Village Walk (North)
Compiled by Trevor Millum & Steve Taylor. Architectural commentary by Keith Miller, former Barrow resident & Chairman of Barrow Civic Society
The Northern Walk: Market Place – High Street – North Street – Cherry Lane – St Chad – Barton Street – Cross Street.
The walk starts in Market Place. You can look first at its history here.
Leave the Market Place to the North along the High Street as shown below.
You should allow about an hour for this walk.
The High Street
The High Street is the best single High Street in any of the villages in North Lincolnshire because of variety of architectural styles and the variety of building materials. It also has a notable collection of public buildings. The slight rise in the street towards the end where the church stands also adds to the attractiveness. Not being a main through road also helps.
Nijmegen
Nijmegen once had a shop front. The window panes are very small and the low roof indicates a modest house with one or two cottages door at each end. The windows on the left are original late Georgian. The decorative architraves are flush with the bricks: those are the sash boxes. They were gradually replaced by sash boxes that were hidden behind the brickwork. With its axial chimney stack but no middle door, this little house could tell quite a story.
The Pharmacy
The Pharmacy is late Victorian or Edwardian. Previously the home of Barrow Post Office, it was probably originally as a private dwelling. It has a recessed front door and a bay window with cornice brackets above. The top window arches are plain with a little moulding. The rusticated sills are somewhat out of keeping.
Sargeant’s shop
Over the road, Sargeant’s shop is late Georgian with end chimney stacks and tumbled brick gables and classical pilasters. Unusually, given that most village shops were returned to domestic use in the latter twentieth century, this shop was created in the 1980s.
Clarks Foley
Clarks Foley, recently a hairdresser’s, has lost its stacks but one can see the sash boxes and the narrower balancing central window. The building has fluted classical columns and at the back once had a Georgian bow window with a scratched date of 1830s which was moved from the front.
Barvae
Over on the West side, Barvae, once a butcher’s shop, is an interesting building with unusual roof, crest tiles and pinnacles. At one point there were over 20 brickyards along the Humber Bank between Goxhill and Barton – supplying both locally and further afield. Barvae has stone window arches with shield motifs; the round arch has used moulded or rubbed bricks to give them a shape to create the arch.
Cherry Garth
Opposite Barvae, Cherry Garth is a fine example of Edwardian house-building. The windows have large panes in the lower sash and smaller ones above. The arch-topped windows and decorative brickwork with keystone are marks of an upmarket house. There is a very fancy balconette with carved roses and there are substantial bays, together with a porch featuring stained glass. Set back a little is an original garage, built for a motor car, not a cart or carriage. The garage is bonded in and has similar brackets to the house so is the same age. This must have been one of the first purpose built garages in Barrow. Under the central window is a piece of gratuitous decoration.
Village Hall
The Village Hall was a once a Nonconformist chapel. Public buildings like these were funded by public subscription. The decorative window arches are typical of such buildings. The interior is much altered.
Kathleen House
Next door to the Village Hall is Kathleen House. The window sill inscription of Kathleen House notes ‘rebuilt RHE1817’. The three initials usually mean ‘first name / surname / first name’ e.g. Robert and Elizabeth Harrison. The current window is a little heavier than the original. The rubbed brick arches and sash windows, together with the Flemish bond make this a quite sophisticated dwelling. It was probably later converted into two dwellings. There are two doorways displaying the popular acanthus motif. A Victorian alteration divided the building and added a door, both doors now being Victorian. There are overlights with simple etched glass. One of the doors is set further back, probably the original door opening. The other, to the left, is now a dummy with a brick wall behind.
Papist Hall
Papist Hall sits in a commanding position half way up the High Street. It is one of the oldest buildings in Barrow, constructed in the late 1600s. Though it is now divided into separate dwellings, it was built as one house. The main entrance would have been in the middle: its position is shown by one of the raised brick pilasters which would have flanked the door. From the door one would enter a hall with a fireplace, chimney and inglenook, and then into a room or rooms to each side. It was probably the only brick building in the village at the time, all others being timber-framed. The cross walls were not tied in properly to the front, so the building has bowed -implying that the builders were not fully skilled in using these materials. The house would not have had sash windows but wooden mullioned windows with leaded lights. Later the windows were extended and made deeper to take sashes, probably when it was divided up into three separate dwellings, now four. The original window size is indicated by the smaller windows upstairs. The windows, which have little keystone features, have raised surrounds which show some Low Countries influence. The building was constructed in what is known as the ‘Artisan Mannerist’ style, a rather free local interpretation of the classical style.
