St. Mary Magdalene Campsall VI

 

The capital to the south transept arch

Continuing my walk around the interior of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, having photographed the principal architectural elements and had a good look at the Romanesque features of the arches to the transepts, I took a general photo of the east end of the nave without taking much notice of the details of the chancel arch. 

 

The chancel arch

 

Pevsner doesn’t mention this, Historic England (HE) describes it as “restored and with semicircular respond to north and keeled respond to south, 4-centred arch of 2 roll-moulded orders” and the Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland (CRSBI) are quite non-committal. 

 

The CRSBI description of the chancel arch

Once inside the chancel, where the light contrast between the east window and the surrounding walls seemed to be a problem for my otherwise quite reliable Panasonic Lumix TZ100 camera, I didn’t examine any of the patterns in the masonry and just took a few record photos of a few features that caught my eye. 

 

The chancel

 

The sedilia with pointed trefoiled heads in the south wall is dated by Pevsner to c.1300, which fits in with a major phase of alterations to the chancel and the construction of the west end of the south aisle, and HE describe it as being renewed. 

 

The sedilia on the south side of the chancel

 

Set into the floor are ledger stones commemorating John Cooke Yarborough (d.1836), his son Edward (d.1812) and Emily Sarah (d.1841), the wife of George Cooke Yarborough, who all lived at the now demolished Campsmount. They are made of of a dark grey stone, which may be Carboniferous Limestone that has largely lost its original polished surface, a stone that I have seen used in several other ledgers, although I didn’t closely inspect it. 

 

Stone ledgers commemorating members of the Yarborough family

 

On the north wall of the chancel is a large white Carrara marble wall monument to Thomas Yarborough (d.1772) and his family, which was carved by the renowned sculptor John Flaxman in 1803 and is described by Pevsner as “Grecian relief of the family present at the death of a geron”. 

 

The Yarborough family wall memorial

Immediately to the west of this is a C12 window that has shafts with scalloped capitals, which I seen from the exterior and just took a single record photo, which I had to adjust in Photoshop and again highlighted the technical deficiency of my camera compared to my previous Canon Powershot G16 and G7XII cameras, when taking photographs of windows in a church interior. 

 

The C12 window in the chancel

 

Moving back to the north aisle, a dolomitic limestone mediaeval grave slab is set into the tiled floor, which HE describes as being inscribed with a sword to right of a cross on a calvary base, but this is not mentioned by Pevsner or the church guide. 

 

The grave slab in the north aisle

A little further to the west along the north aisle, a pointed arched niche is set into the wall and in this is laid a large thick, moulded yellow dolomitic limestone slab, which is weathered to the extent that no details can be made out and no mention is made of this. 

 

A large moulded slab occupying a niche in the north aisle

 

Returning to the crossing, preparations were being made for the Summer Serenade in the evening, featuring the Hatfield and Askern Colliery Band, I didn’t spend any more time to look at any of the features mentioned in the Lady Chapel, except the C15 font, and continued to the south aisle. 

 

The font in the Lady Chapel

 

In the wall of the aisle, which is built with distinctly yellow limestone from the Cadeby Formation, I noted numerous reset fragments of C12 masonry – 29 according to the CRSBI - which Pevsner suggests are derived from the arch from the south aisle arch. 

 

Views of reset stones in the south aisle wall

 

The CRSBI go on to say that they believe that the range of patterns, which includes those of arches with two orders, indicate that they may be from other arches in more prominent positions and therefore more highly decorated. Furthermore, they suggest that the fragments, which were once scattered in the churchyard, were placed in the wall during the restoration of the 1870’s. 

 

A capital fixed to the west end of the nave

 

At the west end of the nave, a scalloped capital is fixed by a bracket on the wall and this was selected for an exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London. It was originally found in the priest's chamber, which occupies the second floor of the C.1300 addition to the west end of the south aisle. The CRSBI describes the decoration in some detail and states that George Zarnecki had assigned a date of c.1089 to this. 

 

The tower arch

 

After photographing the tall round C12 tower arch, which has no decoration and plain imposts, I noticed the beakheads on the sill of the west window of the north aisle, which were originally part of a corbel table that was dismantled during the rebuilding of the Norman church.

