The current Church of St. Bartholomew’s in Tong was built as a chantry college and founded in 1410 by Isabel, the widow of Sir Fulke de Pembrugge. It was altered to house The Great Bell of Tong (the largest bell in Shropshire) and to add the Vernon Chantry in 1510.
Tong – the Literary connections.
The tombs of Dame Isabel and Sir Faulk de Pembrugge can be seen inside St. Bartholomew’s as well as tombs of the Vernon family. On the tomb of Sir Thomas Stanley can be found verses attributed to William Shakespeare.
It is possible that Charles Dickens was familiar with Tong. His grandmother had been housekeeper at Tong Castle. Now long demolished, its site is now obliterated by the M54 although its ice house was saved and reconstructed at The Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings, Bromsgrove. It is believed that some of the scenes from “The Old Curiosity Shop” were written with the village of Tong in mind and that it was here that “Little Nell” died. The popularity of the story encouraged many readers to travel from as far afield as America. In 1910, the verger of the church made false burial records and a false grave which can still be seen to this day.
The cache is not at the above co-ordinates (they are the co-ords for the reputed grave of Little Nell).
Find the grave of Little Nell and collect some nearby numbers.
From the gravestone of Frederick William Podmore of Lizard Cottage, what is the date of his death?
AB Jan CDEF
Now return to the church gate and study the "Welcome" board
Count the number of letters in the First and Last words from the three lines after the word "WELCOME"
G = number of letters in first word
H = number of letters in last word
Substitute the letters in the following equation to obtain the co-ordinates for the cache.
N52 39.(D-A)E(H-C)
W002 17.(B+G)HE
The cache is a short walk from the church but you will have to walk along a quiet lane so take care with youngsters.
You are looking for a small Lock 'n' Lock box in a camo bag
The church is dramatically lit at night time and in its position it makes an impressive sight. However it is not recommended that you attempt it in the dark. Tong is a small village and torches flashing about in the churchyard may arouse suspicion.