An Exploration of Walkley - Part 2

 

Walkley Carnegie Library

Continuing my exploration of Walkley, after having a quick look at the former Bole Hill Board School, I headed back down towards Walkley Road and stopped briefly to have a look at a terrace of houses. Two of these have been recently cleaned to reveal the original pale buff colour of the sandstone, which I assume to be the Crawshaw Sandstone quarried at Bole Hill.

 

Terraced houses on Walkley Road

 

Further down the hill, the Grade II Listed Walkley Carnegie Library was built in 1904 to a design by the architects Hemsoll & Paterson, who had worked with Sheffield council on a number of projects, including three Sheffield Board Schools.

 

The Walker Carnegie Library

At Greystones Board School, at least, the architect specified Bole Hill stone for the walling and Stoke Hall stone from the Kinderscout Grit for the dressings and this combination of sandstones is again seen at Walkley Carnegie Library.

 

A detail of the splayed elevation

These stones have a similar colour, but only the Stoke Hall sandstone is quarried in large enough blocks to make it suitable for large dressings, lintels and columns, as is seen to good effect on the splayed elevation of the library.

 

Terraced housing on South Road

On the opposite side of South Road, the terrace here is built out of a different sandstone, which has thicker beds, a darker colour and iron staining. It’s provenance is unknown but, in the area, the Loxley Edge Rock was also extensively quarried – a sandstone that I have not seen in an exposure or knowingly in any building.

 

A detail of the terraced housing on South Road

Continuing down Walkley Lane, the steeply sloping ground - which is a feature of Crookes and Walkley – runs down to the Don Valley, presenting views of the escarpment of the Greenmoor Rock, which was quarried to make bricks before eventually becoming a landfill site.

 

The escarpment of Greenmoor Rock seen from Walkley Road

As I walked down this hill, I noted further places where the slopes have necessitated landscaping of the junctions between the roads and the paths, before arriving at my next destination – the former Walkley Board School on Burnaby Crescent. 

 

Landscaping on Walkley Road