History of St Mary's Parish Church

Dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the year 1220 AD, Barwell's ancient Church is a grade one listed building.  The Site of the present Church can trace it's origins from Neolithic times, through the Bronze Age, the Roman occupation of Britain, the coming of the Saxons, the Danes and the Normans and from then on, in an unbroken line to the present day.

The Church is almost unchanged in appearance from the time, 700 years ago, when the chancel and nave were reconstructed in the Early English style and added to the tower of Norman origins with it's massive 6 ft (1.8m) wide foundations.  A further indication of the great age of the Church is the Leper Window in the nave, a feature dating back to the times of the Crusades.  There are some small examples of 13th Century stained glass showing the arms of the de Hastings family.  The font, of similar date, is still in use today.

Down the centuries the Church has weathered many storms both of nature and of man.  In the early days the Church followed the teachings of the Church of Rome, but in 1536 King Henry VIII's Reformation heralded the change from Catholicism to Protestantism, and by the 1550s Barwell was Protestant with the old mass abolished and the Alter replaced by a Communion Table.  The Church was also stripped of its ancient chancel screen, rood loft and all images.  The Church's interior would have been even starker with the coming of Puritanism and Cromwell's Commonwealth Act of 1653 with no stained glass, the interior plain and white-washed and stone seats around the walls for the weak and infirm only.

By 1660 people had had enough of the puritan regime, the situation reverting to pre-Civil War days.  A new type of service was introduced and, because of the lengthy sermons, benches were provided for the lower orders and 'upper seats' for the well to do.  In the 17th century the tower housed four bells, the oldest, and still in use today, being inscribed 'Praise the Lorde - 1601'.  Two more bells were added in 1877 and in 1901 the addition of two trebles provided the present peal of 8.

The 19th century ushered in momentous reforms within the Church of England.  Worship was conducted more reverently, the clergy knew their congregations better, celebrated the sacraments more frequently and 'preached shorted sermons'.  The priesthood became a vocation and a Rector could no longer be an absentee.  This was the situation when Richard Titley became patron of the living and assumes the Rectorship, a time of poverty in Barwell, which he and his family worked tirelessly to relieve and alleviate.

During the Rev. Richard Titley's incumbency economic conditions slowly improved.  From 1877 onwards he was responsible for most of the changes that give the Church its present day appearance.  He restored the tower and the bells, one of which was cracked.  A new organ was built and a new clock was placed in the tower.  In 1888 the south aisle was extended eastwards and is now the vestry.  The choir stalls and the pulpit, carved by Church members, the brass lectern and the extra two bells giving the present peal of eight are also from the Rev. Titley's time.  He furthered the cause of education in Barwell, started by his predecessor the Rev. Barrow, by establishing the School.  After the death of Richard Titley in 1909 the splendid stained-glass east window was given and dedicated to his memory.  Since then the main changes have been the addition of the carved alter rails, the creation of the Memorial Chapel and window for the dead of two world wars, and the introduction of several stained-glass memorial windows.