St. Michael and All Angels - Hathersage

A general view of St. Michael and All Angels' church

Having briefly explored St. Edmunds church in Castleton, I caught the next hourly No. 272 bus back to Sheffield and, after a 25 minute journey, I got off in Hathersage – a village that is popular with the walkers and climbers that like to explore the Millstone Grit Edges, which run down the eastern side of the Peak District National Park - and spent the next hour having a quick look at its mediaeval church, famous for the reputed grave of Little John.

A general view of the south aisle and clerestory

The church of St. Michael and All Angels lies on higher ground formed by the Shale Grit, in the oldest part of the village, and a walk around its exterior quickly reveals that the coarse sandstone used to build the church is not capable of being carved into finely moulded details and the overall impression – enhanced by the embattled parapets – is that it is a very solid structure, which has needed very little repair.

Carved escutcheons to the parapet of the porch

Although there is some evidence of an earlier Early English style church, the current structure dates back to 1381 and the lower sections of the tower, the nave and the north aisle are of this date and of the Perpendicular Gothic style. From 1442 onwards, the south aisle, porch and clerestory were added and after 1459, the Lady Chapel was added to the north aisle, the chancel extended and the tower raised with a parapet and a crocketed spire.

A general view of the tower

All around the church, there are a wide variety of crudely carved gargoyles and grotesques and various styles of windows can be seen, many of which were renewed as part of an extensive restoration of the church in 1851 and can be clearly distinguished from the original mediaeval windows, whose mouldings and tracery are much more heavily weathered and no longer possess sharp profiles. 

A gargoyle

St. Edmund's Church in Castleton

A grotesque on the tower of St. Edmund's church

Whilst exploring the mediaeval churches of Rotherham, although my principal aim has been to investigate their construction history and the types of stone that they are built of, I have also been considering their potential as tourist attractions – along with a variety of historic monuments and geological sites that I have visited in West Yorkshire and the Peak District National Park.

A geological map of the area around Castleton

After exploring All Saints church in Laughton-en-le-Morthen, I planned to to take another look at the geology around Cave Dale in Castleton with the Sheffield U3A Geology Group, a place that I had visited several months earlier along with Peveril Castle.

A general view

Without a lift being available on this occasion, I arranged to go on the No. 272 bus to Castleton and catch up with the group when I got there; however, when I finally arrived, the prospect of taking a rapid hike up very steep and uneven rock ground in an effort to catch them up didn't appeal to me and so I decided to spend the day by quickly looking at St. Edmund's church, before stopping off in Hathersage on the way back to Sheffield.

St. Edmund's church dates back to the 11th century and its history is closely linked with Peveril Castle, which rises high above it, but the only evidence of the early church is the chancel arch, which forms the most interesting stonework feature in the interior.

Looking at the 14th century tower, the stonework comprises blocks of well squared and coursed Millstone Grit and displays many elements of the Perpendicular Gothic style, with the battlements, pinnacles and gargoyles forming ornamental features, but with the window surrounds and tracery being kept very plain.

A general view of St. Edmund's church and Peveril Castle

A quick walk around the church shows that the remainder of the structure is built with roughly coursed Carboniferous Limestone walling, with Millstone Grit dressings; however, the lowest courses of both sides of the nave – which was rebuilt in 1831 after both of the pre-existing aisles were demolished - largely comprise Millstone Grit and is quite likely that these were reused from the pre-existing structure. The windows are all Victorian and in a neo-late-13th century style, according to Sir Nikolaus Pevsner.

A general view of St. Edmund's church

The chancel comprises mainly coursed rubble limestone, with a large proportion blocks of Millstone Grit randomly mixed with the limestone walling and for the quoins. The gritstone here has been heavily weathered and contrasts strongly with the Victorian masonry, which still retains sharp profiles.

A detail of the east wall of the nave

To the east side of the tower, an old roofline shows that the pitch of the roof has been lowered at some stage and, in the east wall of the nave, the rubble walling contains a highly weathered projecting course of gritstone, which has an unusual curved shape and may relate to the original position of the gable end.

The Norman chancel arch

All Saints Laughton - The Interior

A general view of the north arcade and north aisle at All Saints church

Once inside All Saints church in Laughton-en-le-Morthen, a quick look at the walling stone used for the aisles, the extension to the nave and the visible parts of the tower shows that Rotherham Red sandstone has been extensively used, together with roughly squared dolomitic limestone.

A general view of the south arcade and the north aisle

There has been some debate about the floor plan of the Anglo-Saxon and Norman structures that preceded the Perpendicular Gothic style church, partly based on the use of Rotherham Red sandstone for both the north doorway and the lower parts of the south elevation of the chancel.

A view of the nave from the chancel

The geological map of Laughton-en-le-Morthen shows that the nearest source of Rotherham Red sandstone is much further away than dolomitic limestone quarries that, at the time of the Norman rebuilding of All Saints church, had already supplied stone to build Roche Abbey, Conisbrough Castle and St. Helen's church in Treeton.

Dolomitic limestone used for vaulting to the tower

Given the logistics of quarrying and transporting Rotherham Red sandstone from so far away, the Norman builders wouldn't have specially brought in an inferior building stone to line the internal walls and the volume of stone - which has been recycled for this purpose - provides evidence that the original church would have been quite a substantial structure.

An angel in the south arcade

Much of the stone used in the internal walls has been obscured by the remaining thick layers of lime, but this doesn't stop the change in colour and texture between the walls and columns to the arcades – and the arches that spring off them – from being so noticeable.

Various style Norman capitals in the north arcade

The re-use of round Norman columns and capitals in the north arcade, which contrast strongly with the octagonal section 14th century columns used for the south aisle, has also raised further questions - is this yet another case for the Geological Detective?

