Greenmoor Rock on Ecclesall Road

 

Greenmoor Rock from the old quarry behind Rustlings View

The day after my trip to Sheffield, to look at some of the architectural sculpture by Frank Tory, I set off from Treeton to meet my friend Stuart from the Sheffield U3A Geology Group, who I had last met at the end of April when undertaking a recce for the June field trip to Tideswell Dale, Tansley Dale and Cressbrook Dale. 

 

Ecclesall Road on the 1894 and 1905 OS maps

 

Alighting from the No. 81 bus at the Ecclesall Road/Junction Road stop with several minutes to spare before meeting him outside the Trinity United Reformed Church, I had a quick look at some of the semi-deatched and terraced houses that had been built on the site of an old quarry on the Greenmoor Rock, sometime between the publication of the 1894 and 1905 editions of the Ordnance Survey (OS) map.

 

The geology around Ecclesall Road and Brincliffe Edge

The Greenmoor Rock at Brocco Bank, Ecclesall Road and Brincliffe Edge was quarried extensively for building stone and for use in headstones, with the John Gregory and Son Ltd. brickworks exploiting the mudstones that are often predominant in this formation. 

 

No. 715 Ecclesall Road

Over the years, I have explored this part of Sheffield in some detail and have led field trips with the Sheffield U3A Geology Group and as part of the Nether Edge Festival to look at the geology that can still be seen in the old quarries and in many substantial Victorian villas in Nether Edge and late Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses on Ecclesall Road. 

 

An old quarry face in the back garden

In a few places, along Kenilworth Place, gennels in the terraced houses and spaces between the semi-detached houses, partly overgrown quarry faces can be seen at the back gardens and loose stone has been used for rockeries in the front gardens.

 

A rockery at No. 707 Ecclesall Road

Although some of the sandstone produced for grindstones was described as Brincliffe Blue, due to the reduced oxidation state of its iron bearing minerals, much of the sandstone used for the substantial terraced houses on Ecclesall Road actually has a green/grey colour. 

 

Edwardian terraced houses

 

Making my way up to Marmion Road, I spent a few minutes exploring the area to the rear of Rustlings View, I was interested to see a small exposure of Greenmoor Rock in a remannt of an old quarry face next to the electricity substation. 

 

An old quarry face to the rear of Rustlings View

 

Walking up the steps and scrambling up the loose material at the base of the quarry face, I managed to obtain a couple of specimens with my Estwing hammer and, retracing my steps back to Ecclesall Road, I took a photo of the modest terraced houses further up the hill before going back to the church to wait for Stuart to arrive.

 

Late Victorian terrraced houses

  

Scissors Paper Stone and Frank Tory

 

Scissors Paper Stone at St. John's church in Ranmoor

Towards the end of 2023, following an illustrated talk that I had given to the Ranmoor Society the year before, I had been contacted by Mary Grover to ask if I would be prepared to contribute to the Scissors Paper Stone community history project that she and others were working on – to help raise funds for the restoration of the spire at St. John’s church in Ranmoor. 

 

An introduction to the church tour by Mary Grover

 

In addition to providing general advice, based on my experience of historic architecture and buildings stones, I had been asked to give a talk entitled The Stones of St John’s - A Geological Assessment on 6th July; however, I was interested in some of the other events that would be held through the year, the first of which was a tour of the church.

 

A good attendance of the church tour

 

Although I had only last visited the church a few days before Church Explorers Week, to closely examine its decorative stones, I wanted to use this event as an opportunity to have another quick look at the sandstone used for the fabric and take a few photos that I might use in my talk. 

 

Ancaster limestone tracery in a south aisle window

 

Once Mary had finished her talk outside the church, everyone convened to the interior to attend the formal opening of the display of artwork by Margaret Bennett, the Committee Secretary of the South Yorkshire branch of the Victorian Society, who had helped to organise the event. 

