

St Peter, Barton-Upon-Humber, Lincolnshire. The surviving tower and baptistery block of rendered rubble with sandstone dressing which pre-date (... obviously) the Early Norman belfry of coursed limestone. Likely built as a cemetery chapel inside the manorial enclosure c. 1010-5.

Barton-Upon-Humber, St Peter, from SW. The bapistery is gabled with two circular windows - the trace of an arch is a doorway that was knocked through in 1858 and blocked again in 1869-70. The tower has a doorway with a semi-circular arch resting on imposts, and a double opening of similar form on the first storey. The stories are articulated by sandstone dressings, pilaster strips articulating first storey with round arches and second with triangular. The original belfry windows are also double triangular openings. The Early Norman Romanesque belfry has coursed limestone and the W bell opening has been replaced with simple Decorated style tracery.

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Dr James Alexander Cameron @drjacameron.stainedglassattitudes.com · 26/07/2026

Barton's tower is made of rubble (unfortunately under cement-based pebbledash, 1965) with Pennine millstone grit sandstone dressings, almost certainly plundered from a Roman building and brought up the Humber. Non-radial voussoirs and mitre joints betray a carpentry rather than masonry tradition.

View of the north side of the tower showing the early 11thc work in sandstone. Mostly the blocks forming the semi-circular arches are non radial (ie, they don't splay out to fit the curve of the arch) although admittedly, some of them broadly are. The trianglar "arches" are monolithic blocks that intersect with a mitre joint at the head.

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