St. Peter & St. Paul Eckington - Part 1

The west door

Continuing with my travels in north-east Derbyshire, my next day out was to see the church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Eckington, which I had passed before a couple of times on the way to Bolsover and Barlborough on the Stagecoach No.53 bus. 

The geology around Eckington

The Parkgate Rock, upon which the church is set, is the source of the stone used for the mediaeval parts of the church and the surrounding Coal Measures strata are full of ironstone and coal – upon which the fortune of the Sitwell family was based. 

A plan of the church of St. Peter and St. Paul

Starting at the tower, described by Pevsner as being “big and square” and considered to be transitional between Norman and Early English Gothic, there is a round arched west door, a blocked arch that served a demolished part of the south aisle and lancet windows at upper levels.

The tower

The walling comprises roughly coursed irregular blocks of thin bedded sandstone, with frequent iron staining, and more massive blocks of medium grained sandstone for the quoins, dressings and ashlar to the spire, which was added in the C14. In several places, the sandstone to the general walling shows cavernous decay and there are occasional red/brown ironstone nodules. 

A general view from the north-west

Moving clockwise to the north elevation, a plan in the church guide indicates that the west half of the north aisle is C15 and the east half is C14, although there is no obvious change in the pattern of the stonework along its length, except where an opening to the east of the doorway is filled with blocks of slightly orange sandstone that have a greater bed height. 

The north aisle

Looking more closely, although the string course below the windows runs at the same height, the style of plinth varies between the west and east ends. The plain parapet has distinct tooling with continuous horizontal lines and, like the vestry at the east end this was added in 1763 by John Platt of Rotherham; however, it can also be seen that the uppermost two courses consist of larger ashlar blocks with no tooling. 

A detail of the north aisle

The windows to the aisle have late Perpendicular Gothic four centred arches, with cusped two-light windows and a mouchette above, and the flat headed windows to the clerestory, with cusped lights, are also C15 and were added at the same time. To the east of the tower, an old steep roofline can clearly be seen and two of the lancet windows have been blocked up. 

An old roofline on the tower

The north wall of the chancel reverts to a more primitive pattern of masonry, with the block sizes and shapes and courses being very irregular and the sandstone having higher iron content than the stonework in the north aisle. It has affinities with the tower and may therefore be the remains of the chancel that was enlarged during the late C12. 

The east end of the north elevation

The remaining elevations of the chancel, including the Perpendicular Gothic east window, were rebuilt in the C19 along with the new organ chamber and, continuing further, the south aisle and the porch are again very different. 

A view of the chancel from the south-east

The south aisle was rebuilt in 1783, with round arched windows having large voussoirs in the Palladian style and the heavily rusticated porch with a prominent pediment, although the west end was again rebuilt in the same style in 1902. 

The south aisle

The sandstone used for the latest work is very different from others used in the fabric of the church, being massive, medium grained and having a very uniform orange colour – quite unlike anything that I can recall seeing before.

The porch

Sheffield Cathedral - The Interior

The south arcade

When entering Sheffield Cathedral through the C20 entrance, which was remodelled by Thomas Ford and Partners as part of the Gateway Project, the large open space of the narthex dominates the interior and there is no suggestion of its mediaeval origins. 

A general view of the nave and arcades

Looking down the nave, which was rebuilt in 1880 by Flockton and Gibbs, the Perpendicular Gothic style arcades have tall plain octagonal piers with crenellated capitals. The masonry above has an odd mixture of sandstones which look aged and in some cases blackened, which suggests that these have been recycled from the pre-existing structure.

Various sandstones in the south aisle wall

In the south aisle wall, there are again various sandstones that look typical of the Coal Measures rather than the Millstone Grit, including many blocks that look very much like Rotherham Red sandstone – a very distinctive stone that occurs in several manors held by William de Lovetot. Many have tool marks with various patterns, and others have remnants of limewash, which again indicates that this is also reused masonry. 

Ancaster limestone flooring

Throughout the cathedral, there is no York stone flooring and there is now only Ancaster Hard White limestone, which was installed in 2013; however, the occasional inscribed slab is incorporated into the modern floor and these would have undoubtedly been quarried locally from the Brincliffe Edge Rock. 

A general view of the crossing

The crossing is Perpendicular Gothic and is one of the few parts that remain from the church that was rebuilt c.1430. It has four large compound piers, with decoration that includes foliage, a face and a green man. 

A Coal Measures sandstone column with Liesegang rings

Unlike the external fabric, which is built in very coarse grained Rivelin Grit, it uses Coal Measures sandstone, which has Liesegang rings and would have been quarried from a local source. 

Masonry in St. Katherine's Chapel

The east end of the church has the most interesting features, with the C15 walls of St. Katherine’s Chapel and the sanctuary consisting of very irregularly sized and shaped blocks, with a high proportion of flat stones that are common in the Brincliffe Edge Rock.

