Geology in Sheffield General Cemetery

 

The monument to Mark Firth

When the 2023 field trip itinerary for the Sheffield U3A Geology Group was being planned at the beginning of the year, there were a few gaps and the less experienced members were encouraged to come forward and lead a field trip – one of which was my friend Catherine, who I had been helping with her Bolsterstone Graveyard Project for the last year and had agreed to speak at an event that she had arranged for the Bolsterstone Archaeology & Heritage Group.

 

The General Cemetery - A Geological Trail

 

A list of field trips undertaken by the group since 2007 had been circulated to its members and Catherine had the idea of organising a visit to the Sheffield General Cemetery (SGC), which the group had visited at least twice before I joined the group in 2015. 

 

Rock in the General Cemetery

I assume that these visits were based on the publications: The General Cemetery – A Geological Trail (2001) and Rock in the General Cemetery (2004), which were written by a colleague, Peter Kennett, who I had helped with the Building Stones of Sheffield (1999), when I was the Chairman/principal surveyor for the South Yorkshire RIGS (Regionally Important Geological Sites) Group. 

 

The Stone Spiral

 

Despite my reservations about this being suitable for a field trip, which typically runs from 10:30 am to 15:30 pm and involves a good walk, having already undertaken the Let's Talk About the Stones event at Moorgate Cemetery in Rotherham earlier in the year, I agreed to help Catherine with her preparation for a morning event and I would lead the group around Nether Edge in the afternoon – the recce for which I have already reported on in this Language of Stone Blog. 

 

Meeting at the gatehouse for the 2023 Heritage Open Days event

When researching the 2023 Heritage Open Days events, I noticed that Peter Kennett was due to lead a short walk around the cemetery with two other geologists and I therefore made arrangements with Catherine to attend this event and, after spending two very full days in the past week to visit Heath, St. Peter’s church in Kirkthorpe and St. Mary’s church in Whitkirk, we met up on a rainy afternoon the following Tuesday. 

 

A display panel produced by Peter Kennett

 

Referring to the publications listed above, I had visited SGC a few times and I knew that Peter had been leading walks here for many years and, as a teacher of geology at High Storrs School in Sheffield, I had been aware of his many publications for the Earth Science Teacher’s Association and he started the afternoon by showing us a couple of information boards. 

 

A display panel produced by Peter Kennett

 

I was particularly interested to see the display with samples of the various stones that are have been used for memorials in the cemetery or in the Stone Spiral. When working in the building restoration industry in London, I used Dr. Eric Robinson’s London Illustrated Geological Walks, with black and white photographs, to learn how to identify various building stones and I appreciated the display of granites that I presume is related to his work for the Earth Learning Idea website.

 

Dr. Eric Robinson's London Illustrated Geological Walks

 

Although the 20 minute introduction to geology was no doubt appreciated by Catherine and other attendees, I have to say that I was more interested to hear what Peter had to say about the memorials themselves – partly because I already have extensive experience of building stones, but mainly because the timing of this would be very relevant to our field trip. 

 

An introduction to British geology by Peter Kennett

Moving on to the rear of the gatehouse, we stopped at the large blocks of Swedish Imperial Red granite, the Emerald Pearl variety of Larvikite and Rubislaw granite, which are commonly seen in the plinths and door surrounds of various Victorian buildings in large towns and cities, including Sheffield, we made our way past the restored catacombs before arriving at the Stone Spiral. 

 

The Stone Spiral

 

I remember seeing this shortly after it was installed, when the colours and textures of the sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks could be quite clearly seen, together with the inscriptions that had been cut into them; however, weathering, dirt, moss and algae had taken their toll and when I had last seen them in December 2021, I could barely distinguish very many of the 29 stones in the spiral, which contains 9 different types of stone. 

 

Examining the Stone Spiral

 

Shortly after this, when I first became aware of the £3.8 million 4 year programme of conservation and repair that was coming to an end by the time of my visit with Catherine, I did suggest to staff at SGC that it might be a good idea for the Stone Spiral to be cleaned, but nothing came of this. 

 

 Granite monuments on the main path to Sandford's Walk

 

Retracing our steps to the gatehouse, Peter then led us up the main path towards Sandford’s Walk, where several large and impressive monuments – including those of Eliza West, Abraham Sharman and Charles Wardlow - display several types of granites, but quite surprisingly spend hardly any time looking at them.

 

Headstones laid out on the bank next to the main path

 

Standing back from the group to take photographs, I didn’t hear what Peter had to say about these granites, or the numerous large headstones and crosses, which are laid flat on the bank on the opposite side of the track and are undoubtedly made from the local Brincliffe Edge Rock – the local name for the Greenmoor Rock. 

 

The Joseph Hadfield monument

 

The next stopping point was the Joseph Hadfield monument, which is mainly made with sandstone that has been highly weathered by the effects of frost action, but which also has inscribed panels of white Carrara marble. The latter is also very weathered and, viewed with a hand lens, the saccharoidal texture can clearly be seen. 

 

The Burch monument

 

I only photographed the columnar Burch monument from a distance, which is built with stones that are not mentioned in Peter’s booklet. The monument is surrounded by an iron railing but, from his photo, it looks like another example of Carrara marble, with various horizontal moulded sections and panels that, from my photos, appears to be Peterhead granite.

 

The monument to William Parker

The Grade II Listed monument to William Parker (1837) is quite unusual, being constructed from dolomitic limestone from the Permian Cadeby Formation, which I can recall seeing used for such purposes in the Waller family monument at Hyde Park Cemetery in Doncaster. One of the attendees, who had studied geology, noticed several pairs of circular impressions, which he thought could be U-shaped burrows and, having come across similar structures myself in headstones, I agreed with him. 

 

The monument to William Parker

 

Peter did show us other monuments and the Samuel Worth Chapel, which is built from very coarse grained and pebbly Chatsworth Grit, before we finished at the Grade II Listed monument to Mark Firth, a steel magnate, philanthropist, Master Cutler and Mayor of Sheffield. This is made with grey granite, but again I didn't hear what Peter had to say and I didn’t look closely at it on this occasion. 

 

The monument to Mark Firth