The Chancel - Sandstone

A mixture of building stones

Taking a quick look at the outside of the chancel, the pattern of the stone masonry is very different to that previously seen in the Brampton chapel and other parts of St. Helen’s church.

The Chancel

Viewing the chancel as a whole, the Rotherham Red sandstone walling is built of roughly squared blocks, with larger, more precisely cut stones used for the buttresses.

The general weathering characteristics of this sandstone - especially its susceptibility to cavernous decay - appear to be uniform, as does the growth of algae and blackening – the latter due to its proximity to a former coking plant that was at the heart of The Battle of Orgreave.

The colour of the Rotherham Red sandstone is also much lighter, with yellowish varieties similar to those seen in many of the walls that still exist in Treeton.

The Chancel

Looking up to parapet level, the top courses of the walls have been raised with blocks of sandstone of similar nature to those already seen elsewhere – presumably as part of the major work that took place, when St. Helen’s church was being redesigned in the perpendicular style.

The north elevation

Although, upon close inspection, it can be seen that the walling around the window to the south elevation has been partially rebuilt, the pattern of masonry would suggest that the walling to the chapel was built at approximately the same time - late 13th to early 14th century.