From East Bank to West Bank in Winster

 

Winster Methodist Chapel

When planning my day out to undertake a British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge in Winster, comprising 53 buildings, my intention was to arrive at 13:08 on the No. 172 bus and then catch the next bus at 15:28 to Darley Dale and travel back to Bakewell on the Transpeak service. 

 

The route of my exploration of Winster

Reaching Rock View on East Bank at 12:46, having managed to photograph 16 of the 18 buildings on my route and walked less than 600 m, my next task was to find the Primitive Methodist Chapel set on the steep slope of Winster Bank, which was not on my list.

 

A dry stone wall on the footpath to the Primitive Methodist Chapel

 

Eventually locating the public footpath, I immediately came across a dry stone boundary wall, which is largely composed of large irregular blocks of a porous, very pale cream coloured Carboniferous Limestone that is full of voids, with smaller roughly rectangular blocks of grey limestone used for later repairs. 

 

A section of the dry stone wall

 

When living in Bakewell and undertaking a survey of the RIGS (Regionally Important Geological Sites) in the Peak District National Park, from the British Geological Survey memoir, I was aware that some of the Dinantian limestones were affected by secondary dolomitisation, but there wasn’t a single site on my list of places to visit where I was able to see this. Very many years later, the Sheffield U3A Geology Group organised a field trip to Harborough Rocks, but I was unable to attend and this still remains a gap in my fieldwork. 

 

A detail of dolomitised limestone in a dry stone wall

 

Wyns Tor, 50 m to the south of East Bank, is cited in the Geological Conservation Review as “the best example of a tor developed on dolomitized limestone in Britain and the site contains important information on the nature of rock weathering, periglacial processes and landscape evolution in this part of the Pennines”, but I wasn’t aware of this at the time of my visit. 

 

Dolomite tors in the south-east of the Peak District

A little further down the public footpath to the Primitive Methodist Chapel, I spotted a small outcrop at the base of the dry stone wall in which a very open texture with voids can be clearly seen, with many of the stones in the adjoining wall having a similar appearance. 

 

An outcrop of dolomitised limestone next to the public footpath

 

The chapel, which dates to 1823 and was extended in 1850, is built with limestone rubble walling and red gritstone dressings and, after a period of disuse that led to a state of disrepair, has been quite recently restored by Crooks Architecture in Hathersage. 

 

The Primitive Methodist Chapel

 

Although I didn’t have my Estwing hammer with me, I managed to obtain a few small specimens of dolomitic limestone and, examining these with a hand lens, they are very crystalline and while there is no general reaction with hydrochloric acid, calcite crystals in the rock do effervesce. 

 

Specimens of dolomitised limestone

 

Fine specks of a black mineral are scattered throughout the body of the rock and the geological memoir states that manganese – seen in the Permian Magnesian Limestone - and iron were introduced when the dolomitisation occurred. The specimens are also very heavy and this may reflect mineralisation associated with the lead rakes in the immediate vicinity. 

 

Lead rakes shown on the geological map

 

Making my way back up the path, I continued west along East Bank to another path, which led me through an area of very hummocky ground that the Derbyshire Historic Environment Record shows to be the site of the old Weston shaft - “A deep engine shaft, at a disturbed hillock, that leads to extensive pipe and vein workings” - which is part of the Upper Orchard Mine. 

 

The location of the Upper Orchard Mine

I did not have time to explore this part of Winster, where the lead mine and spoil heap extend to 1 ha in area, but a satellite view of this part of the village shows that the area is grassed over and has remained undeveloped, with both the shaft and spoil heap marked on the 1884 and 1899 Ordnance Survey maps as old lead mines. 

 

The 1899 Ordnance Survey map of Winster

Continuing along the public footpath, although I couldn’t see the lead mining area, there are fine views over Winster to the north and north-west and, after stopping to a take a couple of photographs, I made my way down to West Bank. 

 

A view from the path to West Bank

 

An Exploration of East Bank in Winster

 

A view down East Bank

Continuing my British Listed Buildings Photo Challenge for Winster, started on Wensley Road, I turned down East Bank to where Peace Haven forms part of the property described by Historic England (HE) as the C17 House to the North West of Bowling Green Inn – Grade II Listed for group value - which is quite confusing and doesn’t precisely identify the property in question. 

