Rural Barton. Barton is on the west of the parish, at the foot of Wavering Down and Crook Peak. Once highly agricultural, most of its farms have now either diversified or closed down altogether but this has not changed the rural nature of the hamlet. Maxmills, at Max Mills Farm, is described as 'probably 12th century'. One of the guided walks will take you nearby: do visit this most picturesque part of the parish!

The Bristol Children's Help Society was founded in 1884 to give poor children from Bristol a holiday in the countryside. In 1888, after various local land owners in Barton had given about eight acres to the society, a camp was built and a small corrugated iron building, part of this original camp and now used as an office, can still be seen. Since that time, Barton Camp has been in continuous use and now provides holidays for about 1500 children each year. Over the years there have been considerable improvements, including the construction of a heated swimming pool. During the winter the Camp is used as a conference centre.

Sir George Oatley, the architect and philanthropist, was also attracted by the rural nature of Barton and built a house, Barton Rocks, for his own use near Barton Hill. Sir George is particularly celebrated for his design of Bristol's Wills Tower (also known as 'Great George') and several other University buildings. At one time he was church architect for St. Mary Redcliff and the Parish Church of St. James the Great in Winscombe.