Burmington, St Barnabas and St Nicholas

Before about 1200, there seems to have been no church in Burmington, only a ‘preaching cross’, the remains of which can still be seen in the churchyard. To go to church, the villagers had to walk 3 miles to Wolford.

However, at the end of the 12th century, the ‘Lord of Burmington’ built ‘a chapel of ease’ for the inhabitants, at the same time as he built himself a Manor House next to it. In 1266, the benefice of Burmington, which had belonged to the Priory of Stone in Staffordshire, was donated to Merton College, Oxford (founded in 1264) as one of its earliest endowments, and the college remains its Patron to this day.

Originally the tower, stood between the chancel and the nave, and one of the arches supporting it, decorated with beautiful stone capitals, is the only part of the 13th-century church that survives. By 1692, the church had fallen into grave disrepair, and 5 of the 6 bells had to be sold to pay for it to be rebuilt on a smaller scale. However, in 1849, it was redesigned and extended to the west with a gallery and small tower housing the one remaining bell.

2021 Update

St Barnabas & St Nicholas church in Burmington has received a grant of £2700 towards the cost of rebuilding its collapsed churchyard wall. The generous cheque is from Allchurches Trust, one of the largest grant-making charities which gave more than £16 million to churches, charities and communities in 2018. Its funds come from its ownership of Ecclesiastical Insurance Group. (www.allchurches.co.uk)