 

Peace Haven

HE goes on to describe the building materials as coursed rubble gritstone with quoins but, although massive gritstone has been used for the dressings, blocked up windows and isolated blocks of stone, I think that the bulk of the cream/yellowish coloured walling is probably dolomitised Carboniferous Limestone. 

 

Marmalade Cottage and No. 3 East Bank

 

The irregularly coursed and very roughly dressed walling contrasts strongly with the pattern of the masonry to the adjoining early C19 Marmalade Cottage and No. 3 East Bank, which form part of a terrace that is clearly built with light brown/red gritstone and includes the unlisted East Leigh. 

 

East Leigh

On the opposite side of East Bank is the Bowling Green Inn, dated as C18 with C19 alterations, which is an example of well coursed but quite roughly squared gritstone that is often very reddened. Except for Lansdowne House and Georgic House, which still retains its original stone slate roof, nearly all of the listed buildings that I had seen to date have had their roofs renewed with Welsh slate and this can be seen here. 

 

Bowling Green Inn

 

Buxton House, a pair of early C19 cottages that have been converted into a single residence, has its front elevation built with dressed and very well squared and coursed red, mottled and light brown gritstone walling and dressings, but the East Lane elevation uses irregularly sized, shaped and coursed blocks of limestone and occasional blocks of gritstone. 

 

Buxton House

 

Continuing up East Bank, which progressively steepens, all of the buildings that I could see are marked on the 1884 Ordnance Survey (OS) map and the same pattern of grey limestone and/or reddened gritstone appear in all of them. 

 

A view up East Bank

The Headlands (c.1800), which I could only glimpse from the road, and the house to the south-west - dating to the C17 and refashioned in the C18 - are quite substantial and were evidently built for residents that had a much higher social status than the lead miners, who occupied the humble cottages in the area known as Winster Bank. 

 

The Headlands and the house to the south-west

Opposite these houses is the elegant Wesleyan Reform Chapel (1852), which is not listed but makes a significant contribution to the Conservation Area, which essentially includes all of the tightly packed buildings marked on the 1884 OS map, but very surprisingly has not had a Conservation Area Appraisal produced for it. 

 

The Wesleyan Reform Chapel

Further up the hill, Nos. 3 and 4 Anson Row and Portaway Cottage are another terrace of four C18 picturesque cottages, which are built with limestone rubble walling and red gritstone dressings but, as with very many of the listed buildings that I had so far seen, they don’t possess great architectural merit. 

 

Nos. 3 and 4 Anson Row and Portaway Cottage

 

“Jasmine Cottage and attached house at north end” was the next building on my list to photograph, but the HE listing description again isn’t that easy to follow and, if there wasn’t a name plate on Jasmine Cottage, I am not sure that I would have found it.

 

Jasmine Cottage and attached house

 

The most notable feature to my mind are the massive red gritstone quoins and for the door surround to Jasmine Cottage and I just took a few photos of the pair of buildings from different angles, before walking further up East Bank.

 

Dolomitised limestone in a boundary wall

 

Passing one of the boundary walls built with limestone rubble, I noticed that some contain irregular blocks that are full of voids and which I presume to be the dolomitised limestone from either the Eyam Limestone or Monsal Dale Limestone formations. A little further on, the next building on my list was the early C19 Rose Cottage, where I could only see part of the front elevation and its original stone slate roof. 

 

Rose Cottage

Continuing along East Bank, which here runs east to west along the southern extremity of the village, I could only look down at the rear elevation of the C18 Manse House. By now I had noted the various building stones that reflect the geology around Winster and, with respect  to the styles and features of its simple vernacular architecture, there is not much more to say other than the projection to the rear is described by HE as a shallow gabled stair turret.

 

The rear elevation of Manse House

 

The next building on my list was Autumn Cottage, another C18 cottage built with limestone rubble walling, reddened gritstone dressings – which includes very large stones for the quoins, door surround and mullioned windows - and Welsh slate has replaced the original stone slate. 

 

Autumn Cottage

 

The walk from Wensley Road had taken me from an elevation of approximately 237 m to 275 m, which provided me with great views across Winster to the high ground formed by the outlier of Ashover Grit, which I had explored a few weeks earlier at Rowtor Rocks and Stanton Moor. 

 

The topography between Winster and Stanton Moor

 

Taking the public footpath that eventually led me to West Bank, I took photographs of the front and rear elevations of Rock View – yet another C18 house built with limestone rubble, red gritstone dressings and a Welsh slate roof. 

