St. John the Baptist Adel - Part 3

A detail of the memorial to the Audus Hirst family

When researching my trip to Adel, I consulted the British Listed Buildings website to discover places of interest other than St. John’s church and, once I had seen its exterior and interior, I went to explore the memorials in its churchyard. 

A general view of the churchyard

Approximately 30 metres to the south of the church is the memorial to the Audus Hirst family, dated 1884, consisting of a Carrara marble winged figure standing on a plinth, which is enclosed by a temple like structure with columns and Corinthian capitals, an entablature and a pediment with a carved shield and foliage. 

The memorial to the Audus Hirst family

Next to this is the memorial to Eliza and William Hill, also dating to 1884 with later inscriptions, built in gritstone and comprising a cross in a Norman style arch, which is flanked by angels. 

The memorial to Eliza and William Hill

While walking through the churchyard, you can’t help notice that all of the Yorkstone paving slabs have had a cross cut into them, which might look very incongruous but have the purpose of making them identifiable - if stolen and offered to vendors of salvaged building materials. 

Yorkstone slabs marked with a cross

St. John the Baptist’s church has had several incidents of theft, which includes a Grade II Listed sundial, a pillar piscina and most notably the original C12 Sanctuary Ring from the south door. 

A replica of the Sanctuary Ring

Continuing around to the north side of the church, the memorial to Ronald and Joan Lambert caught my eye, with a simple plaque set on a large block of Carboniferous Limestone that is in its naturally weathered state and could be a small glacial erratic. 

The memorial to Ronald and Joan Lambert

An elaborate memorial 30 metres to the north of the church, dated 1846, commemorates Zinai Wormald, the wife of John Wormald of Cookridge Hall, and is built in gritstone with intricate Norman style decoration that reflects the architecture of the church.

The memorial to Zinai Wormald

Another intricately carved monument, which surprisingly is not listed, is formed with a large chest to the base, with trefoil headed arcades and pink Peterhead granite columns with foliated ornamentation to the capitals. Above this are rows of acanthus leaves and crockets and a roof like top, with three gables to one end that, on plan, form a cross. 

An ornate monument

Following the path to the south-west corner of the churchyard, there is a collection of miscellaneous relics that are reminder of Adel’s ancient history. 500 metres to the north of the church, a Roman fort was built c. AD 200 next to the road from Ilkley to Tadcaster and a small quern making operation was founded in the area. 

Stone coffins in the churchyard

Roman altar stones and Anglo-Saxon gravestones found in the area are now in Leeds City Museum but, although I didn’t see it, there is apparently a Roman capital here; however, the stone coffins – supposedly both Anglo-Saxon and Norman – are clearly seen, as is the section of a mediaeval font and various grindstones from the old Adel Mill. 

Grindstones in the churchyard

Leaving the churchyard, on my way to see Adel War Memorial, I encountered the mounting block on Church Lane, which probably dates to the mid C18 and is related to a stable of Cookridge Hall, which once stood on the opposite side of the road.

The mounting block on Church Lane