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| All Hallows Church - The South Chapel |
Taking
a quick look at the exterior of All Hallows church in Harthill, it is
essentially built of mottled varieties of “Rotherham Red”
sandstone, with limestone used for windows and
dressings.
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| An original 13th century window |
In
the south chapel, large blocks of squared limestone also constitute a
large proportion of the walling stone and have been randomly mixed
with blocks of “Rotherham Red” sandstone, which suggests that an
older structure has been recycled.
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| Limestone and Sandstone |
Surveying
the fabric much more closely, the various phases of “restoration”
can be determined – from the rebuilding by Victorian architects to
essential repairs undertaken in recent times – by
examining the
shape, size, tooling, the weathering and the colour of the blocks of stone.
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| Restored Windows - Permian Limestone and Jurassic Limestone |
There
has been no consistency in the materials used throughout its
history of
restoration,
often
with the local “Rotherham Red” sandstone and dolomitic limestone
being mixed together or with one replacing another, as seen in the buttresses to the tower and other places.
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| A view of the restored buttresses to the tower |
As
I have discovered, when undertaking an extremely
thorough
investigation of St. Helen's church in Treeton, it takes hydrochloric acid and scratch tests - at least - to determine the provenance of these various
stones.
