Church Micro 940…Woodhead Traditional Cache
Church Micro 940…Woodhead
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
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This is probably the most beautiful location of the church micros I have placed, nestled in the hills of the Longendale Valley with a stunning view over the Woodhead Reservoir. The church of St. James' is also the smallest, serving only a handful of people but yet also is the oldest church of those I've placed, with over 500 years of history.
St. James Church (Church of England) is located just beyond Crowden in the Longendale Valley. It stands at almost 800 feet and with fewer than 40 people living within a 4 mile radius it must surely be amongst the most desolate churches in the country.
It may already be well over 500 years old, since although 1487 is usually given as its foundation date, Sir Edmund Shaa, Lord Mayor of London, left money in that year to pay for a priest "in a chapel that I have made in Longdendale" who would sing his mass and say divine service for ever more. Local rumour suggests that the fifteenth century building - probably wooden - was at Robin-i-Meers about three quarters of a mile further up the valley by the River Etherow; the dedication seems to have changed from the Blessed Virgin to St. James some time later, which might imply a new building.
Locally, the building is often called Woodhead Chapel, which is actually incorrect as the building is a church in it's own right. In 1724 it was indeed a chapel to St Michael and All Angels, Mottram in Longdendale (church micro 3250), however, it became a district church for part of Tintwistle in 1840.
There are no graves before mid-eighteenth century in the present graveyard. The registers of the chapel are now scattered, the earliest consisting of baptisms (1780 - 1812) and burials (1782 - 1812) are at the County Record Office, Chester. Extensive renovations were made to the exterior in 1910 and a number of old graves on the floor of the inside of the church were removed and replaced by block flooring. A further addition was made in 1919 when Mr. Ben Crossland built the small outer porch as a memorial to the men of Crowden and Woodhead who gave their lives in World War One.
If planning this as a driveby... When first placed, this track was a rutted mess but it has been resurfaced now meaning you can actually drive up into the church car park. The church is located up the old road, which is very narrow and comes off the Woodhead Pass rather abruptly on a corner. It is a sharp turn if coming from the Sheffield side. Please take great care exiting, the main road is de-restricted, vehicles move very quickly and it is a bit of a blind exit point.
Do take a few minutes to look at the church, you can see in through the windows and the graveyard looks lovely in the summer when all the ferns are in full growth. It is still actively used, with regular services throughout the year, and indeed parishioners were on site when I placed this on Easter Sunday. To find the cache, pass the church and continue up the track and through the gate that takes you beyond the car parking area. The GPS will then guide you to the final location. Please note, the cache is not hidden in the wall.
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him.
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
ybbx va gur pbeare, haqre n fgbar (svryq fvqr, abg va pne cnex, abg va jnyy)
Treasures
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