Various Churches in South Yorkshire

 

The chancel in Rotherham Minster

To conclude a great day out on the buses and trains to Batley and Birstall, I had a very quick look at the exterior of All Saints church, and with the Heritage Open Days festival for 2024 coming to an end, the next time I went out was to lead a walk as part of the Nether Edge Festival – a recce for which I had undertaken in the first week of September. 

 

A walk around Nether Edge

Following on from this event, which was attended by 35 people, I next went to the Church of St. John the Baptist in Hooton Roberts to meet Liza Nash, who had contacted me on Facebook the year before to ask if she could use a photo that I had taken of the church, when walking along Hooton Cliff in the summer of 2021. 

 

The south at the Church of St. John the Baptist

 

Although not a member of the Parochial Church Council, she had undertaken a lot of work to ensure that the church did not become redundant, due to the diminishing numbers of parishioners who attended the church, and she wanted to produce a calendar to raise funds. 

 

The Church of St. John the Baptist

 

Having not heard about this for some time, a message on Facebook again was followed by a long conversation instigated by Liza, during which I highlighted my experiences of visiting many mediaeval churches that faced similar problems - including St. Helen’s church in Treeton - and my experience of the very successful Church Explorers Week event that Chris Ellis at the Diocese of Sheffield had organised earlier in the year. 

 

An outcrop of sandstone on Holmes Lane

I had briefly seen the interior the year before, but I had been intrigued about the red sandstone that outcrops on Holmes Lane and in a farm track to the east of the village, which according to the British Geological Survey map is not the Rotherham Red variety of the Mexborough Rock - and I have further investigated this after visiting St. Helen's church in Burghwallis.

 

Variation in the sandstone in the responds of the arch to the south aisle

According to the geological memoir, between Rotherham and Hooton Roberts, the Mexborough Rock changes from the locally distinctive dull red/brown Rotherham Red sandstone - which is characteristic of Rotherham and the villages to the south - to a mottled red/yellow variety. I noted this variation in the masonry of the arch to the south aisle and dressings at St. John’s church, but I have not seen any exposures of this and am still curious to know where this was quarried. 

 

Sandstone used for dressings

 

This was seen in several quarries that are no longer visible or have been infilled and redeveloped and the owners of the Hooton Roberts quarry off Kilnhurst Road have refused access to both the South Yorkshire RIGS (Regionally Important Geological Sites) Group and the Sheffield Area Geology Trust (SAGT); however, from glimpses of this and another quarry on Denaby Lane, the Mexborough Rock appears to have the typical light brown colour that I have seen in old quarries in Mexborough and Darfield. 

 

A detail of the sandstone used for dressings

 

Having met with the churchwarden and subsequently had a long conversation with Liza back in her house, I have been glad to know that the church is still functioning for services and that they have participated in subsequent Church Explorers Week events. 

 

Poppyheads in Rotherham Minster

On the following Saturday, I popped into Rotherham and took advantage of Rotherham Minster being open to take some photographs of the wonderful poppyheads that adorn the choir stalls and which are dated to c.1480. 

 

A view of the crossing in Rotherham Minster

 

I had been inside Rotherham Minster several times over the years and, except for the stained glass, I had photographed all of the features that interested me and, on this occasion, I just spent 10 minutes inside the church. 

 

The Norman font in Rotherham Minster

 

Moving into October, when I was still making plans to travel further afar while the weather was still reasonably good, I spent a couple of hours at St. John’s church at Ranmoor in Sheffield. I had visited this church a few times earlier in the year, to prepare for a talk that I gave on 7th September – entitled The Stones of St. John’s – A Geological Assessment. 

 

The entrance to St. John's churchyard

On this occasion, I was attending another talk as part of the Scissors Paper Stone project, on the subject of Frank Tory by the late Sylvia Dunkley. Treeton History Group had previously invited Sylvia to give a talk on the same subject, but it had to be cancelled during the COVID-19 Pandemic and was never rearranged due to the subsequent demise of this group. 

 

A view along the nave of St. John's church in Ranmoor

I had already taken very many photos of the exterior and interior, but with the lighting being switched on and the font being well illuminated, I could not resist taking another photo that show the Caen stone and serpentinite from the area around Genoa in Italy.

The font at St. John's church