The Old Holy Trinity Church

A general view of the south elevation

A stone's throw away from the New Holy Trinity Church in the village of Wentworth lie the partial ruins of the mediaeval Old Holy Trinity Church, which has Norman origins but whose oldest existing remains – the tower – dates to the 14th or 15th century, according to various sources. The church was reconstructed in the 17th century, firstly the Wentworth Chapel – which incorporates the original chancel and chapel – and then subsequently the nave in 1684 by William Wentworth, the 2nd Earl of Strafford.

A general view of the north elevation

Following the completion of the new church in 1877, the north elevation of the nave and the roof of the abandoned church was removed, the Wentworth Chapel restored in 1925 and in 1962, following storm damage, the tower was reduced to its current height.

The tower and nave 

Looking at the church as a whole, although there are variations in the style of masonry between the elements of a different age, the stone used to build it appears to be uniform in general character – a medium grained, cross-bedded Carboniferous sandstone that has been differentially weathered and which, with its high iron content, is bright orange to deep red in colour in places.

Views of the tower

The tower is built in large ashlar blocks and the windows of its west end are worth studying closely. The lowest window, with its very strange offset, has a Decorated Gothic design and the highest window appears to be in the Perpendicular Gothic style. It is therefore quite likely that there was an extension of the tower in the late 15th century – as marked by a very subtle change in the colour and texture of the masonry above the string course.

An old roofline on the east side of the tower

The quatrefoil window that is positioned halfway up the tower, however, appears to have been inserted at a later date. Various old rooflines on the east and north sides of the tower, and the position of gravestones, also provide evidence of the shape and position of the long since demolished mediaeval nave.

A detail of the weathering and erosion of the sandstone in the porch

Moving on to the remaining 17th century nave wall, compared to the plain stonework of both the mediaeval tower and the Wentworth Chapel, which are generally still in moderately good condition, the sandstone used in its north elevation has been extremely eroded, especially to the porch where the architectural details are barely discernible now.

The south elevation of the Wentworth Chapel

The exterior of the Wentworth Chapel is plain with simple windows and is notable mainly for various cartouches and a sculpted bird and beast set into panels and which are carved from Permian dolomitic limestone but, once inside, there are several fine Wentworth family monuments to see.

A dolomitic limestone cartouche