Planning a Day Out to Batley & Birstall

 

A sign at Batley railway station

 

Following on from my brief visit to the village of Wortley, principally to see Wortley Hall and St. Leonard’s church, my next day out on the buses and trains was to explore Batley and Birstall in West Yorkshire - on the second Saturday of the Heritage Open Days (HOD) festival.

 

The locations of Treeton and Birstall

 

In previous years, I had made a considerable effort to travel far to visit one of the mediaeval churches that opened its doors - Barwick-in-Elmet, Scarcliffe, Methley, Ault Hucknall, Whitkirk and Kirkthorpe - but it was becoming increasingly difficult to justify my travel time to remote villages, where the buses often only run every 2 hours.

 

A British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge for Batley and Birstall

 

On this occasion, I was aware that Batley Library and the Grade II* listed St. Peter’s church was open for HOD and that a British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge would give me a good reason to further explore the textile producing towns of West Yorkshire – as I had done earlier in the year at Morley, Halifax and Huddersfield.

 

An extract from the No. 201 bus timetable

 

As I was becoming increasingly aware of, a day out on the buses and trains from Treeton – which has been described as a “downtrodden backwater” and “the forgotten village” and the bus services have been cut to the bone – had started to take a lot of organising. Although I had caught a train to Leeds and then a bus to my final destination several times before, the No. 201 bus takes an hour to get to Batley and I therefore decided to catch another train at Leeds railway station.

 

An extract from the National Rail Journey Planner

Having established the quickest way to get to Batley, albeit not covered by my travel pass, the next step was to plan a route from Batley and Birstall, where several properties had appeared in the postcode search for my Photo Challenge, but were located some distance from St. Peter’s church.

 

The topography around Batley and Birstall

 

Although only a short distance between Birtley and Birstall as the crow flies, looking at the topographic map, these listed buildings are spread across a valley formed by a tributary of the River Calder and a walk up to the Bagshaw Museum required a walk up an escarpment formed by the Emley Rock – at an elevation 65 m higher than the entrance to Wilton Park on Bradford Road.

 

An extract from the No. 283 bus timetable

 

Whilst in the area, I also planned to visit Batley Cemetery to continue a personal project to photograph some of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) headstones, which had regimental crests that I had not seen before, so I thought it best to catch the No. 283 bus from Batley to Birstall - to reduce the stress on my ageing knees on what would be a long day out.

 

 

As with many trips to cemeteries to find these CWGC headstones, I started by downloading an Excel spreadsheet from their website before editing into a format that I could include in my worksheet for the day. Very often, those headstones on the CWGC website are actually non standard memorials and, to eliminate these, I used the War Graves Photographic Project website and finally found a plot plan to help me find those on my list.

 

The plot plan for Batley Cemetery

 

St. Leonard’s Church in Wortley

 

St. Leonard's church

When investigating the mediaeval churches in South Yorkshire and the surrounding counties, one of the things that particularly interests me about them is that the various phases of building show variations in the style of masonry. 

 

Yellowish sandstone inside the porch

 

With most of the Victorian and occasional Georgian churches that I have visited, there is usually very little variation in the masonry and I found this to be the case with St. Leonard’s church. When entering from the churchyard, it was only when seeing the yellowish sandstone inside the porch – probably a further use of Grenoside Sandstone in Wortley – that I took notice of the stonework. 

 

A view east along the nave to the chancel

 

Entering the south door, the first thing that I noticed was that the interior was completely plastered and no stonework was visible; however, there are numerous wall monuments dedicated to the Stuart-Montagu-Wortley-Mckenzie family of Wortley Hall. 

 

A monument to members of the Stuart-Wortley family

On the north wall, the first of these is a large pale coloured alabaster monument, with serpentinite columns, which commemorates James Archibald Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie (d.1845), his son John Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie (d.1855) and his grandson James Frederick Stuart-Wortley (d.1870), with the monument being erected by the latter’s brothers and sisters. 

 

A simple Carrara marble plaque

Beneath this monument, there are two very plain veined Carrara marble plaques, the first of which is dedicated to Archibald Ralph Montagu Stuart Wortley Mackenzie (d.1953), 3rd Earl of Wharncliffe, and his wife Maud (d.1979). The second is dedicated to Alan James Montagu Stuart Wortley Mackenzie (d.1987), 4th Earl of Wharncliffe, and his wife Aline (d.2001). 

 

A simple Carrara marble plaque

 

Above the arch that leads to the north aisle of the chancel, there are two simple plaques that commemorate Edward Law (d.1860), who worked for 23 years as the head gardener at Wortley Hall, and Clement Laughton (d.1911), who was the agent for the Earls of Wharncliffe for 37 years – which are made of white and grey marble respectively, but I could not see them clearly. 