 

Rock View

 

Wensley Road in Winster

 

The Market Hall in Winster

After a period of inactivity following my day out to Headingley, which was quite unusual for me during the summer months, I set out 4 weeks later to Winster, which I had passed through on the No. 172 bus from Darley Dale when exploring Rowtor Rocks, Birchover, Stanton Moor and Stanton-in-Peak in May 2024 and was quite struck by the architecture on Main Street. 

 

A Google Map view showing the main roads from Treeton to Winster

The 53 buildings that appeared on my Photo Challenge are set in an area that measures no more than 400 m by 400 m and, having ‘walked’ around Winster using Google Street View and worked out the logistics involved in the bus travel, I planned to arrive at 13:08 pm. On my return journey, I would then catch either the 15:28 pm bus to Darley Dale and take one of the Sixes or Transpeak services – or return directly to Bakewell on the No.172 service at 16:13.

 

My Photo Challenge for Winster

Arriving in Winster on time, I was surprised to discover that the Main Street was full of people and traffic, which I soon learned was because the very popular annual Winster Secret Gardens event was taking place over the weekend. 

 

The Old Forge

 

The first building on my list was the Old Forge on Wensley Road, a C18 double fronted cottage that has Carboniferous limestone rubble walling, reddened gritstone from the Ashover Grit for the dressings and a Welsh slate roof – materials that are also used for the adjoining late C18 three-storey Vernon House, which was not part of my Photo Challenge. 

 

Vernon House

 

When living in Bakewell and undertaking a survey of the RIGS (Regionally Important Geological Sites) in the Peak District National Park, I travelled widely across Derbyshire but I didn’t visit Winster and wasn’t aware of its lead mining industry, which exploited the many lead rakes that exist in this part of the county. 

 

The British Geological Survey map of the area around Winster

 

The lead mining industry in Winster, which may date back to Roman times, reached its peak in the mid C18 but most of the lead mines had closed by the end of the century, by which time the population had trebled. Winster had become very prosperous and one of the largest towns in Derbyshire, but flooding in the mines became a problem as the workings went deeper and most of them had closed by the C19. 

 

Lansdowne House and Georgic House

 

Lansdowne House and Georgic House on the opposite side of the road provide evidence of the prosperity during the mid C18, with the buff/red gritstone ashlar, Venetian windows and Doric columns and entablatures to the doorways reflecting the social status of the owners. 

 

Archway House

Historic England describe the adjacent Archway House (1754) as being built of coarse squared gritstone and the stone for the walling and dressings is predominantly buff coloured. The quarries at Darley Dale and Stanton Moor produce stone of this colour, although the latter does produce mottled buff/red sandstone and at the Birchover and Wattscliffe quarries, which are less than 2.5 km away as the crow flies, reddening is predominant. 

 

 Quarries marked on the Building Stones Database for England map explorer

 

A little further along Wensley Road, Dale Cottage and Tite Cottage are a couple of mid C18 semi-detached cottages, which are built with Carboniferous limestone walling, which varies from a light grey to light yellow/brown colour, with red massive gritstone dressings and Welsh slate roofs. 

 

Dale Cottage

 

The British Geological Survey map shows that Winster is set on the junction of the Lower Carboniferous Widmerpool Formation and the Edale Limestone Formation, which along with the underlying Monsal Dale Limestone Formation, was dolomitized at the end of the Upper Carboniferous subperiod but, except for a couple of lime kilns marked on the 1884 Ordnance Survey map, I can’t see any quarries where the limestone may have come from. 

 

Tite Cottage

On the opposite of the road is another pair of late C18 cottages, now named Carpenters Cottage, which provides a further example of Carboniferous limestone rubble walling, red gritstone dressings and a Welsh slate roof, but only listed for its group value, and a little further along the south side of Wensley Road is Roselea Cottage, which is built with similar materials. 

 

Carpenters Cottage and Roselea Cottage

Next to Roselea Cottage is the Grade II* Listed Market Hall, which is owned by the National Trust and was originally built in the C16 with later remodelling during the C18. The ground floor has five broad arches in a red gritstone wall that have been mostly infilled and, quite unusually for the Peak District, the upper level is built with red brick.