 

Views of the walling on the south aisle

 

I hung back for a few minutes to take a look at several parts of the walling, where the sandstone had been repaired with what seems to be a sand and cement skim coat and, where spalling of the stone is pronounced, I discreetly removed a couple of pieces with my stainless steel knife. 

 

Samples of sandstone from the south asle of St. John's church

 

After joining the attendees inside the church to catch up with a few colleagues over tea and biscuits, I said my goodbyes and headed back to Sheffield City centre on the No. 120 bus, where the east side of Fargate was illuminated by bright sunshine. 

 

A carved tympanum at Carmel House

 

Carmel House (1892), on the corner with Norfolk Row, was designed by Herbert Watson Lockwood for the YMCA and it has many fine stone carvings by the eminent architectural sculptor Frank Tory, whose work at St. John’s church is exemplary – especially the capitals to the arcades and the reredos. - which I would be mentioning in my forthcoming presentation. 

 

A carved tympanum at Carmel House

 

The Pevsner achitectural guide for Sheffield by Ruth Harman and John Minnis refers to 10 arched panels that depict the days of Creation and the progress of Divine Law but, with the Scissors Paper Stone schedule of events including a talk by Sylvia Dunkley – considered to be a national authority on Frank Tory and Sons - I just took a couple of record photos and continued along Fargate. 

 

The Black Stone Walk elevation of Caffè Nero

 

Except for the architectural sculpture produced by Frank Tory and his twin sons Alfred and William, whose work can be seen in several listed buildings in Sheffield, I have never seen any reference to any other sculptors working in Sheffield and have often wondered who might have undertaken work on the fine Victorian buildings that can still be seen on Fargate – including the former Barclays Bank (1897), which is now the Caffè Nero. 

 

An elaborate datestone at Caffè Nero

 

Frank Tory came to Sheffield in 1880 to work on the long since demolished Corn Exchange and the architects, M.E. Hadfield and Son, were so impressed with his work that he was encouraged to relocate to Sheffield and set up his own business. Having done so, several other prominent Sheffield architects, including Flockton & Gibbs and W.J. Hale, made good use of his services. 

 

Granites at Caffè Nero

During a previous Sheffield U3A Geology Group field trip, I had been shown a now out of print Sculpture Trail by Bob Hodges and later given a photocopy, which highlights the work of the Tory family that can be seen in Sheffield city centre; however, I needed to do some shopping before catching my hourly bus back to Treeton and I just took a couple of photos of the various granites used in the façade of Caffè Nero, before returning to Sheffield a few days later. 

 

Pairs of grotesques on the gate piers

 

On the corner of High Street and East Parade, the brick built Parade Chambers (1884) by M.E. Hadfield and Son has its Huddersfield stone dressings decorated with fine architectural sculpture, which includes a magnificent range of grotesques and fantastical beasts on the high level string course. Next to this building are four massive gate piers, which replaced the original ones in 1882 and are decorated with more wonderful grotesques, which I never cease to wonder at. 

 

A grotesque on a gate pier

Having taken a few more photos to add to my collection, which show these in various lighting conditions at different times of the day, I popped into Sheffield Central Library to return a book and say hello to my friend Claire and noted that flyers for my talk had been distribute, which was a timely reminder that some more preparation needed to be done.

 

A flyer at Sheffield Central Library

 

Listed Buildings in Burghwallis

 

Burghwallis war memorial 

At the end of a very full day out to Campsall and Burghwallis, to conclude Church Explorers Week, the discovery of the red sandstone at St. Helen's church certainly provided food for thought and, before catching the No. 51 bus back to Doncaster, I completed a very brief Photo Challenge – starting in St. Helen's churchyard. 

 

My Photo Challenge for Burghwallis

 

First on my list was the Grade II Listed Coward family gravestone, commemorating James Coward (d.1780) and his parents Ann (d.1786) and Thomas (d.1794) and has the inscription 'In blooming youth unto this place I code, Readers repent your lot may be the same" beneath a scrolled pediment with roundels. 

