Geology & Architecture in Whiston

Whiston

Having spent a very busy weekend exploring the mediaeval churches in Handsworth and Aston - and Sheffield Town Hall - during the Heritage Open Days festival, I finished my investigation of the mediaeval churches set on the Rotherham Red sandstone by visiting the church of St. Mary Magdalene in the ancient village of Whiston. 

A few views of Whiston Brook

Most of the old part of the village sits in a fault bound trough, into which Whiston Brook flows, having previously cut a small steep sided valley through an escarpment of Rotherham Red sandstone, but St. Mary's church is set on the highest point of the village.

"Rotherham Red" sandstone around Treeton and Whiston

With the church overlooking Whiston Brook and its old quarries, it is extremely likely that the builders of the Norman church took their building stone from here, although the escarpment that forms Canklow Woods and Boston Park - a short distance to the north - was also widely exploited for building stone.

General views of an an old quarry in Whiston

A quick examination of the old quarry adjoining the churchyard of St. Mary's reveals that the exposures of Rotherham Red sandstone here are strongly cross-bedded and flaggy – as also seen in a roadside exposure on Chaff Lane – and this natural structure is emphasised in the upper sections of the quarry, where the bedrock at the surface is being weathered into subsoil.

Outcrops of "Rotherham Red" sandstone in Chaff Lane

Although much of the old quarry face is obscured by a scree of rock waste and soil and is heavily vegetated in places, there are various exposures of massive bedded sandstone that would have been selectively quarried for the best building stone. Like so many other disused quarries, it is a haven for teenagers and is littered with bottles, cans and associated debris and, while it is a potential field trip site, care needs to be taken when visiting it.

The Manorial Barn

Dating back to the time of Domesday Book, there are a handful of listed buildings scattered throughout the old part of the village, including the 17th century Whiston Hall and the 13th century thatched Manorial Barn, as well as numerous vernacular and agricultural buildings - where Rotherham Red sandstone is used as the principal building stone.

Whiston Methodist Church

Although surprisingly not protected with listed status, Whiston Methodist Church and Lychgate Hall also have some very interesting features. The external walls of the former are entirely constructed of uncoursed angular blocks of sandstone and the latter – which was built as the Church Institute in 1913 - contains a Gothic style window with elaborate tracery.

Lychgate Hall