 

The Market Hall

Headingley Lane to Woodhouse Cliff

 

Rose Court

Returning to the south end of Grosvenor Road, having a good walk around Headingley Hill to photograph its listed buildings as best as I could, I arrived at the back of Nos. 42 and 44 Headingley Lane Lane (c.1840), where the rear elevation of this pair of semi-detached houses is made of brick and, diverting down the back lane, I noted that the rear of Nos. 38 and 40 (c.1840) is built with yellowish sandstone from the Elland Flags. 

 

The rear elevations of Nos. 38-44 Headingley Lane

The side and front elevations of these substantial double fronted houses, however, are built with large blocks of gritstone ashlar that are most likely to have been quarried from the Rough Rock, which I had encountered in very many of the listed buildings seen on my walk to date. 

 

The front elevations of Nos. 38-44 Headingley Lane

On the south side of Headingley Lane is Rose Court (c.1842), which Historic England (HE) suggest may have been designed by John Clark, the architect and speculative developer who was responsible for several houses built at Headingley Hill, and it may have been built for the banker George Smith and was later owned by Leeds High School for Girls from 1912 until they vacated the premises in 2008. 

 

Rose Court and its gate piers

After taking a few general record photos of the north elevation to show the porte cochère on 4 Tuscan columns and the large rusticated gritstone gate piers, which are separately Grade II listed, I continued along Headingley Lane to the junction with Victoria Road. 

 

Nos. 3 to 7 Victoria Road

Nos. 3 to 7 Victoria Road (c.1842) are a short terrace of houses, built with gritstone ashlar with Welsh slate roofs that appear on the 1851 Ordnance Survey map in an essentially rural area, which the 1908 edition shows was subsequently developed with terraced housing to form the Hyde Park district of Leeds. 

 

A detail of the 1851 OS map

 

Although it doesn't appear on the 1851 OS map - surveyed 5 years after Rose Court was built - at the south-east corner of its grounds there is a gritstone ashlar built lodge that is marked on the 1895 edition, but its very simple style doesn't give many clues to its date. 

 

The former lodge to Rose Court

 

Nos. 27 and 29 (c.1840) are a pair of substantial gritstone semi-detached houses opposite the south entrance to Rose Court, which HE suggest could also be also designed by John Clark and describe them as being of a similar style - which I presume refers to the recessed entrance with columns in antis. 

 

Nos. 27 and 29 Victoria Road

Continuing along Victoria Road, the Bethel First United Church of Jesus Christ (1886) was the next building on my Photo Challenge. According to the My Methodist Church website, the architect was Mr W.S. Braithwaite of South Parade in Leeds.

 

The Bethel First United Church of Jesus Christ

 

Taking a few photos from a distance to get the tall spire in view, I didn't take much notice of the sandstones that have been used in construction and on my way to the brick built No. 63 Victoria Road (1838), which has no interest to this Language of Stone Blog, the unlisted lodge to the now demolished Morley House caught my eye. 

 

The former lodge to Morley House

On my way back to to the junction of Victoria Road with Headingley Lane, I stopped briefly to take a quick look at the door surround of the Bethel First United Church, where the stone used for the tracery looks quite different to the Elland Flags walling and the Rough Rock dressings. 

 

The door surround of the Bethel First United Church

The Church of St. Augustine at Wrangthorn on Hyde Park Road (1871), by James Barlow Fraser, was not part of my Photo Challenge but I stopped to take a general record photo that shows its fine tower and another combination of Elland Flags for walling and Rough Rock for the dresssings. 

 

The tower at St. Augustine's church

 

The bronze statue of Robert Peel (1852) by William Behnes is described by HE as being set on a pink granite pedestal with a stepped grey granite base, but I didn't get close enough to see what granites have been used and assume that the pink granite is from Peterhead. 

 

The Robert Peel monument

 

Moving on to the Post Office and Hyde Park Delivery Office (1906) on Woodhouse Street, which is designed in the Baroque Revival style, the splay is largely built with medium grained sandstone that looks more like Bolton Woods sandstone or Huddersfield stone than the Elland flags or Rough Rock that I had seen on my walk, but I only took photos from a distance. 

 

The Hyde Park post office and delivery office

 

I concluded my Photo Challenge and a walk of nearly 10 km at the early C19 Nos. 1 and 2 Woodhouse Cliff, where yellowish sandstone from the Elland Flags is once again the principal building stone, alhough I could only get a partial view of the terrace over a substantial garden wall.

Nos. 1 and 2 Woodhouse Cliff