For many years, Barton had two churches a few hundred metres apart, but the internationally known tenth century church of Saint Peter is no longer used for regular worship, but is under the care of English Heritage and is open at weekends. Potential visitors to Saint Peter's should check the opening hours on the English Heritage web site.

Access to Saint Mary's is usually available on most days, as it is a Cascade church in the Lincolnshire Church Tourism Cascade. You can visit it and adjacent churches in the area as part of the Northern Lincolnshire Church Trails scheme. Provision has been made for level access for wheelchairs, baby carriers, zimmer frames, and spaces are available in the body of the church for wheelchair-using worshippers. An amplifying loop is used at services to facilitate those using hearing aids.

Vistors often comment on the lightness of the church, due to its relative lack of stained glass. The East window, however does contain a composite panel of fragments of mediaeval glass, as shown below. In 2012, an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary was presented to the church by a parishioner.