Heritage Open Days

A view from the tower at All Saints church in Aston

Having surveyed more than 25 mediaeval churches in and around South Yorkshire over a period of 6 months, summer was now coming to an end and I had still not gained access to the interior of all of the mediaeval churches that are set on the Rotherham Red sandstone - with those in Aston and Whiston still outstanding.

Heritage Open Days

Unexpectedly, taking advantage of the national Heritage Open Days event, I finally got the chance to visit All Saints church in Aston. Along with St. Mary's church in Handsworth, which I had already tried to visit – and ended up in Worksop on a Thursday afternoon - I was not going to miss the opportunity to fully explore both of these very interesting churches.

A detail of a memorial at St. Mary's church in Handsworth

Although I have demonstrated on this Language of Stone Blog that, with some good planning, it is possible to travel far and wide from Treeton using public transport – to see a wide variety of spectacular scenery and ancient monuments – I only had 4 days to explore a wide range of historic buildings that I had not seen before in this region.

A view through the squint at All Saints church in Aston

With Heritage Open Days normally coinciding with the Rotherham Show, an event that I don't usually miss, I had to make the most of my time and I therefore decided to finish off a very long weekend by exploring Sheffield Town Hall – where there are very many polished stones.

A bust of Queen Victoria in Sheffield Town Hall