Danbury camp is an earthwork (consisting of a single bank and
ditch) enclosing Danbury church and graveyard. An information board
to the left of the church explains the history from the Iron Age
and why Danbury was such an ideal location – it is well worth
taking the time to have a read!!
John the Baptist Church sits on top of the hill about one
hundred and eleven metres high. Early parts of the church date back
to the 12th century but the hill has an even earlier military
history (as above). The earlier part of the church is made of stone
flint; the tower came later in 1330. During the reformation,
ornaments were sold off and the money used for repairs.
The church is famous for its pickled body. In 1779 workmen were
digging a grave and discovered about 30 inches below pavement, a
huge flat stone with a coffin beneath it. It was made of lead with
another elm coffin inside. There was no name on the coffin. When
they opened the inner shell, inside was a perfectly preserved body
of which one man wrote “a man in the vigour of youth, his flesh
firm and white…and excellent teeth.” The liquid he was preserved in
tasted like mushroom ketchup! There were flowers and herbs floating
in it. He was wearing a shirt of linen and lace and a popular
theory is that this is a pickled knight!
You know the score, the co ordinates get you to St Johns Church
car park and you have to rummage round the graveyard (all the
graves are close to the church, you do not need to wander far!) to
get the coordinates for the final cache which is a micro not very
far away containing log book and pencil.
For those of you who also like a walk – as a bonus for doing
this cache, you will also find the co-ordinates for Danbury Church
and Common Bonus Cache (GC1HN2M) on the Log Book.
Sarah Ellen Rogers passed away 1A-05-19BC
Mary Ann wife of the late John Bailey died 2K-06-19DE aged
7F
Philip Theophilus Ralph died March 191G aged H7
Reuben Harry Layton and Emily Eliza Layton both died J – 12-
1918
The cache is at N51. CE.BDH E 000.JF.KAG
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If anybody would like to expand on this series please do so.
Could you please let sadexploration know first so he can keep track
of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.
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