Recycled C12 masonry in the east wall of the chancel

This part of the church is not accessible to the public but, looking closely, this walling is seen to contain numerous fragments of carved masonry that has been salvaged from the previous C12 church, including chevrons and other mouldings. 

A monument with sculptures by Francis Chantrey

On the north wall of the sanctuary, there is a large late Georgian monument built in medium grained gritstone of a very uniform buff colour, with trefoil headed arcades set on two levels. The niches to the upper arcade contain white marble busts that commemorate various vicars and which were carved by Francis Chantrey of Norton. 

The monument to the 4th Earl of Shrewsbury

Between the chancel and the Shrewsbury Chapel, which was built in 1538 with large blocks of ashlar masonry, the wall incorporates a monument to the 4th Earl of Shrewsbury – with alabaster effigies set on a chest that could be Purbeck Marble and with the surrounding flat topped panelled arch looking like Magnesian Limestone. 

The memorial to the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury

On the opposite side of the chapel, there is the large standing monument to the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, with the effigy showing him in full armour. It is constructed mainly in alabaster, which is probably from Tutbury in Staffordshire, and has columns and panels of Ashford Black Marble.

The effigy of the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury

Various other memorials are scattered on the walls of Sheffield Cathedral but the one that caught my eye was the memorial to the members of the police force and the fire brigade who lost their lives during the Great War.

The memorial to members of the police force and fire brigade

One interesting feature is virtually hidden from public view, in a small atrium at the rear of the café. Here, several escutcheons have been salvaged from a previous structure and hung on the walls but there is no information about them.

Salvaged escutcheons

Sheffield Cathedral - The Exterior

A general view of Sheffield Cathedral in March

My trip to Killamarsh to see St. Giles’ church didn’t take as long as I had envisaged and, after returning to Sheffield on the tram, I decided to have a look at Sheffield Cathedral - the parish church before it was raised to this rank when the Diocese of Sheffield was created in 1914. 

A general view of Sheffield Cathedral in July

The original C12 church, built by William de Lovetot, was rebuilt in the Perpendicular Gothic style from c.1430 but, apart from the tower and crocketed spire, the external fabric seen today is the product of several phases of rebuilding that took place during the C18 and C19, with further additions in the C20. 

The crocketed spire

With so little of the original fabric being retained, it hasn’t been a priority for exploration since starting my archaeological investigation of mediaeval churches in 2016. Its stonework is not entirely without merit and, having briefly visited it several times, I have found various points of interest for readers of this Language of Stone Blog. 

Views of a pair of grotesques on a gate post

Entering the churchyard from the south-east, a magnificent collection of grotesques adorn a set of four gateposts that were removed in the 1960’s and replaced during the Gateway Project. They always make me smile and I have photographed them several times in different lighting conditions, the last being to provide some inspiration for a ceramic project at the Art House - along with those that I have seen at All Saints church in Youlgrave.

A ceramic grotesque made at the Art House in Sheffield

The latest additions to the cathedral, completed in 1966, are built in a medium grained gritstone that has an extremely uniform buff colour, which is a characteristic of stone quarried from the Ashover Grit in Derbyshire - such as Stoke Hall, Stanton Moor and Darley Dale; however, the western part of the St. George’s Chapel uses stone that has a distinct light pink tinge, which is a probably a variation from within the same quarry. 

20th century additions to Sheffield Cathedral

The extensions added between 1936 and 1948 are again built of uniformly buff coloured medium grained sandstone, with its cross-bedding being exposed by differential weathering, which is not a feature of the 1960’s extension. Sometimes, the accumulation of dirt on sandstone after abrasive cleaning can generate a similar pattern but I have not yet examined the stonework in detail. 

Cross-bedding in the Rivelin Grit 

The Victorian and earlier elements of the fabric, at least to the east of the south transept, are built in the much coarser grained Rivelin Grit, which is seen in many of Sheffield’s older buildings and the Wicker Arch and associated railway viaduct. Geologically, this is the same as the gritstone that form Burbage Edge and Higger Tor, where the formation is better known by the more recent name of Chatsworth Grit. 

A detail of the Rivelin Grit

Sheffield Cathedral was also one of the stop off points on the field trip for the Sheffield U3A Geology Group, when investigating the building stones of Sheffield, when they had a good look at the Rivelin Grit and also the plinth to the statue of James Montgomery, which is made of grey granite from Cornwall/Devon. 

The statue of James Montgomery

A particularly interesting feature, which is tucked away at the rear of the cathedral, is a tomb slab made of alabaster. This was once inside the cathedral, but was taken outside in the 1960’s and, being exposed to the elements, and this rock form of the soluble mineral gypsum has been deeply weathered. Looking closely, the sides are incised with sharp furrows that have an appearance of a badlands landscape in miniature.

An alabaster tomb slab

St. Giles' Church in Killamarsh - Part 2

A general view of the east end

Continuing my exploration of St. Giles’ church in Killamarsh, the chancel was rebuilt in the 1840’s using a light brown/orange Coal Measures sandstone, with some iron banding but, apart from the large window with reticulated tracery, there is not much of interest. 