 

Beakheads in the north aisle

 

On the window sill of the west window of the south aisle, there are more examples of salvaged loose sculpture and these may be some of those that the CRSBI found piled up in the fireplace in the priest’s chamber and lying in the north transept, when they undertook their survey in 2005. 

 

Salvaged sculpted masonry in the south aisle

 

Having by now visited well over 100 mediaeval churches in South Yorkshire and the surrounding counties, where Romanesque sculptural details such as these are often the architectural highlight, it would be nice to see these in a well designed showcase or even as a temporary exhibition at DANUM, where a C12 window head from St. Wilfrid’s church in Hickleton is on permanent display. 

 

A view of the baptistry and C14 font from the tower

 

In the baptistry at the west end of the south aisle, there is another font that dates to the C14, but the highlight is the vaulted ceiling (c.1300) above which is the priest’s chamber, but I don’t think that this was accessible at the time.

 

The vaulted ceiling in the baptistry

 

Having had a quick walk around the church, I then had a good chat with members of BarnSCAN, the local history group and the churchwarden who, when I said that I had been wanting to visit St. Helen’s church in Burghwallis for some time, said that their churchwarden would be doing some work in the churchyard and he would open up the church for me. 

 

The arch from the south aisle to the baptistry

 

It had been my intention to catch the No. 51 bus to Burghwallis and have a look at the exterior of this Anglo-Saxon church, before undertaking a British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge for  the village, so this was an added bonus to what had already been a great day out – especially since the organiser of Church Explorers Week, Chris Ellis, kindly offered to give me a lift.

A view west along the nave

 

St. Mary Magdalene Campsall V

 

The arch from the north transept to the north aisle

I spent just over 30 minutes having a look at the external fabric of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Doncaster, but it was enough time to appreciate Sir Nicholas Pevsner’s view that it is a “complex building with a fascinating history” and it would be interesting to see what a photogrammetric survey would make of it. 

 

The Diocese of Sheffield directory

 

Along with St. Helen’s church in Burghwallis, I had been hoping to visit this church for a few years since discovering in the Diocese of Sheffield directory that Revd. Richard Walton, the husband of Revd. Ann Walton who had opened St. Laurence’s church in Adwick-le-Street for me at very short notice, was the incumbent. 

 

A Church Explorers Week noticeboard

 

These are located in a part of Doncaster that is not easy to get to by public transport from Treeton and, when I finally made the decision to go and see them, I discovered that he had retired and the new vicar made no effort to facilitate a visit – making an excuse that nobody was available to open the church for me – and I was therefore very pleased to discover that Chris Ellis had included this on the itinerary for Church Explorers Week 2024. 

 

A view east along the nave 

 

Entering by the priest’s door in the chancel, after introducing myself and purchasing a church guide, which is one of the standard publications produced by the now defunct Heritage Inspired initiative, I proceeded to undertake a systematic photographic record of the principal architectural elements of the church – starting with a view east along the nave. 

 

The south arcade and clerestory

 

Pevsner describes the arcades as Perpendicular Gothic (c.1350-1520), which Historic England (HE) further elaborates as being of the early part of this period, with thin piers with four straight sides and big wave-mouldings to the diagonals. Looking up at the clerestory of the south side, there is a distinct change from rubble masonry to larger well squared blocks and this dates to the addition of the clerestory in the C15. 

 

The north arcade and clerestory

 

On the north side of the nave, this change in the pattern of masonry is not so obvious, with much of the stonework to the arcade – especially the central section – comprising blocks that are more regularly squared and coursed than in the south arcade. 

 

A view of the north aisle

When looking at the exterior, I couldn’t see any obviously differences in the ashlar between the phases of the building that took place in the C12, C13, C14 and C15. Much of the west end of the nave was occupied with displays by the local history group BarnSCAN and tables for visitors to sit down for food and drink and, instead of taking a good look at the masonry of the nave, I just took a few general record photos. 

 

The east end of the south arcade and the south transept arch

 

Going down to the east end of the south arcade, I was very interested to see that there is a very abrupt change in the masonry from rubble to ashlar and the pointed arch to the south transept is taller, has chevrons and the capital to the west respond is C12, which the Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture for Britain and Ireland (CRSBI) describes in detail. 

