Church Micro 2961 ... Alderholt St James' Multi-Cache
Church Micro 2961 ... Alderholt St James'
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
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A Church Micro at St James' Church, Alderholt.
The present church building was paid for by Lord Salisbury, whose Cranborne Estate remains prominent in local life. Disagreements with the then Bishop of Salisbury about payment of a vicar delayed its opening until 1849, when Alderholt was finally established as a separate parish. The church is built of local sandstone. Its design is simple and unpretentious. Many visitors comment on its peaceful and holy atmosphere.
The present chancel and santuary were completed 1920-22, again using local sandstone, in memory of Revd James Sanderson, who had died suddenly in 1910 after a dedicated ministry of 21 years.
The War Memorial on the Church Green is of Cornish granite and was unveiled on Sunday 19th September 1920.
In the 1980's a great deal of necessary remedial work was carried out: new oak flooring on both sides of the nave, the replacement of pews, rebuilding of the bell-cote. These, and many other works, were mainly carried out with great expertise and dedication by parishioners.
At the east end of the church are two recently installed paintings, made by Brother Leon of Walsingham in Norfolk and paid for by donations in memory of loved ones. They belong to an age-old tradition of religious paintings called 'icons'. They are painted on blocks of lime wood, using only natural pigments and materials.
St. James, on the left, carries the staff of Christ's authority and the shell symbolising the pilgrim, for James has been associated with pilgrimage down the ages. St. Michael carries the globe, with the cross on top, and the 'sword of the spirit', for angels are agents for God's will to be done on earth.
The Churchyard is both a peaceful place of burial, much visited by the bereaved, and also a remarkable habitat for flowers, birds and insects. It is maintained 'with wildlife in mind'.
While outside you may also notice the odd 'honeycomb' of circular dents in the north-west corner of the church (that's the near left corner as you approach the church from the war memorial). These were made decades ago by children waiting for afternoon Sunday School, using the old penny that they brought for the collection!
The above co-ordinates will take you to the grave of Mrs Chilli Monster's Great Grandparents:
Reginald T A Zebedee who died January 12th 196A aged BC and
Dora Constance Zebedee who died January 15th 196D aged EF
The cache can be found at N50 54.FDE W001 51.A(B+C)C
Checksum = 55
Congratulations to SeekingSalters on FTF!
If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.
There is also a Church Micro Stats page found via the Bookmark list.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ghpxrq njnl va gur obggbz bs gur cbfg.
Treasures
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