A general view of the north elevation

The entire north side, built in pale cream coloured Magnesian Limestone, was added in 1895 and the walling is rock faced with sawn quoins and dressings. The windows to the vestry are square headed in the Perpendicular Gothic style, with those of the north aisle being arched with ogee headed lights, with tracery that has elements of both Perpendicular and Decorated Gothic styles.

A date stone with a floriated cross on the north aisle

The buttress to the north-west corner of the north aisle has a date stone comprising a panel with a floriated cross carved into it with a date of 1895, which commemorates the building of the new aisle and vestry, but there is nothing else of interest on the north side. 

The Norman south door

Entering the porch, the Norman origin of the church is evidenced by the round arched south door, with double chevron decoration, a single order of colonnettes, and foliated capitals. The surrounding walling is plastered, however, and there is no evidence of this being in its original position or reset.

A general view of the interior showing the north arcade

Once inside the church, I was disappointed to see that it was completely plastered and painted white, with the only exposed stonework being the five corbel brackets that are set into the wall of the north aisle. Each is carved into the head of a saint – Mary the Virgin, Giles, Mary Magdaline (sic), Chad and Cecilia. 

Carved corbel brackets in the north aisle

The most interesting stonework feature is the C12 font, which the guide book says was retrieved from a cobbler who had used it for soaking leather. The large octagonal bowl is quite unusual in that it is made from local Coal Measures sandstone, with Liesegang rings and numerous iron nodules, and the rim is marked where a knife has been sharpened. 

A detail of the font

Having finished a very quick look in the interior, I briefly looked at the mediaeval preaching cross in the churchyard, with its C19 wheel cross head, before having a quick look around the vicinity to see if there was anything interesting. 

The mediaeval cross

Apart from the church and the cross, only three farm buildings in Killamarsh are listed and, after looking at a few examples of walling and photographing the sandstone escarpment to the east of the church, I headed back into Sheffield to have a good look around Sheffield Cathedral.

Views of the landscape and walling stone

St. Giles' Church in Killamarsh - Part 1

A general view of St. Giles' church 

After my day out to Barlborough, my next trip was to Killamarsh, originally a small agricultural settlement next to the River Rother, whose fortunes were changed by the industrial revolution. Its coal seams supplied the steel industry of Sheffield, a forge exploited local iron ore and the Chesterfield Canal opened up further commercial opportunities. 

A view of St. Giles' church tower from Kirkcroft Lane 

St. Giles’ church is set on a ridge of Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation sandstone about 500 metres from the modern town centre. Approaching from Kirkcroft Lane, after a leisurely journey that included the Supertram from Sheffield city centre to Halfway, I was immediately struck by the stone used in the C15 tower. 

Churches with towers in mottled Rotherham Red sandstone

It is a red/yellow mottled, medium grained, cross bedded sandstone that is just like the variety of Rotherham Red sandstone used to build All Hallows church in Harthill, the towers of St. Peter and St. Paul in Todwick and St. John the Baptist in Wales and for alterations to the original aisleless nave of the latter. In Harthill, which is just 3 km to the east, several old quarries have been identified in the village – which once had a thriving grindstone industry – but I have not yet seen a source of mottled sandstone.

The west elevation of the tower at St. Giles' church

Looking closely at the towers of these churches, the windows to their belfries look almost identical and their angled buttresses, castellated parapets and the position of their gargoyles are very similar – except those at Wales were removed during the remodelling of the parapet during its late Victorian restoration.

The church towers in Harthill, Todwick and Wales

When exploring the mediaeval churches of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, I have relied on the Pevsner Architectural Guides, Historic England listings, church guides and any other information that I can find on the internet. There is rarely information on the precise dating of any phase of construction, except relating to Victorian restorations, and at best this often seems to be an educated guess. 

The restored west window to the tower

I don’t know enough about the history of mediaeval church building, or whether documentation exists to support this but, in this instance, there are so many similarities between the aforementioned churches – which are all close together - to suggest perhaps that one master mason was responsible for the design and building of the C15 parts of all of them. 

A general view along the south elevation

Walking clockwise around the church, the south wall of the original nave is presumably the C14 element referred to in the Historic England listing and it is built out of the local sandstone, with its typically light brown colouration.

A restored Decorated Gothic window

To the left of the porch, there is a restored Decorated Gothic window with Geometric tracery but there are two unusual triangular headed windows ion the right hand side of the porch. These are identical to those seen in the south wall and the north chapel of St. James’ church in Barlborough and are considered to be late Perpendicular Gothic by Pevsner. 

A restored Perpendicular Gothic window

In both churches, these windows are not original and have been presumably been inserted during the major work that took place from 1894-1899 at St. James', by an unnamed architect, and in 1895 at St. Giles', by J.M. Brooks, who added the vestry and north aisle. 

A general view of St. Giles' church from the south-east