 

The arch from the nave to the south transept

 

Quite strangely, when describing the arcades, Pevsner states that the arcades are “followed by half-arches to the E to link up with the transepts. Something must have gone wrong with the calculations”, when the arches to both transepts are quite clearly complete. 

 

The arch from the nave to the north transept

 

HE record that the arches to the transepts differ, with the south arch having an a semi-circular west respond and re-carved capital, a keeled east respond with a moulded capital and a pointed arch with roll-moulding and zig-zag. The description goes on to say that the north arch has 2 semi-circular responds and dog-tooth to the soffit of a similar arch, but does not mention that the second order of the arch has a mixture of chevrons that are ‘lateral’ and ‘normal’ to the face – variations that are described in the CRSBI chevron guide. 

 

The arch from the north transept to the north aisle

Entering the north transept, where the exposed masonry on the north wall displays a lot of thinly bedded limestone from the Brotherton Formation, a window in the west wall of the transept of the early Norman cruciform church has been blocked up and cut through by an arch to the north aisle, which was added along with the chancel and the tower in the later C12. 

 

The arch from the north aisle to the north transept

St. Mary Magdalene Campsall IV

 

The east end of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene

Continuing my investigation of the external fabric of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, I stopped briefly at the east end of the C13 chancel, where its corners are supported by sturdy angle buttresses and the large 5-light window is part of the C19 restoration. 

 

The east end of the chancel

 

Looking up at the east end, there is a clear change in the pattern of masonry between the gable and the masonry below it. The lower section has well squared ashlar masonry that has varying course heights, with a grey patina, but the upper gable section appears to be relatively yellow in colour and the average depth of course is noticeably thinner. 

 

The gable of the chancel

 

On the north elevation of the chancel, yellow dolomitic limestone from the Cadeby Formation, is used for ashlar that is similar to the south side of the chancel, the south aisle and the tower. It contrasts with the greyish stonework to the C15 castellated east end of the nave and the clerestory above it and the rubble masonry to the lower part of the south elevation of the north transept, which has had a C15 Perpendicular Gothic style window inserted into it. 

 

The north elevation of the chancel and the north transept

Standing back to take general photographs of the elevation, although there is no obvious variation in the masonry, the east end has a window with Y-tracery identical to those on the south elevation and a tall narrow door but the west end has a C12 window. 

 

The north elevation of the chancel

 

I didn’t notice it at the time but, beneath the window with Y-tracery, the report of the Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture for Britain and Ireland (CRSBI) identifies a slim engaged column, with a plain square plinth and collared base, which marks the end of the original early C12 presbytery.

 

The C12 window in the south wall of the chancel

 

Enlarging my photos of the C12 round headed window, which has had the shafts and parts of the ornamental details restored, I can see that the weathered label is decorated with anthemion motifs that are identical to the sections that have been reused in the priest’s door in the south elevation. 

 

The north elevation of the north transept

 

Moving round to the north elevation of the north transept, the lowest section of the walling comprises mainly roughly squared and coursed blocks of massive limestone from the Cadeby Formation, a central section of thinly bedded rubble limestone from the local Brotherton Formation, with the upper section again composed of massive blocks. 

 

The C15 square headed window in the north transept

 

Noting also the abundance of randomly placed blocks of massive limestone in the main body of the thinly bedded walling, it is quite possible that this was just used to repair and consolidate the walling when the early church was extended during the later C12. 

 

The arch of the C12 window in the north transept

 

The square headed window is an another C15 Perpendicular Gothic style alteration but, interestingly, it still retains the round headed arch of the original early C12 window. The CRSBI asserts that it still has the remains of a double scalloped capital on the right hand side but I can’t make out this detail on my photo, which might be the result of subsequent weathering since they undertook their survey in 2005. 

 

The buttress to the north transept and the north aisle

 

The diagonal stepped buttresses to the north transept are built with very well squared ashlar blocks, with the moulding and chamfer to the plinth being similar to those of the south transept, which suggests that these might be of the same date. 

 

The north aisle

 

The north aisle, which Pevsner attributes to the later C12 extension to the earlier cruciform church, is again built with yellowish ashlar and has stepped buttresses and the wide arched window is similar to the windows previously seen in the south wall of the north transept and the south aisle. 

