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