Vaults House
Opposite Papist Hall, Vaults House was once a much smaller building, extended during the Victorian period and served as a bakery at one point. The original height of the house can be seen from the tumbling on the north side.
Fern House
Fern House is a good example of a Georgian cottage with its balancing dummy window and fine doorcase. Like some other houses, this has stone window arches which would have been brought by water, an expensive item. The facing bricks are nicely made and the pointing of Flemish bond is tight. The doorcase is the work of a local joiner, featuring a ribbed surround, delicately done with a semi-circular fanlight. As is often the case, the fine Flemish bond brickwork on the front is not maintained in the other walls.
Hazeldene & Bramley House
Hazeldene and Bramley House were both once shops but prior to that would have been houses.
They have been considerably altered but retain their underlying Georgian proportions.
Ribstone Cottages
Ribstone Cottages. Back on the other side of the road, you will see a range of cottages between Papist Hall and Ribstone House. They have nice wooden gutters and classic door cases from the period 1800 to 1850 with fluting identical to the fireplace in the bedroom of Southside further up the High Street (1851). The overlight is a one-off handmade item. The three-inch bricks – full Victorian size – show that the cottages are later than Ribstone House. The one on the south end was single-storey until it was raised to two storeys in late 20th-century
Ribstone House
Ribstone House was originally a Georgian house, one of the biggest in the village with its three storeys. The window arches have pretend individual blocks with fluted centre keystones. There are variations on that style in other parts of the village. The fine Flemish bond brickwork is interspersed with windows that would originally have had small panes: 16 panes in the sides 12 in the middle. It would probably have had a Georgian doorcase with a pediment. The Victorian ‘makeover’ introduced plate glass, bay windows and a fancy door with carved ornamentation. The slate roof must have been part of its Victorian facelift because a Georgian house would not have had Welsh slate
Methodist Schoolroom
and The Chapel
Opposite Ribstone House is the Methodist Schoolroom and The Chapel. The Chapel was rebuilt in 1868 and would previously have resembled the 1830s Sunday School building next to it. Nonconformists tended to choose classical designs rather than Gothic, certainly until later in the 19th century when they too took up more Gothic styles. With its classical pilasters, it does not look like a church from the outside. There would have been separate entrances for men and women. The exterior displays very finely laid brickwork and the interior is a fine example of elegant chapel design.
Lindum House
Back on the West side of High Street is Lindum House, an early twentieth century building with a recessed front door like the Pharmacy. There is some sophisticated 3D etching, raised panels and nice moulding; notice also the fancy bricks and a balconette like Cherry Garth and the ‘cabling’ around the window arches: arched windows were a cut above straight flat headed ones. The side window has margin lights with thin margin glazing bars and coloured glass.
Acomb and Burncroft
Further up the street, Acomb and Burncroft are a striking pair of houses from the mid-19th century: two Italianate Victorian villas that you would be more likely to find in a larger settlement such as Hull. The most notable feature is the low pitched roof in slate with deep overhanging eaves. On the right-hand side, the original features have been retained, including, above the door, the sash window with its very thin elegant glazing bars. The sashes do not have ‘horns’ on the bottom. With the increasing use of heavier plate glass, it was realised that the mid rail needed more support, hence the introduction of projecting ‘horns’ to provide a firmer joint.
Farm House
The wall in front of Farm House opposite shows that there was once a Georgian farmhouse here. The reorganisation of the village land meant the privatisation and consolidation of the land into individual holdings and the disappearance of the common land. Some of the farms in the village moved out further into the fields. The farmsteads outside the village would have been built following enclosure. At this time with the consolidation of farmland and improvements in farming techniques, there would have been money available for upgrading buildings. A lot of the village buildings were changed during that period. The wooden barn, now used to store agricultural equipment, was previously a coal store (Farm House being on the site of an old coal yard). There used to be a ledge where coal was left out for villagers to collect ‘self service’ at 9d (that’s nine old pence) a bag.
Birchwood
Opposite Farm House is the imposing structure of Birchwood.There is a little date-stone reading R and J H 1723. Originally the building was two storeys high with a central chimney stack. As noted with the Royal Oak, until about 1750 houses had a chimney in the middle with a lobby entry. After that chimneys went to the gable ends and a more classical style developed. (Barton High Street has two rows of three storey buildings rather like this one.) The top storey would have had slightly smaller windows and the lack of central windows is interesting; most would have a dummy window (as in Fern House) to balance the design. The building served as a shop ‘Central Stores’ for many years until being converted to two dwellings early in the 21st century.