 

A detail of the Coward family gravestone

 

Outside the porch are the remains of a stone cross, made from dolomitic limestone from the Cadeby Formation, which is both Grade II Listed and a Scheduled Monument and is thought to date to the late mediaeval period and in its original position. It is also considered to have once had a sundial on the top of the shaft, but this has been replaced with a C20 canopied cross. 

 

The mediaeval cross in St. Helen's churchyard

From St. Helen’s churchyard, I took a few photos of the rear and south-west elevation of the Old Rectory, now converted into three dwellings, which was rebuilt in 1815 by J. P. Pritchett and Charles Watson and is constructed with rendered brick. 

The rear elevation of the Old Rectory

 

On the south-west side of the churchyard is the Grade II* Listed St. Anne’s Rest Home, which Historic England (HE) considers to probably date to the early C16 and was extended in 1797 for George Anne and altered c.1820 for Michael Anne, with later additions. The description further mentions that it is built with Magnesian Limestone rubble masonry. 

 

St. Anne's Rest Home

I could only get a partial view from a distance but, when enlarging the single photo that I took, I can see that the walling is built with very thinly bedded limestone, which is probably locally quarried limestone from the Brotherton Formation, but the quoins and dressings are massive limestone from the Cadeby Formation. 

 

The gatepiers at the entrance to St. Anne's Rest Home

Making my back to Grange Lane, I continued past the entrance to St. Anne’s Rest Home, which has large rusticated massive dolomitic limestone gatepiers and, after noting the location of the bus stop, turned down Old Village Street and carried on to the south end of Well Lane, where I found the Grade II Listed pinfold. 

 

The pinfold on Well Lane

 

Returning to Grange Lane, I completed my Photo Challenge for Burghwallis at the war memorial (1922), which is in the form of a wheel cross and HE describe it as being made of Portland stone, but I didn’t get close enough to confirm this.

Burghwallis war memorial

Red Sandstone in St. Helen's Church III

 

Samples from St. Helen's church in Burghwallis (21 mm diameter coin)

Unless a programme of repairs is undertaken at St. Helen's church in Burghwallis, which requires the renewal of some of the red sandstone, further investigation of its potential provenance using petrographic analysis or even using a hand held X-ray fluorescence spectrometer is unlikely. 

 

The stone library at Sheffield Hallam University

Although I had to undertake stone identification and matching, when working in the building restoration industry in London, and later produced the Triton Stone Library – now in the Redmires Building at Sheffielld Hallam University as part of a slightly larger collection - and often advised Triton Building Restoration Ltd. and have undertaken various projects as a consultant, I have never had access to this equipment and have relied solely on a simple tool kit of a hand lens, bottle of hydrochloric acid, a stainless steel knife and a Wentworth scale. 

 

My tool kit

 

When starting my investigation of mediaeval churches in February 2016, beginning at St. Helen's church in Treeton, I had hoped to reconnect with an interest in standing buildings archaeology, which had been sparked by work at All Saints church in Pontefract. 

 

St. Helen's church in Treeton

Although this never happened in practice and sometimes it seems quite an academic persuit of knowledge, by visiting nearly 150 mediaeval churches and photograph more than 2700 listed buildings in South Yorkshire and the surrounding counties, it has provided me with the type of experience that cannot be achieved in the laboratory.

 

St. John's church in Hooton Roberts

 

By the time I got to St. John's church in Hooton Roberts, I had already visited churches and the historic buildings in Aston, Todwick, Harthill and Whiston and a couple of old quarries on the Rotherham Red variety of the Mexborough Rock and I had seen considerable colour variation, from a typical dull red/purplish colour to mottled yellow/red varieties.

 

The geology around Hooton Roberts

I had passed through this small village very many times, when driving to work from High Green to Doncaster 30 years earlier and on the bus since living in Rotherham and, although I had never stopped to look around, I never doubted that its vernacular architecture is built with Rotherham Red sandstone or the typical light brown/yellowish coloured Mexborough Rock that I got glimpses of at Hooton Quarry and Denaby New Quarry. 