 

Memorials to Edward Law and Clement Laughton

 

Entering the chancel, I had a quick look at the wall monuments on either side of the priest’s door on the south wall of its south aisle, before photographing the ornate monument to Mary Wortley (d.1794) by Charles Regnart – a sculptor whose work I hadn’t encountered before. 

 

The monument to Mary Wortley

 

Veined Carrara marble has been used for the inscribed panel, with back panels of what looks like black Carboniferous Limestone that has lost its polish. These polished limestones were widely produced in Co. Kilkenny and Co. Galway, in the Republic of Ireland, and also Belgium. 

The monument to Edward Wortley

The monument to Edward Wortley (d.1761) looks like it might be made with Portoro marble from La Spezia in the Liguria region of Italy and another marble for the inscribed panel – which is probably Carrara marble - but my photo of this is quite dark and not very sharp and I would therefore need to have another much closer look. 

 

The monument to Joanna Margaret Montagu-Stuart-Wortley

 

Set against the east wall of the chapel is another white marble sculpture of Margaret Stuart Wortley Mackenzie (d.1808), who is depicted in a sitting position and reading a book. This monument was made by the renowned sculptor John Flaxman and Histtoric England refer to it being set in an older trefoil-headed niche with colonnettes. 

 

George Francis Dudley-Montagu-Stuart-Wortley

 

Next to this is a brown veined alabaster monument to George Francis Dudley-Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (d.1894), the eldest child of Francis John (later the 2nd Earl of Wharncliffe) and Ellen Montagu-Stuart-Wortley, who are commemorated by a simple plaque below – which is made with a Carrara marble inscribed panel and is framed in what could be another Italian marble from the Apuan Alps, Bardiglio Capella. 

 

The monument to Francis John 2nd Earl of Wharncliife and his wife Ellen

Another simple plaque in the south chapel is the monument to Joanna Margaret Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (d.1981), which has an inscribed Carrara marble panel set on a grey slab that may be another variety of Bardiglio marble. 

 

The monument to Joanna Margaret Montagu-Stuart-Wortley

 

The history and relationships of the various members of interconnected families needs a very experienced genealogist to unravel, but I was interested to see the connection to the Montagu family from Beaulieu, where I had my wedding reception many years ago. 

 

Francis Dudley Montagu-Stuart-Wortley

 

I finished my quick look at the wall monuments by photographing that of Francis Dudley-Montagu-Stuart-Wortley (d.1893), the second son of John the 2nd Lord of Wharncliffe, and his wife Maria Elizabeth (d.1891), which is made of dark brown veined alabaster from Tutbury in Staffordshire and was erected by their children in 1894. 

 

The clock mechanism

 

After talking to various people at this Heritage Open Days event, I was asked if I would like to go up the tower to see the clock mechanism and its eight bells (1893), which the National Churches Trust describes as being said by some to be the sweetest peals in South Yorkshire. 

 

The bell frame

I have been up into the belfry of several mediaeval churches during my travels, which are normally accessed up a spiral staircase, but at St. Leonard’s church this is obtained by climbing up a very long and sturdy ladder that has its side rails cut from a trunk as single pieces.

The ladder to the bell tower

St. Leonard's Churchyard in Wortley

The west lychgate

After my very brief exploration of Wortley Hall and some of its estate buildings, as part of my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge, I made my way back to Halifax Road and entered St. Leonard’s churchyard by the lychgate opposite Park Avenue – one of two providing an entrance to the churchyard - which was built as a war memorial in 1921. 

 

The war memorial lychgate

 

Soon after arriving in Wortley and having a look at the buildings on Halifax Road, I took a couple of photos of the east end and the south elevation of St. Leonard’s church from the pavement, but I didn’t notice any features of particular interest. 

 

The north elevation of St. Leonard's church

 

Once inside the churchyard, I just took another photo of the north elevation and then went to find the Grade II listed cross base, with a sundial pedestal (1679). The sundial disc no longer remains and, after taking a couple of quick snaps for my Photo Challenge, continued down to the churchyard extension. 

 

The cross base and sundial pedestal

Here, I went to find the three Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones for Private C.K. Francis of the Queen’s Royal Regiment, Leading Aircraftwoman Beatrice Turner of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and Driver Ethelbert Clarke of the Royal Field Artillery – all of which are replacement headstones made of Botticino marble. 

 

Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones

The only regimental crest that I had not seen before was that of the Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey), with the details of the lamb and flag and the Latin motto – Pristinae Virtutis Memor (In memory of the ancient virtue) – having very sharp profiles. 