 

The north elevation of the tower

 

I just took a single photograph of the north elevation of the tower, where the double arches to the belfry stage are identical to those on the west elevation, but the first stage only has a single round headed window with shafts and capitals. I then quickly left the churchyard to get a distant view of the whole north elevation, before coming back to enter the interior by the priest's door.

 

A view of the north elevation

St. Mary Magdalene Campsall III

 

A detail of the lancet window in the chancel wall

Finding the south door of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Campsall locked, I continued my anti-clockwise walk around its exterior and immediately stopped to take a few photos of what is described by the church guide as the base and part of the shaft of the ancient churchyard cross. 

 

The supposed cross base and shaft outside the porch

 

I have seen various structures like this in churchyards, most of which are Grade II Listed and some are Scheduled Monuments, but the column does not like any of these – especially with its trefoils and its moulded top – and, although the stepped base may be from a cross, it could be part of a sundial and the copper stain on one face may be from a now missing bronze or brass gnomon. 

 

The late mediaeval cross base described by Historic England

 

A little bit further to the east, to the south of the chancel, there is another stone structure that Historic England (HE) describes as a late mediaeval cross base and is in the form of a square rising into an octagon with rounded chamfer stops, which has similarities to the cross base that I had seen earlier in the garden of Hill House. 

 

The south wall of the south transept and adjoining chancel

My view of the south aisle and the clerestory was obscured by a tree and, standing back to photograph the east end of the church, I could see a difference in the colour of the stonework of the south transept, which HE describes as “chamfered plinth, moulded band and offset beneath tall 3-light window with C19 reticulated tracery; shallow gable with cross”, and the chancel. 

 

A view of the south transept

 

Pevsner, having commented on the Decorated Gothic style C14 south door and its fleurons, describes as “equally typical the S transept S window, a replacement, with reticulated tracery” and presumably considers its walling to be also from the C14, although in my experience he tends not to say much about the fabric of the churches that he has visited. 

 

Another view of the south transept

 

From the two storied west end of the south aisle, details of the plinth and its mouldings seem to have continuity and, except perhaps for the masonry of the above the level of the tracery on the south window - which to my eye seems to be much better squared and has a slightly greater depth of the courses, there aren’t any obvious breaks in the masonry that I can see. 

 

The south elevation of the chancel

 

When describing the enlargement of the early Norman cruciform church with ashlar masonry, Pevsner includes the chancel along with the tower and north aisle and, in respect of the chancel, goes on to say “In the chancel lancet windows of one light and of two (with Y-tracery) were inserted”, with a footnote stating “The E window is of course C19”. 

 

The west window in the south elevation of the chancel

 

The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture for Britain and Ireland (CRSBI), however, considers that the south wall of the chancel has actually been rebuilt. Looking at the surrounds of the windows, which are Early English Gothic in style, they blend in with the adjoining masonry of the walling and do not look like they have been inserted into C12 masonry walling. 

 

The lancet window in the south elevation of the chancel

I have seen dolomitic limestone from the Cadeby Formation used for ashlar at Selby Abbey and Worksop Priory, which are ecclesiastical buildings of great importance, but not in a C12 parish church and this makes me think that it must have possessed a high status. 

 

Headstops on the lancet window

 

A photogrammetric survey of the stonework is probably needed to get a better understanding of the age of the various phases of construction with ashlar, which by all accounts range from the C12 to the C15, but the restoration of the windows is quite obvious – especially in the hood moulds and the attached headstops. 

 

The headstops on the west window of the chancel

The headstops have been sculpted in a style that I have seen on very many Victorian churches, but are never mentioned by Pevsner, HE or any other of the sources that I refer to when researching my Language of Stone Blog posts. 

 

The headstops on the central window of the chanccel

 

When looking at the west door, I had been quite surprised to see that it had accumulated such a large amount of dirt and this is even more evident on the headstops to the chancel windows. Although I might expect to see this on the buildings that are downwind of the industrial pollution that was once produced by the steelworks in the Lower Don Valley, Campsall is located in a remote rural area 25 km to the north-northeast of this. 

 

The priest's door

 

Another very interesting C13 feature of the chancel is the priest’s door, where HE describe its hood mould as containing anthemion motifs and the CRSBI go further to say that it “uses two short lengths with a Romanesque pattern at the bottom of its label, reproduced in the four large slabs of later work above”.

A detail of the label to the priest's door