The cache is approximately a quarter mile walk from the parking
coordinates along public footpaths. The walk can be can be extended
further for the keen walker.
The tunnel of trees footpath brings you to an area of
conservation protected for wildlife – please stick to the footpath
and the cache is nearby.
For a longer walk: proceed along the footpath around the field
this drops down to Hazeleigh Hall and in the small woods to the
side had stood the Church of St. Nicholas. It has been quoted as
‘the meanest church’ in Essex, being extremely small, utterly
devoid of interest, few windows and everything of the meanest
character. By the end of the 19th Century the population had moved
away from the Old Hall and the church was sorely neglected. A
reviewer in 1923 stated that while claims about the church’s famed
meanness may be true, as far as Essex is concerned, it was unique
and, as a specimen of cottage building for church purposes, it
might well have been preserved while preservation was possible. If
it had been cared for in the 1890s it would still be standing
today.
The last service held in the church was in 1906 and it was
finally demolished in 1922. The parish of Hazeleigh joined with
Woodham Mortimer for worship along with the Church’s Bell.
The wood now covers the whole of Hazeleigh churchyard. Amongst
the trees and undergrowth can still be found a number of
gravestones belonging to past parishioners of Hazeleigh Church.
Unfortunately the wood is private land and the footpath only takes
you to the edge.