Sandal Castle

A view across the River Calder from Sandal Castle

When planning my days out in West Yorkshire, using public transport, my original idea had been to take a much closer look at some of the ancient stone built monuments that I had never visited before or had only seen very briefly in passing; however, using freely available information from the West Yorkshire Geology Trust, I discovered a few new places where I could clearly see the relationship between the geology and the stone built architecture. 

Dip and scarp topography

At first glance, Sandal Castle doesn’t appear to offer much for the Geotourist as - like Pontefract Castle - it was demolished at the end of the English Civil War and only fragments of the stonework remain. 

Set on an escarpment of Carboniferous sandstone overlooking the broad valley of the River Calder,  there are some fine all round views of the dip and scarp topography - and the rocky foundations of the castle are well exposed.

The British Geological Survey maps that are available to me clearly show that there is some doubt about the stratigraphic nomenclature of the rock that underpins Sandal Castle. Although the details of the geology here are debatable, the fine ashlar and rubble stone in the remaining walls are obviously very different - one has been dug out whilst constructing the motte and bailey and the other has been brought in from a source of a much better quality building stone.

Sandal Castle