Barthomley

History

Barthomley was an ancient parish within Cheshire. It contained five townships: Alsager, Balterley, Barthomley itself, Crewe, and Haslington. Of these, Balterley township and (now) civil parish was and is entirely in the neighbouring county of Staffordshire, and Crewe was later renamed Crewe Green to avoid confusion with the neighbouring unparished borough and railway town. All five townships were made separate civil parishes in 1866.

The Cheshire part of the ancient parish lay within Nantwich Hundred, Nantwich Poor Law Union, and Nantwich Rural Sanitary District, Later on, the modern civil parish (now entirely in Cheshire) was part of Nantwich Rural District.

During the English Civil War St Bertoline's Church was the location of a notorious massacre of at least 12 pro-Parliamentarian prisoners by Royalist troops. The fantasy novel Red Shift, by Alan Garner, is largely concerned with the Barthomley massacre.

There was also a medieval Knights Hospitaller Chapel at Barthomley. It was located behind the White Lion public house and over the brook, where in the past a field named 'Chapel Field' existed.

Landmarks

Pevsner describes Barthomley as "[a] pretty village, with a number of black and white houses and cottages, C17..., but mostly C19, and built for the Crewe estate". The village has two main landmarks: the White Lion public house and the parish church of St Bertoline, which are close together in the centre.

White Lion

Main article: White Lion, Barthomley

The White Lion is a half-timbered, thatched building dated 1614. It is a Grade II* listed building, and included in CAMRA's register of Historic Pub Interiors.

St Bertoline's Church

Main article: St Bertoline's Church, Barthomley

Barthomley is thought to be the only church in England dedicated to St Bertoline. Its earliest feature is a Norman doorway, and other important remnants include a fine Perpendicular roof and some effigies in the Crewe Chapel.

Governance

From 1974 the civil parish was served by Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council, which was succeeded on 1 April 2009 by the new unitary authority of Cheshire East. Barthomley falls in the parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Scholes, R. (2000) Towns and Villages of Britain: Cheshire. Sigma Press: Wilmslow, Cheshire. .
• Speake, R. (Ed.) (1995). Barthomley: The Story of an Estate Village. Keele, Staffs.: Barthomley Local History Group and Department of Adult and Continuing Education, Keele University. .
• Youngs, F. A. (1991). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Volume I: Northern England. London: Royal Historical Society. .

References

1. [http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=792556&c=Barthomley&d=16&e=15&g=428193&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779 Official 2001 Census Figures.] Neighbourhood Statistics website. Retrieval Date: 26 August 2007.
2. Speake, R. (Ed.) (1995). page 183–189.
3. Youngs (1991). page 8,
4. [http://www.ukbmd.org.uk/genuki/chs/crewe1.html Genuki: Crewe (Crewe Green) - name change.] Retrieval Date: 26 August 2007.
5. whilst the Staffordshire part lay in [[North Pirehill]] hundred, Newcastle under Lyme Poor Law Union and Rural Sanitary District.Youngs (1991). page 402.
6. Carlton, Charles. (2011). "This Seat of Mars: War and the British Isles, 1485–1746". Yale University Press.
7. Garner, Alan. (1973). "Red Shift". William Collins and Son.
8. Fairey, Charles E. S.. (May 2020). "The Lost Chapel and The Pubs of Barthomley".
9. (2003). "The Buildings of England: Cheshire". Yale University Press.
10. {{NHLE
11. (1952). "Pub Heritage: Historic Pub Interiors". CAMRA.
12. Richards, Raymond. (1947). "Old Cheshire Churches". Batsford.
13. [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080634_en_2#pt2-l1g3 Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008] {{webarchive. link. (May 17, 2009)
14. link. (2011-10-01 (accessed 27 January 2009))