The South Aisle

The renewed window in the south aisle

In my previous post, which briefly describes the porch at St. Helen’s church, I considered that the characteristics of the stone masonry are very similar to those seen in the south aisle and that they appear to form a single phase of construction.

A detail of  the buttress

Having never studied any primary documents that relate to its construction or restoration history - and not trained as an archaeologist - my observations reflect my experience as a geologist only.

The sandstone walling all appears to be original but, at the west end, the sharp lines and relatively clean and lightly weathered surfaces show that the buttress has been substantially repaired.

Both of the windows - one of which is squeezed in  behind the buttress - have been renewed in the same oolitic limestone that has been used in the porch. 

Looking at the details of the parapet, the original drip moulding forms the base of a single course of Rotherham Red sandstone, which is of completely different character to the walling beneath it and to the stonework in the lower part of the tower.

Standing back to look at the south elevation as a whole, it is now possible to observe some of the marked changes in the structure that took place when further additions to the church were made in the perpendicular style - especially the development and embellishment of parapets.

A general view of the south elevation of St. Helen's church