The Darlington village with an overgrown churchyard and a remarkable window

Today, it has the more conventional one in which there is a fascinating stained glass window which, either by accident or design, seems to carry on the story of Francis being one of the face black faces to be seen in North Yorkshire.

READ MORE: FRANCIS BARBER'S FULL STORY

Francis Barber, who was sent to a boarding school in Barton in 1750 when aged about eight. In later life, he became the secretary of Samuel Johnson, the compiler of the first English dictionary, who treated him like a son. This portrait may have been painted by Joshua Reynolds, the acclaimed artist

It is said that, many centuries ago, the village between Darlington and Scotch Corner was home to two sisters who hated each other so much that they could not even bear to worship under the same roof.

So they each built a church where they could worship without having to see the other's hated face.

It's a good story. But the truth is that Waterfall Beck that runs through the centre of Barton and divides "the barley town" into two parishes.

The east side belonged to the Benedictine monks of St Mary's Abbey, in York, and they built St Mary's Church.

St Mary's Church in ruins in Barton. It has now completely fallen down, but its overgrown graveyard remains

The west side belonged to the Premonstratensian monks of St Agatha's Abbey, at Easby, near Richmond. They built St Cuthbert's Church, which they named because the Lindisfarne monks of the 9th Century were reputed to have stopped there as they roamed the region carrying Cuthbert's body while looking for sanctuary from the rampaging Vikings.

This meant the small community had to find the money to support two churches – and so both were often in a state of decay.

St Cuthbert's fell down first. It was probably abandoned towards the end of the 17th Century. Therefore when Francis arrived in 1750, to join a boarding school run by the Reverend William Jackson, he must have been connected to St Mary’s. Perhaps Francis boarded for the year or so he was in Barton at the old vicarage at the top of Marygate. Perhaps he was aware of Joseph Cooke, whom the parish registers describe as “a negro from Jamaica” who was baptised in the church on January 5, 1747.

The Church of St Cuthbert with St Mary at Barton was built in 1840 on the site of the old St Cuthbert's using treasures salvaged from St Mary's

But by the beginning of the 19th Century, St Mary's was also showing its age and, in 1840, a decision was taken to unify the parish and build one new church – the Church of St Cuthbert with St Mary – on the site of the old St Cuthbert's.

Ignatius Bonomi, County Durham's leading architect of the day, did the work and incorporated many items from both of the churches. From St Mary’s came the medieval font, the bells dated 1661, 1717 and 1788, and some ancient memorials to the important families of the district.

It may well be that one of those memorials was dedicated to the Gyll family. The Gylls were connected with Barton from 1543 to the end of the 19th Century, although their heyday was in the 17th Century when they were lords of the manor. Thomas Gyll, who died in 1691, was an attorney and he is buried in a stone tomb which namechecks his mother, Elizabeth, and his wife, Eliza.

Richard Collier's picture of the Gyll family window in Barton church, featuring a black man wearing a gold crown

Above the tomb is a trefoil window – with three rounded sections to it – which features the Gylls’ coat of arms topped by a black man wearing a bright golden crown.

We are very grateful to Richard Collier who, inspired by the Black History Month stories in Memories 598, re-visited the church to take the picture of this hugely unusual memorial. Can anyone tell us anymore about it?

The overgrown graveyard of St Mary's in Barton is a very atmospheric place to visit