 

The Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey) regimental crest

I didn’t spend much time looking at the rest of the headstones and memorials in the churchyard extension, which are mainly a mixture of Victorian headstones, made of fine grained sandstone that is probably the Greenmoor Rock, and C20 granite memorials, but the decoration of one memorial did catch my eye. 

 

A granite headstone

It is made from what I think is Peterhead granite from Aberdeenshire, into which have been cut a cross with Celtic knotwork, geometrical motifs, scrolls and what look to me like acanthus leaves. The designs are quite unusual, but I didn’t see the inscription or the date on the headstone, which may otherwise have provided information about the style of the design.

 

A detail of the granite headstone

Walking back up the hill towards the old churchyard, I stopped in one place to take a few more panoramic photos of the landscape to the north-west of Wortley, before taking advantage of the opening of the church for the Heritage Open Days festival. 

 

A panoramic view from St. Leonard's churchyard

A Brief Exploration of Wortley Hall

 

The crest of James Archibald Stuart-Wortley

My brief visit to the Wortley Hall estate, to photograph the Grade II* listed Wortley Hall and its associated buildings and other structures as part of my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge, continued by having a look at the Grade II listed steps and retraining wall to the east of the hall.

 

Views of the balustraded retaining wall

Taking in the panoramic view across the estate towards Pilley, I then turned my attention to the east elevation of the original part of the hall, which was rebuilt in 1686 by Sir Richard Wortley on the same site as the C16 hall and then remodelled from 1742 to 1746 by Giacomo Leoni for Edward Wortley-Montagu. 

 

The east entrance to Wortley Hall

 

Pevsner barely mentions this, only stating that the east wing appears Early Victorian but may incorporate the house designed by John Platt, with the Historic England (HE) description being typically dry and providing no comment on his architectural style, except to mention the Ionic columned doorcase to the main entrance. 

 

The south front remodelled by Giacomo Leoni

 

After taking a few record photographs of this elevation, I went to find the Grade II listed terrace steps and retaining walls to the gardens, which HE date as probably early C19 and are built with rock-faced and ashlar sandstone, with the copings surmounted by gadrooned vases. 

 

Views of the steps on the terrace

When wandering around the south terrace, I was very interested to come across an information panel that describes the fossilised stump of an Upper Carboniferous club moss, Lepidodendron, which is thought to have been found in a local coal mine. 

 

The information board describing the fossil Lepidodendron stump

Fossils like these are quite rare and, in Sheffield, I have seen examples of these at the Botanical Gardens and at the Wadsley Fossil Forest - which have since been buried – and I was therefore surprised to see that it had become quite overgrown in such a well maintained historic garden. 

 

The partially obscured fossil Lepidodendron stump

Continuing with my wander around the gardens, I took advantage of the sunshine to take a few snaps of the south elevation of the hall, which Pevsner describes as being “Good Grecian” and HE refers to the pairs of Ionic columns flanking the outer bays. 

 

The south front of Wortley Hall

To the west of Leoni’s remodelled south front is the west wing (1784-88), which the HE description attributes to John Platt for Lady Mary Bute (d.1784) and completed for James Archibald Stuart-Wortley under the guidance of John Carr of York. 

 

The west wing of Wortley Hall

 

Returning to the south end of the western terrace, the Grade II listed early C19 arbour was the next structure on my Photo Challenge, which has a balustraded wall and scrolled brackets carved with rose and oak leaf motifs, but is only included for its group value. 

 

The arbour

Heading back to the south front of Wortley Hall, a circular pool with a statue is sited at the centre of the garden, which HE credits Lady Caroline Creighton - the wife of James Archibald Stuart-Wortley - as being responsible for the survival of the early C19 landscaping. The Italian white Carrara marble statue of a male figure, which is seated on three entwined dolphins, has unfortunately lost part of both arms. 

 

The circular pool and statue

 

Moving nearer to the south front, I took a couple of photos of the 3-bay central pediment, which projects from the outer bays on each side and has engaged Ionic columns below. The crest is that of James Archibald Stuart-Wortley, which was added after his elevation to the peerage in 1826. 

 

The pediment and engaged Ionic columns

 

Finding the French doors on the south front open, I popped inside to take a quick look at the fireplaces, where I hoped that I might find some interesting marbles. Although I have been told that there are fireplaces that make good use of marble elsewhere in the house, there weren’t any here and I just took a few general record photos and returned to the garden. 

 

A few views of the interior

 

I only spent 30 minutes wandering around the gardens and didn’t examine the sandstone ashlar used for Wortley Hall. From a distance, although the pediment and upper part of the walling beneath the eaves has weathered to reveal a yellow colour, which is characteristic of the Grenoside Sandstone, much of the sandstone lacks this colour but I can’t think of any other sandstone in this part of South Yorkshire that might have been used.

 

A view from the south-west