MDE10860 - Holy Trinity Church, Barton Town (Building)

Holy Trinity Church, Challacombe was largely rebuilt in 1850, and was subsequently restored in 1874-5. Only the west tower remains of the earlier church. [1] The Tithe Map for Challacombe parish contains a sketch of the earlier church marking its parish position. [2] The church now occupies an isolated position within the parish, the existing village of Challacombe being some 1.2 kilometres to the eastnortheast, the only local settlement being Barton Town farmhouse and a string of cottages to the west. However, the Tithe Map shows further cottages to the immediate west of the church (their sites now within the churchyard). Settlement earthworks have been recorded to the east and southeast. [2,3] The parish church was completely rebuilt in 1850, except the west tower, and again restored in 1874-5. It contains nothing of any age or interest except the font. [4] The tower was subject to repair work in the late 1990s, when it was also rendered. [5] The church porch contains two war memorial slate tablets; that on the east side commemorating parishioners who served in World War One and to the west, those who served during World War Two. A plaque in the church also commemorates Albert Edwin Stiling, who was killed in action in Western Europe in 1944. [7] The building was visited in September 2012 as part of the rapid condition survey of Exmoor's Listed Buildings 2012-13. It received a BAR score of 6. [8] The building is depicted and labelled Holy Trinity Church on the 2018 MasterMap data. [9] This record was enhanced as part of the National Record of the Historic Environment to Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record data transfer project. [10]