A rood screen with fan vaulting, a former rectory with a clearly articulated east façade, and a church built in three phases offer concrete starting points for exploring Ordsall’s cultural history. The dated architectural and decorative features range from around 1430 to the building phases of 1930–1931. This will appeal to travellers who want to explore architecture through individual forms, dates and building phases.
All Hallows: Details of the rood screen
The rood screen at All Hallows dates from around 1430 and features fluting and fan vaulting. Fluting refers to a grooved design; in a fan vault, the ribs spread out like a fan. This brings together a surface-design detail and a distinctive type of vault in one structure. The approximate date and the two named features offer different points of interest: you can consider the rood screen both in terms of its period and its design. For travellers interested in ecclesiastical architecture, this comparison between form and date offers a concrete starting point.
Ordsall House: an articulated east façade
Ordsall House is a former rectory dating from around 1820 and is a Grade II listed building. Its east façade has three bays: simple pilaster strips, a centrally placed entrance and a porch supported by Doric columns shape its design. The three-bay layout describes how the façade is divided; the pilaster strips, entrance and porch identify specific elements. This makes it possible to understand the design through its forms, rather than describing the house only by its date.
St Alban: three building phases
St Alban’s Church in the parish of Ordsall was built in three phases: 1902–1903, 1912–1913 and 1930–1931. Unlike the rood screen, dated to around 1430, or Ordsall House, built around 1820, the history of St Alban cannot be reduced to a single date. All three periods are important for understanding its chronology. The comparison highlights the difference between an approximate date and a church built in several phases.
A listed memorial and a visiting note
The Ordsall War Memorial in All Hallows Street is a freestanding Grade II listed structure. It shares this designation with Ordsall House; its form differs from the latter’s articulated east façade. The listed buildings thus illustrate different ways of describing architecture.
A visiting window for All Hallows is scheduled for Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you plan to travel specifically for a visit, please check in advance that the visiting window is still in effect.
Does Ordsall suit your travel plans?
These examples offer different ways to explore architectural history: a single detail on the rood screen, the design of a house façade and the sequence of building phases at St Alban. If you are considering Ordsall as a destination, you can use these differences to see whether its architectural forms and history match your interests. When looking for a holiday rental for a stay in Ordsall, this is a specific question you can settle in advance as part of your travel planning.
Discover more destinations: Chilwell, Willoughby On The Wolds, Clifton, Eastwood, Normanton on Trent, Hucknall, Beeston, Stapleford
For the broader travel overview: Nottinghamshire.
