The Romans left behind many coins, a villa and perhaps also the name of the village, albeit considerably different from the one we are now familiar with. Earliest records give us 'Beretun', which derives from the Saxon 'outlying farm, grain enclosure or grange'. Exactly when it became known with its adjunct of 'in the beans' is rather a puzzle. There are some twenty Bartons in England, and a deed of 1331 refers to the village as Barton on Trent, a name that led to confusion with Burton on Trent. As Barton in le Benes it was mentioned in a 14th century document, and by the reign of Henry V111 it was noted for its profusion of bean crops. However it would seem this fact had probably been used long before his time to distinguish this from other places of similar name.