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| An old quarry in the Woodhouse Rock |
When visiting Crookes and Walkley in February 2021, where I first encountered the Crawshaw Sandstone and various buildings by William Hale, Charles Innocent and Henry Paterson – who between them designed nearly half of the existing Sheffield Board Schools (not including the Central Schools based around Leopold Street) – I didn’t envisage that the task to visit all of the 47 schools by public transport would take so much planning.
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| A map showing the shortest route from Treeton to Beighton in a car |
Living in the village of Treeton, the general cuts to its bus service have been exacerbated since the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic and, having managed to get the No. 73 bus to Manor Top and then briefly explore the historic architecture of Gleadless, I took advantage of the blue route Supertram service that runs from Hollinsend to Beighton/Drake House Lane.
Alighting from the tram, I then followed a path next to the Ochre Dyke, where I had hoped to see orange iron staining that is associated with microbial weathering of iron pyrite, which is often seen in old coal mining areas – as previously seen in several places around Sheffield – but I saw nothing and continued up West Street until I reached the junction with High Street in Beighton.
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| Another view of the quary in the Woodhouse Rock |
Here, I was pleasantly surprised to find a substantial old quarry on the Woodhouse Rock, which the 1875 Ordnance Survey map shows to have been partially occupied by a pair of semi-detached houses and has since been further developed with later C20 houses and a large bungalow.
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| A detail of the Woodhouse Rock |
The summer before, I had seen small exposures of the Woodhouse Rock before along The Edge in Shirtcliff Wood and a much larger outcrop at Drakehouse Rocks when exploring the Shire Brook Valley. Although I could not get near enough to obtain a sample, I was able to see a variety of sedimentary structures in the sandstone, which varies from massive sandstone with overlying planar bedding at the base of the section, with an upper section that varies considerably – both vertically and laterally – and is often cross-bedded and flaggy.
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| Historic buildings and boundary walls on High Street |
Continuing down the dip slope of the Woodhouse Rock along High Street, I was unable to see Manor Farmhouse, due to its very high boundary walls; however, I did photograph the Parish Church Room, an interesting double gabled house that includes No. 2 and the sandstone used in various boundary walls - which are presumably built with the Woodhouse Rock - before going to investigate the Beighton Board School.
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| The Beighton Board School |
Built in 1880 as the only school commissioned by the Beighton School Board, it was enlarged in 1896, but the Victorian Society Book – Building Schools for Sheffield - makes no mention of the architect involved with the work. It is built in a very plain style, with the lower rectangular windows being built with stone transoms and mullions and the segmental arched windows set within the gables having what could be described as vestigial tracery.
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| A view of the rear of the Beighton Board School |
Looking at the sandstone used for the walling, it seems to be the usual Crawshaw Sandstone from Bole Hill at Walkley/Crookes – 12.5 km away as the crow flies – which to an extent allays my doubts that the blackened sandstone used for the outlying Gleadless, Woodhouse East and Bradway schools to the south of Sheffield is not from this source.
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| Crawshaw Sandstone walling |
The dressings are made out of a pink massive sandstone, which is similar to that seen at Pomona Street, Western Road, Ranmoor, Highfield and Morley Street and is considered to be Matlock stone from the Ashover Grit along the Derwent Valley in Derbyshire. This very durable stone, in addition to being ideally suited for the dressings, can also be carved with elaborate details, as seen in the panels above the front door.
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| Stone carving in Matlock stone |
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