A Further Exploration of Crookes

 

A detail above the western porch

Having had a good discussion about the various sandstones that have been used to build, restore and extend Hale Court – as well as other topics relating to the architecture and Conservation Areas in Sheffield - I continued my exploration of Crookes on Western Road.

 

Exposed sandstone road setts on Western Road

Recent roadworks had uncovered a stretch of the original road surface, comprising sandstone setts, and local residents had been campaigning for these to be left exposed, instead of being covered up again with tarmac.

 

A tree on Western Avenue

Here, I was also very interested to see that instead of the trees being cut down by AMEY, which had caused great outcry in many parts of Sheffield, all of the defective pavements and kerbs that had been damaged by tree roots, had been taken up and sensitively replaced not with stone but a soft, tarmac based material – an effective solution to the problem.

 

An area of repaired pavement

Walking further down the street, which is lined mainly by Victorian semi-detached or short terraces of local sandstone houses, I came across the much larger and detached Western House, where the front door was surrounded by a hood moulding with headstops – typically associated with churches rather than residential properties.

 

Headstops at Western House

Taking a short diversion down Slinn Street, to have a quick look at St. Timothy’s church, I returned to Western Road where I encountered the former Crookes Congregational Church, by WJ Hale, which opened in 1906 but which is now occupied by the Bond Bryan architectural practice.

 

Decoration around the east entrance on Western Road

It shares the same octagonal plan as the Wesley Hall and possesses some very similar design details to this and Hale Court, with the masonry comprising planar bedded sandstone laid with thin beds, with massive stone used for the quoins and dressings.

 

The Springvale Road elevation

I only briefly skirted around its exterior, but it was enough to further appreciate WJ Hale’s style, using large square tower like buttresses with flat caps, hybrid style tracery and the trademark attention to the fine details.

 

The entrance on Springvale Road

 

Around the entrances on Western Road and Springvale Road, there are more fine examples of stone carving, with the Yorkshire white rose, trees and other floral motifs being commonly used around the building.

 

A Yorkshire rose

Looking down Springvale Road, which sits on predominantly mudstones between the Crawshaw Sandstone and the Loxley Edge Rock – both from the Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation – the steepness of the streets in this part of Sheffield is very noticeable.

 

A view down Springvale Road