Foresters Hall
Over the road, Foresters Hall, built in 1864, is also now converted into dwellings. The Foresters were one of a number of Friendly Societies: self-help groups which provided some assistance to members in times of need. It has a church-like style which many public buildings adopted: not ostentatious but very respectable. These buildings – along with Nonconformist chapels were all built by public subscription – ‘crowd funding’.
Midby Park
The gate piers to Midby Park are worth noting before moving on to the Manor House and its outbuildings.
Manor House
The only locally available building stone was chalk but it does not weather very well; some buildings have chalk on the inside and brick on the outside. Where outside, it would often be lime washed. This wall is a remarkable survival: it has straight joints and some blocked breathers so would have been a stable or granary. There was also an entrance which has subsequently been blocked. Layers and layers of lime wash have built up over the years which has probably had colour ochre added to it. There was also an entrance which has subsequently been blocked. Manor House is basically a Georgian house facing the garden and has been altered a lot. The return side of the street has dog toothed cornice and tumbled gables. Chimneys are in machine made Victorian or Edwardian brick and the doorway is also orange brick. This is down to the Victorian architect who bought the house and made additions including the fancy gable which is not tumbled but has bricks on end. All the bricks of the bay window tie in which makes it original and unusual.
Rose House
Over the road, Rose House is a classic Georgian house probably re-windowed, originally having had small pane windows. Most houses are red brick but these bricks are yellow / black and very hard fired. The window on the bottom right was at some stage made larger, then made smaller again. Why? Perhaps to create a small shop window or a bow window. Once again, tumbled gables can be seen.
Vicars Room
The Vicars Room from the Victorian era has a steep roof with little ventilators and fancy cresting on the rooftop. It would have had wide wooden gutters supported on moulded brick brackets.
Holy Trinity Church
Holy Trinity Church has been altered and added to over the centuries. The late Norman nave with its impressive arcades dates from the 12-13th centuries, the chancel and the tower from the 13-14th centuries and the north aisle and other sections from 19th – century restorations. Inside, the font is medieval and so is the ornately carved (and much restored) chancel screen. John Harrison’s brother, James, rehung the church bells in a new wooden frame in 1729. (In 1733 he made the bell frame for York Minster, no less.) The tower now holds 12 bells and is a centre for bell-ringing in the region. More information will be found inside the church, together with the portrait of John Harrison and a display explaining his work as a clockmaker and solver of the Longitude Problem.
The Old Vicarage
The Old Vicarage is another example of a Georgian building which had a certain amount of modernising in the Victorian period, notably the doorcase which would originally have had a triangular pediment. There is a nice dog toothed cornice and the downstairs windows are reminiscent of those in Ribstone House.
Emerson's Farm
Around the Church: Emerson’s Farm is late Victorian but with a classical doorcase. The farm buildings are earlier and
examples of an early barn conversion and also an example of the kind of rebuilding that took place
around Enclosure.
Ropery Cottage
Ropery Cottage is an early example of brick and tile with a very steep roof (like the Royal Oak) and
the proportions suggest early 1700s. It may have started as a farm building but it did have a ropery
behind it using locally grown hemp. The doorcase is late Victorian or Edwardian. The building was
modernised and extended in 2016.
Church Villa
Church Villa has a reworked date stone ‘W Boulton 1810’ in the windowsill and is a good example of a combined house and barn. ‘Barn’ is a catch-all word for a general agricultural building; it had small windows originally and the bricks are chunky and handmade.
High View
High View is probably a re-fronted farm building. The bricks on the front are better quality and finely jointed whereas, like many buildings, the ones on the side walls are rougher. The building on the left side was perhaps a stable and the window above looks like a ‘pitching hatch’ (to pitch in straw and so on) but actually it’s a dovecote.
Church View
Church View dates from around the early 1800s. It has 16 pane sash windows without horns and is therefore late Georgian with a Georgian style fanlight – probably a dummy. The wooden gutters and insurance plaque make this a perfect late Georgian house. There is a puzzling pair of doors at the back; perhaps one would have led into the house and the other into a farm kitchen where the farmhands would eat. The beautiful copper beech completes an ideal scene.
