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Grade II* listed.

St Mary's at East Barkwith is one of 6 parish churches of the united Parish of the Barkwith Group.

The church has undergone several rebuildings, so the present structure is a combination of different styles. There is no record of when the first church was built here, or of its appearance. The Domesday Survey of 1086 records a church at Barkwith, but it is not known of it was on this site or at West Barkwith.

The earliest parts of the church date from between 12th and 13th C onwards, and subsequent dating may be determined by the style of the architecture, Perpendicular, which may be seen in the entrance door and porch, the archway to the tower and the tower itself. The west window may have been reused from an earlier building and the bell openings in the upper tower were probably made in the 17th century.

The south arcade also dates from the Perpendicular period. This part of the church saw Catholic services in the centuries before Henry VIII, then changed between Catholicism and Protestantism under Edward, Mary and Elizabeth, the introduction of the Book of Common Prayer (1549, 1552 and 1662), and the destruction of the religious statues and stained glass under the Puritans.

In the 18th century there was a long period of neglect and decay in the Church of England. Nonconformist churches began to develop and split from the Anglican church, which suddently took fright and began to appoint incumbents and repair churches.

At St Mary's, the chancel was rebuilt in 1846, the architect being J.B. Atkinson. In 1868/9 the nave was re-roofed; the north aisle, the arcade and the windows were rebuilt under the direction of R.J. Withers. The difference in colour and tooling between the original pillars and the 19th century pillars are quite obvious.

The font dates probably from the 15th C. It is octagonal and is decorated with shields bearing nails, whip, crown of thorns and other instruments of Christ's Passion. The font is lead lined, and drains through the stem to the ground beneath, so that the hallowed water could not be taken for superstitious purposes. As the water was sometimes left in the bowl the lid could be fastened down; the marks where the hasp and padlock would have been can still be seen on the font.

The pulpit is unusual, being made of metal, and was designed by Christopher Turnor of Panton Hall in the late 19thC.

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