interview with Jean & Peter barton
Jean and Peter Barton celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in December. Jean and Peter are authorised ministers at St Matthew’s . They met in 1960 when Peter took over leading a Sunday School in Abingdon, previously led by Jean’s father. Peter remembers Jean coming to a meeting about this on her bicycle one June evening. Jean was doing A-levels and Peter was working at AERE having moved there in 1956. Jean had come to Harwell in 1946 when her father Dennis Mettrick started work there.
Peter and Jean were engaged in 1962. Jean was doing a nursing course in Manchester during their engagement. They bought a house in the summer of 1965 and decided it was about time to live in it together! So they were married on December 16th, 1965. They honeymooned in Cornwall.
On December 14th, 1966 Jean’s course finished and they set sail for India on January 4th, 1967! Previously Peter had done a PhD at Imperial College London, and through a contact there he took up a position in New Delhi where an Indian Institute of Technology was being set up. Peter taught Material Science for 2 years. At the end of 1967 Fiona, their first child, was born in India.
In December 1968 Peter returned to work at AERE and they lived in Shippon. They had their second child, Kristeen, in 1969. Living in Shippon without a car was not easy, so they moved into Abingdon. Peter had been involved in Christ Church in the early 1960’s and they returned to worship there with Peter being the pro-warden for a while, and then Church Warden of the Parish of Abingdon. Jonathan was born in 1971. Life became very busy for them as a family – Jean at home with three children and Peter working at Harwell and being very involved with Church life. Jean found that being part of a Christian community was really helpful to her at this time and in 1973 a ‘fishfinger lunch’ group started meeting. Four mums and their children met each week for the same meal of fishfingers, mash and icecream. One mum would take care of the children while the others read the bible and prayed together. There are still some Christian mums who meet for a fishfinger tea in Abingdon each week!
Jean then began part time work, which, over the coming years, included both medical research and secretarial work. Peter had a career change in 1986 and really enjoyed teaching science until his retirement in 2000.
Peter explored the idea of ordination in 1994 and began Reader training in 1997. He completed a 2 year part time course in Biblical and Theological Studies at Wycliffe Hall.
Jean completed one year of this part time course and then transferred to a 3 year full time Oxford degree course in Theology at Wycliffe Hall. She was ordained in 2002 and served her curacy in Harwell and Chilton. They moved to Saddleworth in 2007 taking up a House for Duty post. They started a service for children and their parents or carers to worship God together, and this has continued to grow over the years. They returned from Saddleworth in July 2011 and in September 2012 they decided to move back to Harwell. (And we’re very glad they did! - Ed)
Their secret of a happy marriage? Jean and Peter believe that it is about having God at the centre of their lives while continuing to learn about and promote each other’s wellbeing, and being able to forgive.