A Further Exploration of Wadsley

 

Houses at the junction of Worrall Road and Rural Lane

Following on from my day out to Wadworth and Loversall, where I encountered further outcrops of the Brotherton Formation and had a good look at St John’s and St. Katherine’s churches, my first outing in July 2023 was to Wadsley in Sheffield.

 

The geology around Wadsley

 

In the past couple of years, I had visited the area a few times - to photograph its listed buildings as part of a British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge that involved a 7 mile walk from Walkley to Hillsborough, a brief exploration of the geology of Loxley Edge and an investigation of its ganister industry with my friend Linda from the Sheffield U3A Geology Group. 

 

Wadsley and Loxley Commons

 

On this occasion, an event had been arranged by the Wadsley and Loxley Commoners - a very active community group that has undertaken archaeological surveys and manages the heathland here – and it provided a good reason to get out of the house on a Saturday. 

 

The datestone at Grove Cottages on Worrall Road

 

Alighting from the No. 58 bus from Sheffield at the Worrall Road/Dykewood Drive stop, which is now also served by the No. 57a Stocksbridge Flyer service, I started my day by taking a couple of photographs of the Edwardian Grove Cottages (1905) on Worrall Road, which I presume are built with the Loxley Edge Rock that was quarried less than 200 m away. 

 

Grove Cottages

Walking further down Worrall Road to No. 303, the wild colouration and orange iron staining and banding, which is quite typical of the Loxley Edge Rock, is partly obscured by the patina and dirt but it is clearly differentiated from the uniformly coloured stone that has been used to renew the stonework around the right hand ground floor window. 

 

No. 303 Worrall Road

 

On the opposite side of the road, the surface of the stonework lower part of the gable end to No. 274 Worrall Road has been weathered away, probably exacerbated by the recrystallisation of road salt in its pores. The orange to grey colour variation is quite clearly revealed and the sandstone is coarse to very coarse grained and shows good examples of graded bedding, cross-bedding and planar bedding. 

 

Walling at No. 274 Worrall Road

 

Making my way to the car park on Rural Lane, I headed west along the public footpath through the old quarries, which now consist of a ‘hills and holes’ landscape where the piles of rock waste are covered in heather. Without stopping to try and find the old quarry face, which the OpenStreetMap shows on the south-east side, I continued through woodland to an open area of grassland that the Wadsley and Loxley Commoners use to hold events. 

 

Google and OpenStreetMap views of Wadsley Common

 

Having had conversations with various committee members about the possibility of leading a walk in the future, to look at the geology, as well as talking with the archaeologist who had been undertaking a survey, I headed off towards Loxley Edge. 

 

Woodland with bracken at Wadsley Common

 

I was quite astonished to discover that the part of the common that I had previously visited during the winter was now covered in shoulder high bracken, which the Commoners struggle to control. I don’t know the paths very well and, being completely disorientated, I just made my way back towards the car park through an area of woodland that I had not previously explored. 

 

Loose blocks of Loxley Edge Rock at Wadsley Common

 

All along the paths and on the surrounding land, loose blocks of Loxley Edge Rock poke out the ground, which contribute to the thick covering of head that covers the slopes beneath the distinct escarpment formed by Loxley Edge. 

 

A possible delf at Wadsley Common

 

In a few places there are noticeable hollows, which could be old delves that provided stone before the large quarries were developed during the second half of the C19. I didn’t have my Estwing hammer with me, but I managed to obtain a sample of very reddened medium grained sandstone, which sparkles in the sunshine. 

 

A specimen of reddened Loxley Edge Rock

 

I continued back to the car park and headed back down to Worrall Road where I took a few more photographs of the Wadsley Almshouses and the old school, before stopping at Wadsley parish church, where I joined a free tour of the graveyard.

 

A graveyard tour at Wadsley parish church