St Barnabas, Ranmore
Photograph: Kathy Atherton

The church of St Barnabas was erected in 1859 in Gothic revival style. 700ft up on Ranmore, it was the estate church for Denbies, the estate owned by the Cubitt family who employed several hundred people. The architect also designed the school and rectory. The church has a spire of 150ft which was nicknamed ‘Cubitt’s Finger’ by the novelist, George Meredith.

The second Lord Ashcombe (grandson of Thomas Cubitt) lost his three eldest sons in the First World War. Their lives are commemorated in a beautiful chapel decorated with murals by E. Reginald Frampton.

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