St Mary’s Church, Barnetby-le-Wold

The church of St Mary’s on Church Hill in Barnetby-le-Wold dates from Saxon times though the current building is rebuilt during the Norman era. The church was actually declared redundant and closed in 1972 soo you cannot visit it without making special arrangements. One special item of note regarding St Mary’s was its lead font which dated from the early 12th century. This was removed to the Church of St Baranabas (built 1927) in Barnetby-le-Wold after St Mary’s was closed. There are only thirty examples of fonts like this remaining in England and the font from St Mary’s can now be found in the Scunthorpe North Lincolnshire Museum. On the north side of the church is also a crude carving resembling a cat.

According to ‘County Folk-Lore’ by Gutch and Peacock (1908) (citing their source as ‘Notices of Lincolnshire’ by John George Hall, 1890) ’near this Church is a spring called the Holy Wells. I have known of persons resorting to the spring, and applying the water to the diseased eyes of children for sanitary purposes ; but not resorting to any other spring, however similarly situated in the parish for such purposes.’