WESTCOTT BARTON, STEEPLE BARTON AND MIDDLE BARTON

"The Bartons" consist of three villages, two of them with their own parish churches, and one of them tiny. In the west is Westcott Barton and in the east, the tiny Steeple Barton. Between the two is Middle Barton, which is mainly residential and has no parish church.

The small village of Westcott Barton, originally clustered around the church, is little more than a small collection of stone cottages and houses and is now contiguous with Middle Barton. The church at Westcott Barton is the Church of St. Edward the Confessor. The church was originally an Anglo Saxon church dedicated to St. Edmund the Martyr but the dedication was changed in the 13th century and over the centuries the church has been much extended and altered. For the history and full information about St. Edward's Church click here.

Steeple Barton is about a mile south-east of Middle Barton. It is now little more than a small collection of stone cottages and houses, a church and Barton Abbey.

The Church of St. Mary the Virgin at Steeple Barton is Norman but little of the original building is recognisable except the Norman font. The south aisle was added in the 14th century. Its surviving original features include the south porch and five-bay arcade, both of which are Decorated Gothic.The Perpendicular Gothic west tower was added in the 15th century. For the history and full information about St. Mary's Church click here.

Near the church is Barton Abbey, a privately owned house. Parts of the building date from the 16th Century but the majority of the structure is Victorian. Originally a manor house, it was renamed Barton Abbey in the late 19th century on the false assumption that the Augustinian Osney Abbey had a cell here.

Nearby are the remains of some historic fish ponds which date from the 13th century. Humps in the fields indicate that there was once a once sizable village, but this was largely abandoned after the ravages of the Black Death.

Middle Barton, between Westcott and Steeple Barton is larger but has little real character. The River Dorn separates the southern part of the village from the remainder.

Westcott Barton is about 7 miles east of Chipping Norton on the B4030, and about 9.5 miles south of Banbury. Steeple Barton is about 1.5 miles south-east of Westcott Barton.