St Mary’s is an unusual church, being one of only six churches
in Essex to have a Round Tower.
There is a rare peal of five bells, which were cast from bronze
in the churchyard by a Colchester man 375 years ago. Each bell is
inscribed “Myles Gray made me 1634” – and they still ring true. The
largest bell weighs 12 cwt and the smallest 5 cwt. They are hung in
an oak frame for change ringing in an anticlockwise circle, which
in itself is very rare. In summary an unusual peal of five bells,
rung anticlockwise in an equally rare round tower.
The base of the church dates to Saxon 970, with a Norman church
built on top. The tower is of Norman origin and the belfry door has
a Norman arch. The spire was added in 1882.
The coordinates above are for the church where the information
to obtain the final coordinates can be obtained.
The final cache coordinates are:
North 51 48.ABC
East 000 31.DEF
where
A is Queen Catherine of Aragon
B is Henry de Bohun
C is Eudo
D is De Bohun
E is William de Mandeville
F is Thomas Mildmay
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------