Church Micro 6182...St Austell EarthCache
Church Micro 6182...St Austell
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(other)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
As this Church Micro is an Earthcache, there is no physical container to search for at GZ or around the grounds of the church. Instead, you will need to observe the geology of the materials used in the construction of Holy Trinity Church in St Austell and has been placed with their kind permission.
A church has been located on this spot since 1169. In 1259 Bishop Bronscombe from Exeter travelled through the West Country blessing and dedicating many churches. On his journey, he visited Holy Trinity Church and helped establish the importance of St Austell as a town. Inside the present church there is a superb large Norman font and an amazing interior so do look inside if you get the chance. However, the building is often locked so this Earthcache utilises locations on the exterior of the church instead and is therefore available at all times. If visiting whilst a Service is taking place, please be considerate.
The headline coordinates should take you to church tower at the end of the church. Erected in the 15th century and 90 feet high to its battlements, the tower is one of the finest in Cornwall, with finely-carved pinnacles, and grotesques. The material used to build the tower (and much of the present church) is a local rock called Pentewan stone. It was quarried throughout medieval times from an igneous intrusion that ran inland from Polrudden Cove near Pentewan, but is no longer worked. Pentewan stone is an example of a rock known locally as an elvan. Many varieties of elvan have been recognised and are named after the type of phenocrysts (larger crystals) that they may contain and/or where they outcrop. Other examples include Newham stone, Tremore stone and Warleggan stone. Many other medieval churches in Cornwall, including those at Botusfleming, Duloe, Fowey, Golant, Gorran, Lostwithiel, Mevagissey and St Columb Major, were wholly or partly constructed from stone that we’d classify as elvan, as were some later buildings such as the eighteenth century Antony House.
Although generally resistant to rainwater and weathering, 500+ years of exposure have necessitated the replacement of some of the stonework of this church.
Question 1 - Stand at the published coordinates. Observe and describe the colour, texture and crystal size in the rock used to construct the tower. Suggest how weathering appears to have damaged the rock.
In 1985, blocks of Pentewan stone were recovered from the beach (as the original quarry had long-since closed) to restore the most damaged parts of the church. This newer stone can be seen at various places around the church, but particularly around the large window in the wing to the right of the tower.
Question 2 - Observe the stonework around the large window to the right of the tower. It was replaced with new Pentewan stone so shows what the church could have looked like when it was first built. How does its colour and texture differ to the older weathered stone?
Set in the ground at the base of the south western wall of the tower (the wall to the right of the doorway) lies the Mengu (or Men du) Stone. This stone was once placed at the boundary of the three ancient manors (Tewington, Trenance and Treverbyn) that existed before St Austell became a town in its own right. As such, this stone bore witness to many important events in local history - If only it could speak! The stone is formed from a rock type called schorl (pronounced school) and contains lots of a mineral called tourmaline. It also contains phenocrysts (larger crystals) of other minerals. The rock was formed by the hydrothermal alteration of older granite around the same time that the nearby China Clay deposits were being formed. Although the schorl cooled and solidified relatively quickly, the size of the phenocrysts actually suggest slower cooling. This is just an illusion though as the phenocrysts were first grown to their larger size in the original granite before being recycled into the schorl.
Question 3 - Look at the Mengu Stone set in the ground at the base of the south western wall of the tower. Describe its overall size, colour and texture and what the phenocrysts (larger crystals) look like.
Return to the headline coordinates. The old clock face above the door of the tower is unusual in that it has a 24-hour dial. Although now defunct, it was the only clock in Cornwall mentioned in an inventory of Tudor days. Further up above the doorway, there are a number of intricately carved figures.
Question 4 - Count the number of people carved in stone on the panel above the window above the doorway. Suggest a property of Pentewan stone that you think makes it possible to carve so intricately.
Leave the churchyard via the gate at the headline coordinates and turn left. Within a few metres you will find a large ornate Victorian fountain set into the wall of the churchyard. It is constructed from three distinct rock types: white Italian marble, local grey granite and an eye-catching altered granite called luxullianite.
Question 5 - Study the Victorian fountain and suggest which rocks have been used for each of the following parts and why they might have been chosen:
1) base plinth/stone with inscribed date
2) bowl and vertical side columns
3) carved upper and roof section.
In order to claim this EarthCache, please email your answers to me through my profile at the top of this page or via this link
Feel free to log your find without having to wait for an email from me. However, if your answers are not correct or incomplete etc., I will contact you by e-mail to verify your find.
If you’d like to post a photo of yourself or your GPSr at or around the church, Mengu stone or fountain, that would be great. Please just remember not to post any spoilers or give any of the answers away in your log.
Thanks for taking the time to visit this Earthcache and I hope you enjoy your visit.
**************************************
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.
*************************************
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx sbe gur ynetr puhepu!
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures