Welcome to St. Peter's Church Traditional Cache
Welcome to St. Peter's Church
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
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St. Peter’s Church is the oldest Anglican Church outside of the British Isles, and the oldest Protestant church in continuous use in the New World. It is a cultural and spiritual icon in Bermuda and an integral part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Town of St. George. To be married at St. Peter’s Church is an old Bermuda tradition and many couples return to celebrate their anniversaries.
In 1609 the English ship “Sea Venture” was enroute to Virginia when it was shipwrecked off the east end of Bermuda. All on board survived and named their settlement New London which became the town of St. George’s.
In 1612, the first settlers to colonise the Island arrived from Plymouth, England on the ship the “Plough" and built a temporary post and thatch church. In 1619 it was replaced by a wooden structure. After a devastating hurricane, the church was rebuilt and enlarged in 1713/1714 using the wood from the previous building and adding new stone walls. It was enlarged again in 1815 and 1841.
The interior of the church is beautiful and unique. Bermuda cedar is used throughout the sanctuary including the Communion Table made in 1612 and the pulpit made in 1660. An interesting dole cupboard stands just inside the entry that was made in 1640 for distributing food to the needy. The baptismal font of Purbeck stone dates from around 1450.
Services are held 11:15 a.m. Sundays and 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, with Sung Evensong held on the last Sunday of the month and every Tuesday – April to October at 3:45 p.m.
The old graveyard surrounding the Church is the last resting place of generations of gentry and commoners, governors, slaves, privateers and statesmen. Some are memorialized inside the Church.
To get to St. George's,geo-tourists who come to Bermuda by ship at Dockyard can take a ferry boat directly to the town. If you choose to take the bus instead, you will have to take the #7 or #8 to Hamilton, then transfer to the St. George's bus at the main bus terminal.
Please bring a pen to sign the log and use your initials when signing as this is a small bison tube.
I gave this a 2 rating because of the many steps to climb to get into the church.It is definitely not wheelchair accessible.
I would like to thank the Rector, Rev. W. David Raths for being so gracious to me and for his permission to place this cache at St. Peter's. I also appreciate his assistance in suggesting the perfect place for this cache. Rev. Raths has been replaced by Rev. Tom Slawson. He is aware of this cache and is very familiar with geocaching. Thank you Rev. Slawson for allowing us to still place this cache at St. Peter's Church.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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