Historic Architecture in Oughtibridge

 

A detail of Oughtibridge House

Leaving Hagg Stones at the west end, I immediately came across an old trough, which is presumably fed by a spring that emerges at the junction of the escarpment of Crawshaw Sandstone that runs above the line of Boggard Lane. 

 

A trough at Boggard Lane

 

Continuing along Boggard Lane to Birtin Cemetery, I had a quick wander around to find the three Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstones and obtained good views north to the valley formed by the Coumes Brook, which has cut down through the Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation strata to expose the Rough Rock. 

 

A view of Burton House Farmhouse from Birtin Cemetery

From the boundary wall, I could see the Grade II Listed Burton House Farmhouse (1685) on Burton Lane, which was the first of a handful of buildings in Oughtibridge to photograph for the British Listed Buildings website Photo Challenge on the day.

 

Burton House Farmhouse

 

Walking down Burton Lane from Birtin Cemetery, I did not get close enough to be able to determine the texture and other characteristics of the sandstone. As possible sources of the sandstone used, the 1885 Ordnance Survey (OS) map marks a small quarry on the Crawshaw Sandstone, less than 100 metres to the north, with the much larger Hagg Stones quarry being 400 metres to the south-east. 

 

Cottages on Church Street

Continuing for 500 metres down Burton Lane, passing only C20 buildings on the way, and on to Church Street, I stopped briefly to photograph a row of cottages and substantial terraced houses to the north and south sides of Church Street, both of which first appear on the 1894 OS map. 

 

Terraced houses on Church Street

The cottages were too far away from the footpath to see the stonework and the sandstone masonry to the larger terrace house was quite blackened, preventing me from making much of a judgement on the provenance of the stone, but it is very probable that the stone is Loxley Edge Rock from either the Hagg Stones or Middleton quarries. 

 

The Church of the Ascension

 

I next came the Church of the Ascension (1842) and, before having a quick look at its exterior, I went to have a look at the buildings in its vicinity, including the parsonage, which is marked on the 1855 OS map and is presumably of a similar age, and the old school. 

 

The parsonage and old school

 

I didn’t get near enough to determine its texture, but I saw enough rusty brown colour variation to make me think that these were just further examples of the Loxley Edge Rock. Moving back down to the church, I took a few photographs of its exterior and didn’t notice anything to make me think that this stone was not used for the walling stone here too. 

 

Views of the Church of the Ascension

 

Looking closely at the Romanesque style west door, however, I immediately noticed that this is made of a very coarse gritstone, with the cushion capitals and surrounding blocks containing distinct pebble bands, which immediately made me think of the Chatsworth Grit. 

 

Pebbly bands in the sandstone used for the cushion capitals

 

Continuing down Church Street, I passed a variety of C19 buildings that had existed since the 1855 map was published, all of which seem to be built out of the same stone, but I only took a few general record photographs from a distance. 

 

Various historic buildings on Church Street

 

I had passed through Oughtibridge a few times, when driving my MG Midget from High Green via Grenoside on my way to Bradfield and the moorlands in the north-western extremities of Sheffield. It struck me as being a very dark and dirty place, but it has completely changed character and, according to one of the residents that I talked to, is now one of the most desirable areas in Sheffield to live. 

 

Oughtibridge House

Oughtibridge House is an early Victorian house that seems to have recently benefitted from stone cleaning, which provides a good opportunity to clearly see the colour and textural variations in what I presume to another example of the Loxley Edge Rock. 

 

The Cock Inn on Bridge Hill

 

The afternoon sunshine half tempted me to sit down at the Cock Inn on Bridge Hill for half an hour but, with plenty of places still to visit on my day out, I instead crossed the River Don and headed up Station Lane to photograph the Grade II Listed former Oughtibridge Station (c.1845-1851). 

 

The old station

I was unable to get access to Oughtibridge Hall and its outbuildings and, retracing my steps back to the river, I made my way up to the Grade II Listed water powered Oughtibridge Forge (1792), which has now been converted into a residential building at the edge of a new housing estate.

 

Oughtibridge Forge