St. Leonard's Church

A general view of St. Leonard's church in Thrybergh

Approaching St. Leonard's church from its main entrance on the road from Thrybergh to Doncaster, the sandstone walling seen in boundary walls – with its distinctive yellow colour – has been quarried from the Dalton Rock; however, as previously seen in the boundary walling on the Doncaster road, some of the blocks have a reddish tinge similar to “Rotherham Red” sandstone.

Colour variation in sandstone to the boundary walling

Looking at the church as a whole - essentially comprising an aisleless nave extended in the 12th century, a 14th century chancel, a 15th century tower and a 17th century porch - the principal building stone is yellow/buff coloured sandstone, which suggests that it has been mainly quarried from the Dalton Rock.

Evidence of extension, restoration and repair to the north elevation

A closer examination of the external fabric reveals considerable variation in the style of masonry between these different periods, with rubble walling and roughly shaped quoins used for the oldest parts of the structure and squared and coursed ashlar for later additions, as seen in other mediaeval churches in the region.

Various phases of restoration to the south elevation of the chancel

Various phases of restoration have taken place over the years - by Victorian architects in 1871 and 1874 and as part of later essential repairs to the relatively soft Dalton Rock - and this makes it difficult to analyse the construction history of St. Leonard's church in a brief visit.

A detail of the masonry on the north elevation of the nave

As with other churches in South Yorkshire that are considered to have been built around the time of the Norman conquest of Britain in 1066, the dating of the masonry has been the subject of debate. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner and English Heritage assign it to the Norman or overlap period, but the official church guide suggests a date of c.900 AD.

A blocked doorway with irregularly shaped quoins

The masonry to the jambs of the blocked door and the quoins to the south side of the nave is very irregular and uses very local stone, in a similar way to the oldest visible walls at St. John the Baptist's church in Wales.

A detail of quoins to the north elevation of the nave