St. Anne's Church in Baslow - Part 2

A detail of the clock on the east face of the tower

Having had a quick look at St. Anne’s church in Baslow, when on the way to Stoney Middleton, I returned a couple of days later to have a much closer look at the various details that provide clues to its construction history.

The north elevation of the chancel

Starting at the chancel, which was built in 1911, at a distance the yellow/orange colour of the sandstone used here clearly distinguishes it from the greyish Ashover Grit that is used in the north aisle and for the majority of church. Looking closer, the C20 masonry is well squared and laid and even courses, whereas that of the north aisle is extremely irregular, with large variations in the shape and size of the blocks and uneven courses.

Irregularly coursed masonry to the north aisle

To both the chancel and north aisle, there are 2-light foiled Geometric style windows, with a quatrefoil above. Those of the north aisle are from the 1853-54 restoration by Paxton and Stokes and these are mimicked in the chancel, which is itself a rebuild of the chancel that was renewed during the Victorian restoration.

The junction between the south aisle and the vestry

Moving round to the south elevation, the vestry has the same coloured sandstone as the chancel and this contrasts with the masonry of the south aisle, although the size and shape of the blocks in the C20 masonry are a good match to the mediaeval work.

A general view of the south elevation

The windows along the south elevation, including the clerestory to the nave and chancel are all square headed, which is a feature of the Perpendicular Gothic style, which commenced c. 1350 and this fits in the perceived late C14 date attributed to the clerestory by the church website.

The porch

The south porch is notable for using large blocks of an orange/red medium grained sandstone which, except for some small blocks in the upper courses, the west end and the jambs in the east window of the south aisle, is used nowhere else in the fabric of the church. The masonry is not bonded into the south aisle and it is therefore probably contemporary with the robust castellated parapets and crocketted finials that were added when the aisle roofs were raised in the C15.

The west elevation of the tower

The west end of the church shows various styles of masonry, with the best quality being the precisely squared, near ashlar quality blocks used in the tower, which is considered to be C13 in date. Looking closely at the masonry, there is a distinct difference in the colour of the lower and upper stage, but there is no change in the shape or size of the blocks.

The junction between the tower and the nave

To the right of the tower, the west end of the nave is butted up to the tower and is therefore of a later date, but it is built in crude coursed rubble masonry with a Victorian Geometric style window, which is presumably a reproduction of the original window, and a blocked opening beneath it.

The west end of the nave

At higher level, there is a very steep former roofline, above which are massive blocks of coarser grained greyish gritstone that has been used for the parapets. To the south of the nave, the west end of the south aisle reverts to better quality masonry comprising squared and coursed blocks.

The junction of the nave and the south aisle

Continuing round to the north elevation again, the high quality masonry to the tower again contrasts strongly with the crude irregularly coursed stonework of the north aisle and on the east face of the tower, there is another steep former roofline. This would appear to confirm that the present north aisle was the original nave and is therefore the oldest part of the church.

The junction between the tower and the north aisle