A Walk From Heath to Kirkthorpe

 

The village entrance marker at Kirkthorpe

Starting by taking photographs of Nos. 1 and 2 Horse Race End on the southern edge of Heath Common and finishing by photographing the Kirkthorpe Lane Heath Hall bus stop, which very unusually is marked by an old gate post, it only took me 53 minutes to briefly explore Heath.

 

The Kirkthorpe Lane Heath Hall bus stop

 

In my travels in and around South Yorkshire as a ‘heritage tourist’, the villages of Wentworth as an estate village, Edensor as a model village and Elsecar for its industrial heritage have all made a great impression on me. Even from such a short visit, I place Heath alongside them and would like to see further information about its history or a Conservation Area Appraisal that emphasises its heritage value, such as the one that has been produced for Whitwell. 

 

Listed buildings in Heath

Criss-crossing the common, I could only obtain access to a mounting block and two pairs of gate piers that were on my list of 9 items on my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge, but I did manage to photograph the listed buildings that are scattered around its edges.

 

A signpost on the Transpennine Trail

 

Nonetheless, this provided a great start to my day out and heading along Kirkthorpe Lane on my way to the Church of St. Peter the Apostle in Kirkthorpe, to attend their Heritage Open Days event, I was interested to see what I would find along the public footpath that was marked on my copy of the Ordnance Survey (OS) map and the sign showed as being on the Trans Pennine Trail.

 

The public footpath to Kirkthorpe shown on the Ordnance Survey map

Following the path down the escarpment of the Oaks Rock, I eventually came to an information panel that informed me that I was now in the Southern Washlands Nature Corridor. Many parts of this, especially to the north of the railway line, were quarried for sand and gravel and had been despoiled by a coal mine and other industrial uses.

 

An information panel for the Southern Washlands Nature Corridor

Continuing along the footpath, I got occasional glimpses of an oxbow lake that had become detached from the River Calder, which is marked on old OS maps as The Half Moon. There was no sign of any rock exposure but I collected a couple of samples of medium grained grey/light brown sandstone that I presume is the Oaks Rock.

 

A view of The Half Moon

Not long before I arrived at Kirkthorpe, the path turned into a track and I carried along this until I reached Half Moon Lane, on the corner of which is a sandstone built house with a stone slate roof, which has three arched windows in the south and north gable ends and looks like a chapel.

 

The Old Sunday School

 
A building here is marked on the 1907 OS map, but not the 1894 map, as a Sunday School, which dates it to the very late Victorian or early Edwardian era and, although not listed, it appears in modern planning application documents as the Old Sunday School.

 

Sycamore Cottage

A little further up Half Moon Lane is the unassuming Sycamore Cottage, where a mid C16 timber frame - which can still be seen beneath the eaves - was encased c.1690 in masonry that comprises large sandstone blocks. Although not mentioned in the Historic England description, this C17 remodelling probably included the insertion of stone mullioned windows, which have since been removed during later alterations.

 

Frieston's Hospital

I could only get views of the northern end of the Grade I Listed Frieston’s Hospital (c.1595), former almshouses designed to accommodate 7 poor men, which the Historic England description further states was ingeniously contrived so as to require only one fireplace.

 

The muncipal boundary marker on Half Moon Lane

 
At the end of the front garden wall is a sandstone municipal boundary marker of unknown date, which records the meeting of the parish of Warfield cum Heath and the City of Wakefield, but it has been moved from its original location.

 

The village stocks in Kirkthorpe

Arriving back on Kirkthorpe Lane, I took a couple of photos of the Grade II Listed village stocks before having a quick walk around the extension to St. Peter’s churchyard, where there are 4 Commonwealth War Grave Commission headstones.

 

A deail of the headstone of Pilot Officer R.M. Woodhead

Of these, the headstone of Pilot Officer R.M. Woodhead most caught my attention, mainly for the regimental crest of the Royal Canadian Air Force, which I hadn’t seen before. Also, the memorial mason’s worksheet has a stamp that marks it as being made from Stancliffe Darley Dale gritstone, when I can clearly see that it is Portland stone that has weathered to the extent that the large fragments of oyster shells stand out very proud.

 

The worksheet for the headstone of Pilot Officer R.M. Woodhead

An Exploration of Heath - Part 3

 

The Grade I Listed Heath Hall

During my very brief exploration of Heath, all of the buildings that I had encountered so far possess individual architectural qualities that provide great character to the village and the early C18 Blacksmith’s Cottage, albeit listed for group value only, provides another example of this. 

 

The Blacksmith's House

 

On the opposite side of the road is the Grade II Listed Little Sycamore, Sycamore House and Sycamore Cottage, a group of attached houses that Historic England describes as “3 attached dwellings, converted mid C19 to one dwelling, now returned to 3 separate dwellings. Late C17 cottage with early C18 addition at rear to left of house dated 1717 with another slightly later cottage added to right with coach-house to rear”. 

