Secreted away on the edge of the landscaped parkland of Waldershare House is All Saint's Church. Sadly it was declared pastorally redundant in 1980. Initially it passed into the care of the Earl of Guildford for preservation as a funerary chapel. However, the church was already in a very poor state of repair and this eventually led to it's vesting in the care of The Churches Conservation Trust in 2005.
The earliest named person associated with the history of the church is one John de Malmains, reputedly a standard bearer at the battle of Hastings in 1066, who settled here. A farm within the parish still bears the name. That there was a church here in the 12th century is in no doubt, as the surviving south chancel window, now an internal wall shows. Its Norman predecessor must have been similar to other local churches of the same period, consisting of just a nave and chancel, built of local flint rubble and lightly protected from the elements with a coating of lime rendering. Following the Reformation two private burial chapels were added to the Norman chancel - the south (Monins) chapel in 1697 and the north (Furnese) chapel in 1712. Both chapels were built of bricks made on the estate. The Furnese memorial in the north chapel by sculptor Thomas Green is deemed one of the finest in England.
The church reflects the owners of the estate through its monuments and furnishings, although few individuals other than the estate owners are commemorated within its walls. Yet the church has also served as a place of worship for other, less prominent, local families, many of them yeoman farmers almost as long established in the neighbourhood as the estate owners. Outside the south chapel, next to the path, is a chest tomb marking the burial place of William Hull, a gardener on the estate, and next to it a headstone to a housekeeper, both rare examples of memorials to servants being erected by a grateful employer. On the north wall of the church is a war memorial which carries the names of the 11 men of the parish killed in both World Wars, including Francis George, Lord North, heir to the 8th Earl.
The Cache
CLUES TO THE CACHE ARE ONLY AVAILABLE WHEN THE CHURCH IS OPEN - 10:30AM TO 3.30PM DAILY
The cache is not within the churchyard. Cache is at N51 11.ABC E001 17.DEF
From within the church:
1. Main door - half the number of large screws on the large internal door lock = A
2. Half the number of pews on the right of the nave = B
3. Number of horizontal planks in ramp at end of nave, minus 2 = C
4. Number of short pews on right of nave = D
5. Number of large grates on nave floor = E
6. Number of steps into the pulpit, plus A, = F
If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you let Sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication
To view the church micro stats page, please click here
FTF goes to Kentish Hops