St Peter
Thorner, Yorkshire
Attractive 19th century church with 15th century tower, built in sandstone and placed prominently in attractive village.
Barwick in Elmet church is centrally located in this pretty West Yorkshire village on The Boyle, reputed to be the oldest street in the village.
The church opened in 1900 and was originally named The William Dawson Memorial Chapel, after a well known and well loved local preacher. The church is within 100 yards of the village's famous maypole (the tallest in the UK) and also within 100 yards of an iron age mound and earthworks.
The stone church has a side spire and inside one of the best organs in the district, on which recitals have in times past been given by renowned organist Nigel Ogden.
In addition to its maypole and iron age/Norman fortifications, Barwick in Elmet is well known for its public flower displays, which have regularly won gold and platinum from Yorkshire in Bloom. These displays are designed and tended by a group of volunteers known as Barwick in Bloom, a project established and still largely run by Barwick in Elmet Methodist church members. Two of the village's most impressive flower beds are to be found either side of the path leading to the chapel's front door.
