The church
St George's became the parish church of Gravesend in 1529, taking over from the nearby St Mary's which became ruined in a fire.
The first church on the site may have extended west of the churchyard and probably comprised a nave, chancel and north aisle. Only one stone form the old church now survives and can be found near the entrance to the nave.
The present building was completed in 1732 using a £5,000 grant, of which £3,824 was spent on the building and the remainder on the interior. It opened for worship on 11th February 1733.
The building is made of stock bricks, which were popular in the 18th and much of the 19th century, and is the earliest example of its use in Gravesend. The quoins and dressings are of Bath stone and this is probably the first use of this stone in Kent, outside London. Some of the soft Bath stone bricks have been replaced by Portland stone as they have decayed.
The roof was originally lined with lead but was replaced in 1872 with 'best Westmoreland slate', which have, in turn, been superseded by Stonewold tiles between 1976 and 1978.
The tower is part of the original building of 1732. There is a Latin inscription above the bell-ringing chamber that reads 'This same building being destroyed by disastrous fire King Geroge II most generously ordered to be rebuilt by Act of Parliament'.
The tower has a peal of 8 bells, which were installed in 1736.
The clock was provided by the Gravesend Improvement Commissioners in 1886 and now belongs to the Gravesham Corporation (Borough council).
Pocahontas
Before Pocahontas became a Disney princess, she was a real native American princess who came the UK and is commemorated with a statue in the church gardens.
Pocahontas was born in 1595/1596. She was the daughter of the Chief of around 40 Algonkian Indian villages located around the rivers and shores of Chesapeake Bay. Her father, called Powhatan after his chief village, named her Meto-aka and later 'Pocahontas', meaning 'Playful little Girl'.
She met the pioneer Captain John Smith in 1607 when she intervened to save his life and he was accepted as a friend of the tribe. From there, however, her story forks from that of Disney film.
Pocahontas married a native American at the age of 16, but he died around 3 years later.
In 1613, Captain, Samuel Argall persuaded Pocahontas to board his ship for Jamestown where she was treated as a guest and assured that she would be in a position to bring back friendship and faith between Powhatan and the English.
During the next year, she was converted to Christianity by Alexander Whitaker, a Calvinist minister. She also met John Rolfe, then 28, who had arrived with his wife in 1610, possibly from Heacham, Norfolk. On the outward voyage their child, Bermuda, was born and died on that island, and his wife died after arrival in Jamestown.
Subsequently, John Rolfe obtained permission from the Governor to marry Pocahontas. Powhatan consented and sent his two sons to witness the marriage. She was first baptised Rebecca, and then the wedding took place in April 1614. They left for England with the Governor and a dozen native Americans in April 1616. At this stage they had an infant son Thomas.
When they arrived in England, Pocahontas and her entourage of native Americans were the subject of much curiosity and she was presented at the court of King James as 'the first Christian ever of the Virginian nation'.
In March 1617, the Rolfes prepared to leave London on Argall’s ship the 'George'. However, Pocahontas was suffering from tuberculosis and she was brought ashore at Gravesend, either dead or dying.
She is thought to be buried the in vault of the original St.Georges church, beneath the present chancel. Several searches have been carried out in the area for her body but nothing conclusive has ever been found (although local legend has it that she is actually resting under the multi-story carpark).
The church also contains a memorial tablet commemorating Princess Pocahontas.
The two nave windows, cut in 1914, depict scenes from Pocahontas' life, including her baptism. They also have borders comprising American plants - Virginia creeper, dogwood, saragas and redbud. The windows were presented by the Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of Virginia.
The cache
You're looking for a 35mm magnetic film pot about 8 foot up.
Please try and find time to go and view the statue and have a look around the church.
The cache is located near the entrance to the aforementioned multistory, which you can park in. Or, if you wish to chance the parking wardens, you can park with the locals outside Dominos just before you get to GZ
Part of the hide is more magnetic than others. Please replace so magnets stick to post, thanks
Well done tasjat for FTF :D
If anybody would like to expand this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first atchurchmicro@gmail.com so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.
There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page found via the Bookmark list