St. Mary's Church in Worsbrough

A detail of a Perpendicular Gothic style window

When arriving in Worsbrough Village to find St. Mary’s church closed, after a series of delays to my bus from Sheffield, I decided to just have a quick walk around the exterior to take a few record photographs and to come back another day.

A general view from the south-west

Starting with a general view taken from the south-west, my immediate impression was that this was yet another church that had been largely remodelled in the late 15th century. This was based on its transomed Perpendicular Gothic style windows to the south aisle and the bold castellated details, which can also be seen on the porch and tower.

A general view from the north-east

Walking clockwise around the church, the north aisle is of the same dimensions and has windows in the same style, as also in the south wall of the chancel. Looking closely at the ashlar masonry, although some of the yellow coloured sandstone is weathered at high level, the profiles are generally still very sharp.

Perpendicular Gothic style windows in the south aisle

According to Pevsner, the aisles were heightened in 1838 and the Historic England listing refers to the aisle being extensively remodelled during this restoration by J. P. Pritchett, therefore accounting for the relatively good condition of much of the masonry to the aisles.

The Norman window in the north chancel wall

The visible part of the exterior is the chancel, which is constructed in rubble masonry comprising generally flaggy sandstone with very high iron content, which is very similar to the general walling seen in much of the older vernacular architecture in the village. The round headed slit window in the north wall of the chancel is C12 and the east window is Decorated Gothic with reticulated tracery, which is typical of the early C14.

The east elevation of the chancel

Much of the chancel appears to be have been rebuilt, especially the quoins to the upper half and the well squared courses above the level of the apex of the arch contrast strongly with the masonry below. The parapets are of the same style as the adjoining aisles and it is therefore probable that the uppermost section was rebuilt during the restoration of 1838.

A general view from the south-east

The vestry, which is butted onto the south wall of the chancel, and the porch look to my eyes very similar in style and, with the interior of the latter being described by Pevsner as having a good Perpendicular roof, are probably of the late C15. The flat headed window, with its four centred arches to the lights, and the external door of the vestry has the characteristics of the Tudor period and, as I subsequently discovered in another visit, the door from the chancel is in a similar style.

Masonry to the vestry and chancel

The sandstone used in the mediaeval parts of the church, particularly in the Decorated Gothic tower, is very unusual and is unlike anything that I have seen before. Apart from its distinctly yellow colour, with cross bedding, it is the differential weathering of its large scale Liesegang rings which gives the sandstone used in St. Mary’s church its very distinctive character.

Liesegang rings in the sandstone masonry to the tower

The iron oxides in the rock are concentrated into nodules and dense bands that contrast strongly with the adjoining sandstone, where the natural cement seems to be depleted and is weathered at a much faster rate.

Ironstone nodules

The most extensive use of new masonry that I noticed is for the recent phase of restoration to the porch arch, using buff coloured medium grained sandstone, which contains some iron nodules but which is not really a good match to the original sandstone.

Stone replacement to the porch

Although the mediaeval stonework is in place highly weathered, replacement stone has been used sparingly, with much of it being left restored, including the dolomitic limestone headstops to the porch, or repaired with slips of stone bedded in mortar - in the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) style.

A repair using stone slips