From the top of North Street, it’s worth taking a brief diversion along Thorngarth Lane to Gooseman’s Yard.
Gooseman's Yard
The proportions of the house are similar to those of the Royal Oak; the roof is nearly as high as the front wall, indicating a date of between 1700 and 1750. There is a big wide door but it is not fancy. The house had a lobby entry and a central chimney stack originally and is one of the earliest farmhouses in the village. It is now two dwellings with an addition on the front reflecting the original layout which was of a balanced main house with a separate dwelling attached to one side, perhaps for parents or a farm manager? Further along the lane on the left you will find Barrow Sport and Fitness Centre in converted farm buildings. Return along Thorngarth Lane and turn left into North Street, passing Holly House.
Holly House
Holly House is a listed building and it is a perfect example of a late Georgian house. As well as high-quality Flemish bond brickwork, there are elegant window arches of stucco or stone, 16 pane sashes with really thin glazing bars and a fine doorcase.
Ivydene
Ivydene was built on the site of a Temperance Hall and was the Methodist Manse until relatively recently. It is a good example of a substantial late Victorian house with recessed front door and grand bay windows. The windows, though, would have been off-the-peg rather than locally made: the same design is found in Hull and Grimsby. There is fake timber framing above the bays and in the plaster panels above. On the front, the tightly jointed facing brick is finely finished on the front and, looking up, notice the fancy tiles on the ridge.
No 7, North Street
The roof of No. 7 North Street is steep and probably would have been thatched and comprised two rooms or three and an attic. A separate dwelling, Rose Cottage, which is taller, was added in the late 1800s but the original No 7 is early 1700s.
LLaregyb, North Street
Over the road, Llaregib is a steep-roofed white single-storey cottage from the early 1700s with
attics and a barn that they were probably quite proud of, and which would have been added by a
small farmer around enclosure time. The barn extension has huge tumbled gables that get progressively smaller and a blockedpitching hatch
Scriveners Cottage
Scriveners Cottage is a classic building of the time of enclosure (1797): a small farmer’s cottage with a dairy and other outbuilding, together with a big wagon entrance with the original doors. The house has 16-paned windows and a dummy window. There is no door case but there is a beautifully cut date stone.
John Harrison CE School
John Harrison CE School is now on your left. Cross the main road, Barton Street, to continue along
North Street . From there you can look back and see the above globe and watch badge on the gable end wall.
Hazel House
Hazel House, built in the 1770s, would have been attached to a small farm. It still has its original Georgian flush sash windows: smaller above, larger downstairs. In the late Victorian period, the windows were changed to plate glass. The amazing door case is very similar to the kind of door case that was on the shop front on the corner of High Street and Barton Lane, now replaced by apartments – and indeed, the style is perhaps more appropriate on a shop front. Originally a double fronted Georgian house, it has since been rendered over. As one might expect, it has a dogtooth brick cornice and tumbled gables.
The Bothy
Further along North Street, you will see The Bothy. The main house is late Georgian with Flemish bond, a cog brick cornice and Victorian additions. The door surround is a nice variation on the ribbed door case theme with extra fancy moulding at the top. A Victorian facelift resulted in plate glass windows and bay windows but the original and unusual round window has been retained. The dwelling still has a carriage house and there are unusual diamond ‘breathers’ in the outbuilding.
The Old Nursery
On the other side of the road, The Old Nursery is a classic mid to late Georgian double-fronted house. It has seen a lot of changes but has a wonderful doorcase which has similarities to Fern House. With its fluted half-columns, there would have been nothing else like it in the area in the 1820s. Opposite, Peter Pan Cottage and The Cherries would have been a single-story cottage with an attic which has been raised and re-fronted to make two cottages. It has a blocked attic window and chimney, meaning it was not a farm building but a house, possibly a long low farmhouse from the early 18th-century re-fronted in the late Victorian period. A turn to the left leads to a footpath to the right which will eventually lead you to Barrow Haven over the Beck or Leden, as it is sometimes known. From the point where the path crosses the beck you can access Barrow Blow Wells, which is a Reserve managed by Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust. Depending on the weather conditions you may see bubbles rising to the surface in the otherwise still ponds within the wood. Please do not bring dogs into the reserve. If you do not take the road to the left, continue along the road to the right as it becomes Cherry Lane.
