Brief History of the Church

The village of Barling, meaning Baerla’s people, and surrounding area has been inhabited for many thousands of years and Christianity was established here over 1000 years ago. In the year 998, during the reign of Ethelred II (The unready), Barling was left in the will of Leofwine, a Saxon Thegn to his Lord, Wulfstan, Bishop of London. The manor subsequently became the property of the Canons of St. Paul's and the Doomsday Book of 1086 states that 'St Paul's has always held Barling as 1 manor'. Whether this was the original site or not for the first holy place in Barling is not known, and the first church in the village was probably made of wood. The present building, thought to date from the 12th century, has seen many additions and alterations over the last 900 years. The inhabitants of Barling from every century have left their mark on their place of worship.