St. Peter & St. Paul in Mansfield - Part 2

A general view from the south-east

Carrying on with my investigation of the exterior of the church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Mansfield, I quickly walked round the modern single storey vestry, dated 1907, whose most interesting feature is the use of Red Mansfield stone in its south-east door. 

A general view of the east end

The 5-light pointed arch east window has fine restored Decorated Gothic geometric tracery, with the south chapel having the same style of windows and large squared masonry as the north chapel - both of these being built c.1475. 

The south elevation of the south chapel

Looking closely at the stonework, the surface of yellowish dolomitic sandstone is seen to be deeply weathered along the irregular beds of green clay and many of the individual blocks have been restored quite recently. Furthermore, it appears that blocks with a reddish colour have been restored with Red Mansfield stone. 

Weathered quoins on the organ chamber

Moving on to the organ chamber, which projects from the north elevation, its east window, general masonry and details of the parapet suggest that this is also a C15 addition but it is in fact an addition by Hodgson Fowler in 1902. 

The organ chamber

The north aisle, according to the Southwell and Nottingham Church History Project entry for this church, was added in the C15 but the restored flat headed windows with reticulated tracery perhaps suggests an earlier date. Similarly, the walling is composed of roughly squared coursed blocks that are similar to that of the north aisle, which dates to the C14 and earlier. 

A detail of masonry in the north aisle

Looking up at the clerestory, which was added in the C15, the four round arched 3-light Perpendicular Gothic style windows, with flat heads, have all been restored along with extensive areas of ashlar masonry – suggesting the stonework here was in a particularly bad condition before the Victorian restoration. 

A general view of the north aisle and clerestory

The porch was rebuilt during the 1870-71 restoration and a Jurassic oolitic limestone has been used for the external arch, as with many very mediaeval churches built out of dolomitic limestone that were restored by Victorian architects. 

The south porch

The finer grained Jurassic oolitic limestone that has typically been used has often been susceptible to deep weathering, especially when located downwind of heavy industry; however, coarse, shelly Jurassic limestones, as seen in the headstops, are renowned for their durability and it is surprising to see that the details here have disappeared.

An eroded Jurassic oolitic limestone headstop