Flower Cottage
A short distance along Cherry Lane brings you to the delightful Flower Cottage, a little farmhouse
with a barn three times the size of the house. The front door is missing. This is an extremely rare
survival. It would originally have been a single room cottage with a small attic. There would be an
inglenook fireplace in the living room / kitchen below, sleeping upstairs. Lincolnshire used to be
full of these cottages but there are hardly any left. A few might be seen in the Fen area. The join
with a later building is clear. Built in the 1770s, it would probably have been pantiled rather than
thatched
Down Hall
Down Hall stands on the site of one of Barrow’s medieval manors. Built in 1877 by JW Beeton, a willow merchant from Hull, it served as both a grand house and a factory for manufacturing woven willow baskets, chairs and prams. Beeton paid his workers in octagonal tokens redeemable at his own village shop and kept watch on them cutting the osiers from a viewing area on the roof. The Hall was built by John Sleight of Barrow, who claimed the house was based on the calendar using 7, 24, 12, 52 & even 365 for quantities and measurements of doors, windows and other fittings.
Turn right from Cherry Lane onto St Chad, which will bring you past Martin’s Close and back to Barton Street. The area where the houses of Martin’s Close now sit was excavated in the 1980s as it was the site of an ancient monastery, founded by St Chad. A large number of Saxon burials were discovered.
Priory House
At the south end of St Chad you will see two buildings of distinction, Priory House and Banner House. Priory House had a flat roof with pediment. The mansard roof disappeared some time ago and the gable was added in the late 20th-century. The recessed sashes are unusual; overall the building gives the impression of a townhouse in the country. The doorcase is a more sophisticated version of the one in North Street with its brackets, fluted columns, fanlight and triangle pediment.
Banner House
Banner House could well have been built as a work building or as a house. It had an attic which had
bark on the floor so perhaps there was a tannery here. It could also have been a house and work
building combined. From here you can cross into The Island and Cross Street and return to the High Street or take a diversion along Barton Street where there are a number of distinguished houses on the north side.
Skoner House
Skoner House (on Barton Street north-side) is a classic Georgian property, originally with small paned windows. The ribbed doorcase has additional mouldings on the top and a geometric overlight. It also has a first floor band that makes it stand out together with a dentilled cornice. (The bricks are cut in half so the toothed projections are finer than they would with single bricks.) The building is reminiscent of the house at Gooseman’s Yard, though these windows are more elaborate. Farm buildings to the rear have been converted into accommodation.
Holmleigh
Holmleigh (on Barton Street north-side) is late Georgian: 1820s or 30s and had Yorkshire sliding sashes and the current windows aim to replicate them.
The Nook
The Nook (on Barton Street north-side) has a very steep roof and still has timber framing inside. It was originally a timber framed mud and stud house. Studs are split wood inserted in the timber frame and then plastered over with mud and plaster – a common style of building in Lincolnshire. There was not a lot of wood so builders had to make the best of what they had. It was built before 1650 and perhaps a long while before. As the timber aged they encased the building in brick. It is still basically a single-storey house with attic.
Chadhurst
Chadhurst (on Barton Street north-side) is a classic Georgian house but this time with a hipped roof and very fine brickwork. At some stage the porch was added and the bay windows in classical style, but the original door case with a fanlight remains behind it. It still retains the four paned windows and underneath there are mixed panes. (Note the rounded corners.) The central window would have had nine or twelve panes. When the bay windows were installed during the Victorian period, the other windows were also replaced; the result is an unusual and elegant frontage.
The Willows
The Willows (on Barton Street north-side) has a scratched date from 1790 and also has a typical doorcase. The original building had a much steeper roof and is what’s called a double pile house.
No 5, Cross Street
Return back along Barton Street and turn right into Cross Street. (The area to the left of the street is known as The Island.) There are a number of Georgian cottages along Cross Street, with interesting features. Number 5 has a fine doorcase and an overlight of a design which you may have spotted elsewhere in the village.
Island View
Island View’s (on Cross Street) has doorcase scrolls which have been nicely highlighted by delicate paintwork.
Glebe Farm
Glebe Farm (on Cross Street west-side) also has a fine doorcase with a large overlight. The door and overlight are modern but the doorcase is original. The arched windows are also worthy of interest. Both Glebe Farm and Island View have neat Flemish bond brickwork.
Return to Market Place
Now proceed along Cross Street, turn right back past the church and return to Market Place down High Street.
That completes the Northern Walk.
The Southern Walk takes around 15 minutes and also starts in the Market Place.