 

Red sandstone on Holmes Lane and nearby houses

It was only when discovering that the outcrops of rock at the top of Holmes Lane and beneath the churchyard wall are actually stongly reddened and that houses on this road and in the immediately vicinity are built with dark plum coloured stone did I start to think more about the geology here. 

 

Mexborough Rock affected by the Don Monocline

Having looked at the geological memoir and updated maps, and seeing that this is marked as the Pennine Upper Coal Measures Formation (PUCMF), I queried this with the British Geological Survey - based on the apparent dip of the roadside outcrops that is in the opposite direction to the dip of the strata affected by the Don Monocline on the south side of the River Don. 

 

Villages in Rotherham set on PUCMF sandstones

Now realising that the reddening of the soil to the north-east of Thrybergh Country Park is due to the arid and highly oxidising environment that affected the underlying PUCMF Wickersley Rock during the Permian Period – my observations of reddened building stones and soils in the fields in Thurcroft, Brampton-en-le-Morthen, Morthen and Wickersley have made me have some doubts about their provenance. 

 

The stratigraphic column showing PUCMF strata

 

While writing this Language of Stone Blog post, I compared small samples of red sandstone from St. Helen's church in Burghwallis to various specimens of Rotherham Red sandstone that I had collected from St. Helen's church in Treeton, quarries at Canklow Woods and West Bawtry Road in Rotherham and a drill core from my own house. 

 

Specimens of red sandstone in my rock collection

In July 2023, when visiting St. Peter's church in Old Edlington, I had assumed that the red/purple sandstone used in its fabric was a further example of Rotherham Red sandstone and I also included a couple of small specimens that I had obtained during a later visit. 

 

St. Peter's church in Old Edlington

The best colour match, as seen with the naked eye, were the specimens from St. Peter's church, which also contains medium grained sand as measured on my Wentworth scale. Looking at the specimens with my hand lens, the sand grains themselves looked slightly pink stained and constitute the bulk of the specimens, they have an open texture and are poorly cemented, with degraded feldspar or iron containing minerals not being obvious. 

 

Specimens from Burghwallis (L) and Old Edlington (R)

In comparison, the Rotherham Red sandstone samples have a red/lilac colour, are fine grained, well cemented and contain a considerable proportion of feldspar, clay minerals and oxidised iron bearing minerals, which collectively gives them quite a different appearance. 

 

Photomicrographs of Rotherham Red sandstone

 

When undertaking a stone matching exercise at St. Helen's church in Treeton, to find an alternative to the now unavailable Rotherham Red sandstone, a friend in Poland was curious about this and arranged for one of her colleagues to undertake a petrographic analysis for me. 

 

A summary of the petrographic analysis

 

Thin sections were prepared from a sample taken from St. Helen's church, the drill core and from the quarry at Canklow Woods. I have no experience of undertaking petrographic analysis but, to my eye, all three appear to be identical and I would therefore be very interested to see how they compare with the stone from St. Helen's church in Burghwallis. 

 

Specimens of PUCMF sandstone obtained from the farm track

 

Looking more closely at rocks that I had collected from Hooton Roberts back in 2016 and 2023, but I had just stored away, specimens that I obtained from the bank of a farm track to the north-east of the village and from the foundations of a house at the top of Holmes Lane, their colours and textures are much closer to the specimens from St. Helen's church in Burghwallis than those of Rotherham Red sandstone. 

 

Specimens of PUCMF sandstone obtained from Holmes Lane

Although this is by no means proof that the stone at Burghwallis was obtained from a quarry in the local PUCMF sandstone, the dull red/purple sandstone that I found at Hooton Roberts and later in old walls, farm buildings, houses and a few small roadside outcrops in Clifton, which is set on the Magnesian Limestone escarpment, demonstrates that the strata immediately beneath the Carboniferous/Permian unconformity can be uniformly reddened, and not just with a mottled red/yellow colouration as seen at St. James' church in High Melton.

 

Red sandstone in Clifton