Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
In 681 Saint Wilfrid brought Christianity to Sussex and established a Cathedral in Selsey, a small community to the South. The building of the present cathedral in Chichester began in 1076 (10 years after the Norman invasion) and was completed and dedicated to the Holy Trinity in 1108.
Chichester Cathedral has some fine architecture and (despite some unique architectural features) has been called "the most typical English Cathedral". In particular have a look at the unique free-standing mediaeval bell tower before you go in. If you wander round the back, you will have an excellent view of some of the more grotesque and interesting gargoyles.
The plan of the building is in the shape of a cross, but uniquely among mediaeval cathedrals, the interior has two aisles. In common with many historic buildings, it has suffered structural disasters from time to time so what remains is a mixture of Norman and Gothic styles.
Saint Richard of Chichester was Bishop here from 1245 - 1253. He was canonized in 1262 and for the next 276 years, his shrine in the cathedral attracted pilgrims from all over England and beyond, in numbers to rival that of Thomas Becket at Canterbury. However, in 1538 it was famously destroyed following orders issued by Thomas Cromwell on behalf of Henry VIII - being yet another casualty of the dissolution of the monasteries and The Reformation. It wasn't until 1930 that an altar was restored to the site of the shrine. He is also patron saint of Sussex.
The spire of Chichester Cathedral, rising above its green copper roof, can be seen for many miles across the flat meadows of West Sussex and is a landmark for sailors, Chichester being the only medieval English cathedral which is visible from the sea. The marine connection continues with the Sailors' Chapel inside the building near the northwest tower.
The cathedral is also a nesting site for Peregrine Falcons, which use a turret at the base of the spire. Hi-tech bird-watchers can often be seen with high-powered cameras and huge zoom lenses trained on the nesting site. One male and three female chicks were hatched in April 2009.
The Cache
Visit the following locations to answer the questions and obtain the co-ordinates of the cache. Once inside the cathedral, GPS co-ords would be pretty useless, so instructions are given (in conjunction with the following diagram) to get you from place to place. You will make a circuit of the interior in an anti-clockwise direction.
Please remember that this is a centre for spiritual reflection and prayer so try to be respectful of your surroundings. Once an hour, you may hear the voice of the Duty Chaplain over the PA system leading those present in prayer for a very short time. Please respect this and pause in your activities and/or conversation while this takes place.
At the posted coordinates, you will see the statue of St. Richard of Chichester. On the south side of the pedestal are 12 lines of text. How many letters in the FIRST word of the THIRD line? This is A.
Enter the building through the west door (about 100ft south of the statue) and turn to your right just after the donation stand. In front of you is the striking font made from Cornish polyphant stone and copper and designed by John Skelton. There are several words carved around the edge. How many letters in the word ending in 'H'? This is B.
Take a moment to use the special viewing apparatus to (while the viewing apparatus is absent, just look up) look at the ceiling here. You will see a number of square panels of equal size. Take the number of BLUE square panels away from the number of BROWN square panels. This is C.
Walk down the south aisle, past the Chapels of St George and St Clement respectively, past the 15th century Bell-Arundel screen and take a moment to admire the beautiful 19th century stained glass window in the south transept; 
and the wood panel paintings. These pictures, painted in the 16th Century on wooden panels, represent a magnificent example of Renaissance art, and are of national importance. They contain images of Kings and Queens, and of King Henry VIII conferring Royal protection on Chichester Cathedral. Believed to be the largest surviving paintings of their kind they are more than 500 years old.
Further along you will pass two important 12th century Romanesque sculptures before reaching the Piper Tapestry and the altar shrine of St Richard, situated centrally between the two aisles at the eastern end of the building.
Crossing to the north aisle past the shrine, you will see the stained glass window designed by Marc Chagall on the northern wall. How many letters in the surname of the manufacturer? This is F.
Returning towards the entrance via the north aisle, you will pass the north transept (including the memorial to Gustav Holst) and the Arundel Tomb which inspired a poem by Philip Larkin.
At the Northwest corner (just before you leave the cathedral) you will see the Sailors' Chapel and a distinctive silver-coloured bell. The date above this bell is 19ED. Take care that you get these numbers in the right order.
The cache can be found at:
N 50° 50.ABC W 000° 46.DEF
REMINDER: NO NIGHT CACHING.
GZ is NOT accessible during the hours of darkness and indeed may also be inaccessible at dusk. Do not attempt to search for this cache at any time when a torch may be required to see.
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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 at churchmicro@gmail.com.
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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Getting here
For cachers using public transport, the Stagecoach 700 bus stops right outside the Cathedral and the railway station is only a short walk away on South Street.
All on-street parking within the vicinity of the Cathedral is voucher controlled Mon-Sat 9am - 5:30pm and the maximum length of stay is 1 hour during these times. Under those circumstances, voucher parking may not be appropriate for this cache once you factor in walking distance to and from GZ. There are however, numerous short-stay, pay-and-display car parks within the ring road although parking is cheaper pro-rata in the long-stay car parks.
The closest short-stay car park is at Little London (Waypoint 1). For long-stay parking (especially on Saturdays), I would recommend the large Festival Theatre Car Park (Waypoint 2).
Collecting the answers and finding the cache is likely to take an average cacher between 30 and 45 mins (hence the 2.5-star rating). This will take longer if you have to wait for a service to finish, or if you want to take your time discovering the many beautiful artefacts here. This does not include walking to and from a car park.