Laughton-en-le-Morthen - Architecture

A gate to the garden of the Old Hall

Arriving in Laughton-en-le-Morthen from Dinnington, the bus passes St. John's church in Throapham before entering the outskirts of the village, where it is obvious that the building stone used here is Permian dolomitic limestone.

Vernacular architecture on St. John's Road

Walking along the main road to All Saints church, a variety of old agricultural and vernacular buildings can be seen, with limestone used for walls and dressings and clay pantiles for the roofs.

An 18th century house with a modern roof

In common with the various limestones seen in Rotherham and Doncaster, the Cadeby Formation contains beds of various thickness and quality that are differentially used for the various structural elements in a building, and these are evident in a wide variety of architectural styles.

Old Hall Farm with limestone walls and a Carboniferous stone slate roof

All Saints church, which attains a height of 56 metres and can be seen from 100 km away, is clearly built out of dolomitic limestone and - 100 metres or so to the south – there is a large, shallow quarry where a few exposures of massive limestone can still be found.

Geology and Architecture in Laughton-en-le-Morthen

Looking closely at a map that I discovered when researching the geology and old quarries around Laughton-en-le-Morthen, this is described as a sandstone quarry and it is quite likely that the Yellow Sands Formation – of great value for iron foundries – was principally excavated here. Although the overlying limestone was probably used for building stone, other limestone quarries are also found in the area.

Old agricultural buildings