Can I please ask that you do not try this cache at Night. The Church has suffered vandalism in the past and the neighbours are especially sensitive to any unusual activity at night- Many Thanks
The Church:
History of St Mark’s Church, Sticker
The little Mission Church of St Mark's is approached up a lane that leads from the bottom of Chapel Hill at Sticker, opposite the car park. As you begin to ascend the lane you will see the St Mark's Church Hall on your right. The Church is surrounded by trees that hide it from view. The entrance to the Church is through the porch on the North side.
The Church is built on a cruciform shape and has plain glass windows. It used to have a small organ that could either be pedalled or pumped from the rear when there was no electricity. This has had to be replaced with a more modern keyboard organ. There is a font at the rear of the church which dates to the time of the church's construction in 1877
St Mark's Church or Chapel (as it is referred to in the Faculty which was granted by Bishop Edward White on 20th June 1877) has permission for the "performance” of Divine Service and the occasional administration of Holy Communion and Baptism". It was provided for the "convenience of the people of Sticker" who were situated at a distance from the parish church at St. Mewan. It is known as a "Church of Ease". There is a report of the opening ceremony in the Royal Cornwall Gazette of 27th April 1877 which describes the number of people as "being within the sound of the church going bell" as 360. The site for the church was bought from a Mr Christopher Henry Hawkins for the sum of £17. This all happened because the Bishop was very keen that wherever possible every village should have its own place of worship and that all parishioners should be able to walk to Church.
Since those days the Church has been in regular use and is presently supported by a loyal and active group of Sticker parishioners who regularly raise funds to maintain the building. Until 1956 it had a parsonage house in the village attached to it with a stipendiary reader who was in charge of the church. During his time St Mark's had a choir and morning and evening prayer was said every Sunday. Today however there is only one service on a Sunday at 11.00 am and unfortunately the Sunday School closed some years ago, amalgamating with St Mewan. The Church is licensed for Marriages, Baptisms and Funerals.
The Church Hall was built in 1911 on ground made over by the Trewithen Estate and the deed of conveyance is dated 17th May 1911.
The History of Sticker
The village of Sticker grew from local mining. In 1785, Sticker was described as "a new place" and it seems that the village began as a settlement for workers in the Great Hewas Mine on its western outskirts. Great Hewas was known to have been worked in the eighteenth century, a 45-inch Boulton and Watt pumping engine being installed in the 1790s. By the nineteenth century, the mine was employing over 250 people, producing not only tin, but copper, lead, and some silver. Two smaller mines to the west, Ventonwyn and Hewas Water, worked alongside Great Hewas. The last of these mines ceased production in 1926, though the chimney of Ventonwyn engine house is still a local landmark.
Today, Sticker is a small village in the parish of St. Mewan in Cornwall. It has around 450 homes, a population of about 1150 and an electorate of around 850. With a local shop, post office, hairdresser, garage and public house the residents are well catered for. There is a free car park in the village and a regular bus service to St. Austell, Truro and the surrounding villages.
The Cache
The given coordinates are for Stage 1 of the multi. There is a free car park in the centre of the village at the coordinates provided. The route to the Church is up the lane opposite the entrance to the car park - Please do not drive up the lane - it is only a short walk.
Stage 1 - The entrance to the Church grounds where there is an electric lantern. How many pieces of glass are there on any face of the lantern? Answer = A
Stage 2 - Facing the west wall of the Church. How many windows in the west wall? Answer = B
How many crosses adorn the roofs of the Church? (You will need to circumnavigate the Church to see them all!) Answer = C
Stage 3 - In the entrance porch of the Church there are a number of coat hooks. How many were there originally? Answer = DE
Stage 4 - Facing the south side of the Church. How many skyward projections are there on top of the mini spire? Answer = F
Stage 5 - Go round to the east wall of the Church. How many large arched windows in this wall? Answer = G
How many triangular pieces of glass are there in the bottom section of the central window? Answer = HJ
The cache can be found at:
N 50 DF.HFA
W 004 (J-G)(B-E).CGF
The route to the cache is from the car park and involves crossing the road through Sticker - please take care when crossing with children and animals.
The route is along a track and then through a gate through the yard of a house but it is a public footpath and right of way. The cache is only a few tens of metres past the house.
When placed, the cache contained some nice swag for kids plus a set of my personal path tags. There is room for trackables and geocoins.
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro@gmail.com.
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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