The south door

The Perpendicular Gothic Style Church

A general view of All Saints church

The early masonry at All Saints church in Laughton-en-le-Morthen has a very complicated history, as seen in the jumble of stones and styles used in the chancel and the north doorway, but this church is also quite remarkable for its late 14th century additions being built in one phase - in the same Perpendicular Gothic style and using the same dolomitic limestone.

The Norman and Perpendicular Gothic Style church

It is thought that the rebuilding of the Norman church was undertaken in 1377 by William de Wykeham – a renowned church builder of the time – and there is a good opportunity here to study the architectural styles that, given a reasonably precise date of construction, provide a reference point against which other churches in the region can be compared.

A general view of the upper section of the tower

Without supporting documentary evidence, the dating of historic buildings – which usually exhibit several phases of building and restoration – requires a good working knowledge of the styles of the various structural and decorative elements, particularly the windows and arches.

A general view of the windows to the south aisle

In this respect, my investigation of the mediaeval churches in and around Rotherham continues to form a steep learning curve but, as a geologist, my skills in identifying building stones and analysing the different styles of masonry have been honed during the past year.

A window to the south aisle with cavernous decay and restored mullions

An examination of the exterior of All Saints church, which has been largely been unaffected by polluted air from the steel industry in the Don Valley, shows that - where used for plain masonry - the limestone from the Cadeby Formation is generally in good condition; however, the carved heads and grotesques are severely weathered and the tracery to the window heads exhibit advanced cavernous decay, with many of them being recently restored.

Highly weathered stone carvings to the windows of the north aisle

The Interior of the Norman Chancel

A general view of the Norman chancel at All Saints church

Inside the chancel of All Saints church, the general pattern of stonework is similar to that seen in the exterior and comprises Rotherham Red sandstone at the lower levels, with irregular yellow limestone blocks above it; however, the 14th century masonry used to raise the roof – unlike the exterior – contains a high proportion of recycled blocks of Rotherham Red sandstone.

The north wall of the chancel

Although the Perpendicular Gothic style windows have obliterated some of the original Norman fabric, the former position of several windows to the south and east walls can be identified from substantial remains of their window dressings – built in grey weathering limestone - and the truncated sedila, a lancet arched niche and the piscina can still be seen.

A sedila and piscina

On the north wall, a partially infilled window provides an excellent example of the extremely thick walls that are a feature of very many Norman churches - the size and shape of its voussoirs also show that their stone masonry skills were much more advanced than those of the Anglo-Saxons.

The north window

The use of large blocks of grey weathering limestone in the chancel indicates that the builders now had access to quarries that provided much better building stone than could be found in Laughton-en-le-Morthen. Richard de Busli, the grand nephew of Roger de Busli, co-founded Roche Abbey in 1147 – only 3 km away - and it is therefore highly likely that its King's Wood quarries supplied this stone.

An Ordnance Survey map of the area around Laughton-en-le-Morthen

All Saints Church - A Norman Chancel

A general view of the south elevation of the chancel

Having briefly examined the Anglo-Saxon north doorway of All Saints church in Laughton-en-le-Morthen, the next oldest visible part of the church is the chancel - at the east end – and here there is a great mixture of building stones and architectural details, which record various phases of rebuilding and restoration.

A plan of All Saints church

The lower courses of the eastern part of the south side of the chancel, and its east wall, are built out of blocks of Rotherham Red sandstone and - above these – thin, irregularly shaped and sized blocks of yellow dolomitic limestone are laid to a similar height.

A detail of the masonry to the south elevation

Within the south wall, the flat buttresses and the remains of a door jamb and a round window indicate a late Norman date – c.1190 according to published sources - and are built of large blocks of dolomitic limestone, which weathers to a distinct grey colour.

The north elevation of the chancel and the vestry

The north wall of the chancel, although partially obscured by the 17th century vestry, is also built in large, regularly squared and coursed blocks of similar limestone - into which are set the remains of a round headed window and a buttress in the same Norman style.

A view of the east elevation of the chancel

During the late 14th century, the entire chancel was raised using similar limestone as part of the remodelling of the whole church with this stone, including the insertion of new windows to the south and east elevation, with the latter being restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott.

A general view of the chancel at All Saints church

All Saints Laughton - The Saxon Church

The Anglo-Saxon doorway at All Saints church

When preparing an itinerary to visit various mediaeval churches set on or near to the Rotherham Red sandstone - having fully investigated St. Helen's church in Treeton - I was interested to discover that those at Todwick, Wales and Aston possess certain features that suggest that they could pre-date the Norman Conquest of Britain and All Saints church in Laughton-en-le-Morthen clearly has an Anglo-Saxon origin.

Anglo-Saxon and Perpendicular Gothic style architecture

Although set on an outlier of the Cadeby Formation, with various limestone quarries indicated on old maps and with the main outcrop of the Magnesian Limestone nearby, the Anglo-Saxon north doorway is constructed in what I always assumed to be Rotherham Red sandstone - the nearest source of which is more than 3 km away; however, looking more closely, the flame red stone used for a pilaster would not be considered typical of this distinctive variety of the Mexborough Rock.

Details of the masonry to the north doorway

Compared to ancient doorways that I have seen all around England, its construction is extremely crude - with little attention paid to the shaping of the individual stones – and its style strongly contrasts with the Norman doorway that has been built within it.

A general view of the north elevation of All Saints church

A stone's throw away from All Saints church, there are also the remains of a motte and bailey castle built by Roger de Busli - who was given this manor after the Norman conquest in 1066 - and which is believed to have been built on land previously owned by Earl Edwin of Mercia, the brother in law of King Harold Godwineson.

A view of the old motte and bailey and All Saints church