In Worksop

Woodhouse railway station

When I started my investigation of the construction history of St. Helen's church in Treeton, and other mediaeval churches along the outcrop of the Rotherham Red sandstone, I didn't expect that - 4 months later - I would have explored a good part of South Yorkshire and some of the most spectacular places in the Peak District National Park too.

A geological map of the area between Treeton and Worksop

Having surveyed St. Andrew's in Bolton upon Dearne, which has been described as a “poor unrestored little church”, I set off to visit St. Mary the Virgin in Handsworth, which can clearly be seen from Treeton, but I found it locked; however, not to be deterred on a sunny day in May, I took advantage of a passing bus which, if luck was on my side, I knew would drop me off at Woodhouse railway station, in time for the next train to Worksop - in Nottinghamshire.

A section of the Chesterfield Canal in Worksop

45 minutes later, after a brisk walk from Worksop railway station that took me through its historic town centre - when getting my first glimpse of the west front of Worksop Priory - I was struck by the difference in the stonework between its lowest stage and the others that rise above it.

A general view of the west front of Worksop Priory