An Exploration of Throapham

 

A glaciofluvial pebble in Throapham

Once I had finished photographing the interior of St. John’s church in Throapham, where my new Canon G7X Powershot camera had worked as well as my previous G16, I had a wander along the path at the side of the church to take a couple of shots of its exterior.

 

Locations where I have found glaciofluvial pebbles

 

Here, I found yet another scattering of glaciofluvial pebbles, such as I had encountered on several walks undertaken in rural Rotherham in the past year during the COVID-19 Pandemic – at Letwell, Firbeck, Brancliffe Grange, Thorpe Salvin, Kiveton Park and Todwick.

 

A glaciofluvial pebble in Throapham

My plan for the day was to firstly explore St. John’s church and then follow the Magnesian Limestone escarpment to South Anston, where I would then catch an X5 bus to take me to either Swallownest or Sheffield Interchange and connect with the X54 bus back to Treeton.

A view from the bottom of St. John's Road in Throapham

Continuing down St. John’s Road to the junction with Oldcotes Road, I found more pebbles in the adjoining fields and I could clearly see the low Magnesian Limestone escarpment rising above the relatively low lying land underlain by the Pennine Upper Coal Measures Formation strata.

 

A view towards the Magnesian Limestone in Throapham

As had now become the pattern for the year, I also wanted to contribute further photos to the British Listed Buildings website and I therefore went to have a quick look at Throapham, before carrying on with my walk towards Dinnington.

 

A boundary wall containing pink limestone

 

Walking up the gentle escarpment here, I was interested to see further examples of pink limestone, like I had seen in St. John’s church and, as I had discovered a couple of months earlier at nearby Letwell, this colouration is quite common in the area.

 

Throapham House

The most substantial building in Throapham is the Grade II Listed Throapham House, a substantial plain ashlar house built in the late C18, surrounded by a few stone built cottages and agricultural buildings forming the hamlet that grew up around the now demolished Throapham Manor House.

 

Various buildings in Throapham

On Manor Lane, I encountered an old boundary wall next to the former gateway to the manor house that has the remnants of a stile, which surprisingly still has a wrought iron handrail, which presumably once served the public footpath here.

 

A stile with a wrought iron handrail