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| The Tower on a winter's day | Bell Ringers' Pew |
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| The Nave | Disused north door with Norman decoration |
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| Effigy of Sir Robert Fulleshurst | The White Lion at Barthomley |
The parish church of St. Bertoline is in an elevated position in the village on top of Barrow Hill, an ancient burial ground. It once served the whole of the Crewe area. The churches within the town of Crewe were built in the 19th century following the arrival of the railways. St. Bertoline was an 8th century prince who became a hermit after the death of his wife and lived on an island in the River Sow in Staffordshire. According to Arthur Mee, this church is the only one in England dedicated to St. Bartoline (sic). However, the story of an 8th century prince who became a hermit in Staffordshire after the death of his young wife is similar to that told about St. Bertram or Bertelin at Longnor in Staffordshire. There has been a church on this site since Norman times but it was rebuilt in the 15th century. The earliest part of the current structure is the wall of the south aisle between the windows, which dates from the 12th century. The arches of the nave were built in the 15th century and the tower dates from the late 15th century. Restoration was carried out between 1852 and 1854.
In the Crewe Chapel there is an effigy of Sir Robert Fulleshurst, one of the squires of James Lord Audley who distinguished himself at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. The tomb dates from about 1390 and has small figures round the base. Nearby is a large memorial to the young first wife of Lord Crewe when he was Baron Houghton. It was created by Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm (1834-90). The inscription reads "Sibyl Marcia wife of Robert Offley Ashburton and Baron Houghton. Born July 23rd 1857. Married June 3rd 1880. Died September 19th 1887.
The chancel is relatively new; it was rebuilt by the Marquess of Crewe, patron of the benefice, between 1925 and 1926 to commemorate his son, the Earl of Madeley, and his half brother, who died young and were buried in the churchyard. The clock was installed in 1934 to replace one made about 1710 by the village blacksmith.
During the Civil War there was an atrocity committed in the village. On Christmas Eve of 1643, a group of Royalists, after plundering the locality found that about 20 villagers had taken refuge in the church. Lord Byron's troop and Connought, a Major to Colonel Sneyd, captured the church but the villagers took refuge in the tower. The Royalists made a fire at the base of the tower, forcing the fugitives to surrender. Connought then stripped and killed 12 of the group and cut the throat of John Fowler, then under 21. Three men escaped unharmed, the rest were wounded. For the next two days the Royalists plundered Barthomley. The massacre was to have been used as one of the charges if Charles I had been brought to trial. ( I have heard, but not seen definitive evidence, that this story has been challenged in recent years. Some of the men said to have been killed are reputed to have been buried at the church in later years. If you have the evidence I will be pleased to hear it.) A portrait of the Royalist Cavalry Commander, Lord Byron, can be seen at Tabley House.
The church registers begin in 1562 and there is a list of rectors from 1303.
Sources:
The King's England - Cheshire
by Arthur Mee, published by Hodder and Stoughton in 1938, fully revised and
edited by E. T. Long in 1968, SBN 340 00075 9
Discovering Cheshire Churches,
produced by Cheshire County Council Heritage and Recreation Service, 1989,
ISBN 0 906759 57 9 and available for purchase at Cheshire Libraries.
Old Cheshire Churches, with
a supplementary survey of the lesser old chapels of Cheshire, completely
revised and enlarged by Raymond Richards, published by E. J. Morten, Didsbury,
1973, first published in 1947.
