The church of St Catherine, built in stone with an octagonal spire rising to 100 feet (30 m), was consecrated in 1843.

Barton upon Irwell is currently represented in Westminster by Barbara Keeley MP for Worsley and Eccles South.

[8] Barton was joined with the municipal borough of Eccles in 1933 which was at the time part of the Lancashire administrative county.

[2] The Lords of the Manor; the de Traffords were Roman Catholics and the Grade I listed All Saints' Church was built at their expense between 1865 and 1868 by Edward Welby Pugin.

The buildings were taken over in 1973 by the Church of the Nazarene, but were later abandoned and demolished in 2001 for housing, causing controversy over the treatment of the graveyard by the developers.

From the late 19th century, the road from Barton to Stretford was carried over the canal by a low-level swing bridge, the opening of which for shipping to pass caused lengthy traffic delays to vehicles.

Barton is now a thriving general aviation airfield owned by Peel Holdings and is the base for over 150 private and club aircraft.

Featured in the last scene of the 1961 film A Taste of Honey, the Barton Aqueduct and Swing Bridge are seen as the character of Tom sails away.