A final
glimpse of Barton Abbey, the largely Victorian 'big house' of Steeple
Barton.
There
are only a few houses at Steeple Barton now. Humps in the fields are
remains of a once sizeable village, largely abandoned after the ravages
of the Black Death, when survivors of the plague resettled at Middle
Barton. (Ironically, much later in 1923, the Ruridecanel magazine
described Steeple Barton as 'the healthiest parish for many a mile'.)
Traces
of the old Steeple Barton mill and dried up fish ponds, the deep-cut
narrow road, green lanes and meandering tracks give clues to the nature
and antiquity of the once thriving village.