 

Views of Little Sycamore, Sycamore House and Sycamore Cottage

 

I just took a few general photos of these and crossed back over Kirkthorpe Lane to take a single photograph of Cobbler’s Hall (c.1740), a 5 bay former school built in hammer dressed sandstone that has been since converted into 3 apartments. 

 

Cobbler's House

Next on my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge were the gate piers and gates to the Grade II* Listed Dower House, which was built c.1740 for John Smyth, the nephew of the wealthy wool stapler John Smyth who purchased the Heath estate in 1709. 

 

The Dower House

 

According to an article in the Wakefield Express on 21st Feb 2024 and various sales particulars produced by various estate agents, John Carr was responsible for designing this, as well as the remodelling of Heath Hall.

 

Gate Piers at Dower House

 

Continuing along the east side of Heath Common, which here comprises well maintained grass and is described in places on the Heath Conservation Area map as the village green, I got partial views of the Grade I Listed Brewhouse and East Pavilion at Heath Hall (c.1753) by Carr. 

 

The Brewhouse and Pavilion at Heath Hall

 

The Grade I Listed Heath Hall itself incorporates the original house on the site, Eshald House, with Carr undertaking the work from 1754 to 1780 for John Smyth, the nephew briefly described above. I just took a few photos of the house from the distance and a couple of the Grade II Listed gate piers, before crossing the common again to Heath House. 

 

Views of the front elevation of Heath House

 

This Grade II* Listed house was originally built in the C17, but its frontage was rebuilt from 1744 to 1745 in a Palladian style with giant Ionic columns by another renowned Georgian architect, James Paine, who can include work at Nostell Priory, Chatsworth House, Cusworth Hall and Warmswoth Hall amongst his accomplishments.

 

The Priest's House

 

The Grade II Listed mid to late C17 Priest’s House, which has its stonework rendered but still retains its stone slate roof, has associations with Benedictine nuns who fled from persecution during the French Revolution in 1792, lived in the long since demolished Heath Old Hall (1595) for several years and 9 of these were buried at the Church of St. Peter the Apostle in Kirkthorpe. 

 

Gate piers at the former Heath Old Hall

At the time of my visit, repairs to one of the gate piers to the entrance of the Heath Old Hall were being undertaken, but I was able to photograph one of the large pineapple finials before making my way back past Heath House to the mid to late C18 Heath Farm Cottage. 

 

Heath Farm Cottage

Returning to the north entrance to Heath Hall, I was able to get partial views of the Grade I Listed West Pavilion (c.1753) by Carr, which were originally stables with accommodation above but have now been converted to apartments. 

 

Views of the West Pavilion

 

Being conscious that I was encroaching upon privately owned land, I managed to take a couple of quick snaps of the Grade I Listed Stable House (c.1754) by Carr and a Grade II* Listed stable/barn, which probably dates to the early C18, before retracing my steps to Kirkthorpe Lane. 

 

The Stable House and stable/barn at Heath Hall

 

I got talking to a couple of about the same age as me, who had cycled to Heath from South Yorkshire, who had also been very impressed with Heath. Setting off to Kirkthorpe, it wasn’t long before I stopped again to look at the weathered cross-bedded grey/light brown sandstone used in the boundary wall to the estate, which would have been quarried locally from the Oaks Rock. 

 

Weathered sandstone in the boundary walls along Kirkthorpe Lane

Continuing along Kirkthorpe Lane, I took a few general record photographs of the mid C17 and mid C18 Heath Hall Farm barn and attached buildings from a distance, before following a public footpath that took me down to the River Calder.

 

The Heath Hall Farm barn and associated buildings

 

An Exploration of Heath - Part 2

 

A view towards Marsh Close (L) and the Old School House (R)

Continuing my exploration of Heath, the mounting block to the north of Beech Lawn was the next listed structure on my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge, but it is on private land and I only took a quick snap of it from a distance. 

 

A mounting block

 

Further along the east side of Heath Common, where large logs are laid alongside the roads to presumably deter travellers and other unwanted car parking, I went to have a look at a row of small houses with various dates that were not on my list to photograph. 

 

A cluster of houses on Heath Common

 

The first of these was the Old School House (c.1660), with the master’s house added c.1751, but I didn’t get close to look at the stonework, which Historic England describes as gritstone but is actually most likely to be Oaks Rock from one of the quarries that once existed on the common. 

 

The Old School House

 

Marsh Close has an inscription that dates it to 1665, a year that is best known in England for the Great Plague of London, and the small mullioned windows on the ground and first floors are quite typical of buildings from this era. The original roof was presumably constructed with stone slate, but this has since been replaced with Welsh slate that looks quite incongruous. 

 

Marsh Close

 

Next to this is a pair of Grade II Listed early to mid C18 gate piers, where there was once access to the east entrance of the Dower House, but which have been incorporated into a later garden wall that has a doorway built into it. 

 

Gate piers at a former entrance to the Dower House

 

This presumably wasn’t considered to be of interest to either of the people who had undertaken a Photo Challenge in Warmfield cum Heath more than ten years earlier, but for me it provided a good reason to have a good look around this wonderful village. 

 

Briar and Vine Cottage

 

Briar and Vine Cottage is a house that was originally a pair of cottages that date to the early C18, but the most noteworthy feature is its red pantile roof with stone slate eaves, which is a feature of vernacular architecture that is set on the Magnesian Limestone and not the Coal Measures. 

 

A cluster of buildings on Heath Common

 

Retracing my steps, I carried on along the road towards another cluster of buildings that aren’t listed or otherwise possess much architectural merit, where sandstone, red brick and rendered walls are seen in the walls and Welsh slate for their roofs. 

 

The Kings Arms

Arriving at the Kings Arms, which is set on a part of Heath Common where several road converge, I was reminded of the area around West Side Common on Wimbledon Common in south-west London, where the very popular Fox and Grapes, Crooked Billett and Hand and Hand public houses are set on its edge. 

 

The Royal Coat of Arms inn sign

 

Especially since the Just Thai on the Heath restaurant is next door to the Kings Arms, I wish that I had had the time try a pint of beer from the Ossett brewery, which I had never encountered before, followed by some good food, but it was too early in the day and I still had another 6 buildings on my Photo Challenge to find and walk to St. Peter’s church in Kirkthorpe. 

 

School House on Kirkthorpe Lane

 

On Kirkthorpe Lane, the windows on the gable end of the C19 School House caught my eye, but this building is not listed and I haven’t seen any information about it. Carrying on along Kirkthorpe Lane, I went to find the next listed building on my Photo Challenge, but firstly stopped to photograph the stone built bus shelter, which appropriately has a stone slate roof.

 

The bus shelter on Kirkthorpe Lane

 

An Exploration of Heath - Part 1

 

A view of Heath Common

After a very full day out to Whitwell and Steetley, where I had encountered some interesting Permian and Quaternary geology and historic architecture and fine examples of Norman architectural detailing at St. Lawrence’s church and All Saints chapel, my next adventure coincided with the first day of the 2023 Heritage Open Days festival. 

 

Heritage Open Days

Since first attending this event in 2016, when I visited the nearby mediaeval churches in Aston and Handsworth, I have made the effort visit at least one church every year by public transport - with Barwick-in-Elmet, Scarcliffe, Methley and Ault Hucknall included in these – and I have also organised an event for St. Helen’s church in Treeton. 

 

Heath as seen on the 1:25,000 scale Ordnance Survey map

The Grade II* Listed Church of St. Peter the Apostle, in Kirkthorpe near Wakefield, announced that it would be open for several days during the festival, so I made plans to visit this together with Heath – an extraordinary village set in the registered Heath Common that was described by Pevsner as a surprise, but surprisingly little seems to have been written about it. 

 

Listed buildings in Warmfield-cum-Heath

During my preparatory research, I was very interested to see that the majority of the 57 listed buildings located in the parish of Warmfield-cum-Heath are located here and, although my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge showed that most of these had already been photographed, a search for those that were outstanding provided a good reason to explore Heath. 

 

 A British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge for Heath

 

Alighting from one of the buses that stop at Heath Farm on Black Road, the first building on my list was the Grade II Listed pair of early C18 cottages that comprise Nos. 1 and 2 Horse Race End, which are built with sandstone and with No. 2 having had its original stone slate roof replaced with red pantiles - a roofing material that is usually associated with the Magnesian Limestone.

 

Nos. 1 and 2 Horse Race End

The 1854 edition of the Ordnance Survey (OS) map shows quite a substantial quarry on the common, which is marked on the Building Stones Database for England Map Explorer as 

being located on the Oaks Rock from the Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation. 

 

A geological map of Heath showing quarries

 

I just took a few quick snaps without crossing over the road and then headed off towards Heath along one of the paths that cross Heath Common, which has never been enclosed and still has many horses freely grazing on it, albeit restrained by long tethers. 

 

A panoramic view of Heath Common

 

When quickly walking across the common, I didn’t notice anything that made me think that it was anything other than heath land, but it was apparently once used as a golf course and the parish council website mentions that it was used as a landfill site. 

 

A map of the Heath Conservation Area

 

Continuing along the track towards the centre of the village, I entered Heath Conservation Area where several buildings, which are not listed, were all built along the edge of the common before the 1854 OS map was published. 

 

Views of a few buildings in Heath that are not listed

The original use of Heath Common for grazing animals becomes apparent in the form of the mid to late C18 Grade II Listed ha-ha, a ditch and retaining wall that is designed to keep straying animals out of the garden of a house without restricting views of the landscape beyond. 

 

The ha-ha at Beech Lawn

In this instance, the ha-ha prevented livestock from entering the garden of  the Grade II Listed Beech Lawn, a large early-mid C18 house, with additions and alterations dating to c.1770, the early C19 and the early 20, which is built in hammer dressed sandstone. 

 

Beech Lawn