St Nectan's Chapel
Bridgend is a hamlet that is now considered to be part of the small town of Lostwithiel. It is the suburban area to the East of the River Fowey and, as its name suggests, begins at the end of the old stone bridge over the river.
The railway station at Lostwithiel is actually in Bridgend. The hamlet sits in the Parish of St Winnow which is mentioned in the Doomsday Book and comprises 5000 acres of rural landscape to the East and South of Bridgend.
The parish is served by the beautiful St Winnow Church on the riverside to the south and by the Chapel of Ease - St Nectan's Chapel to the north.
The present St Nectan's Chapel dates from the 13th and 15th centuries with some modifications made in early Victorian times. It is a lovely, little plain church which exudes a sense of peace and solitude.
The church tower looks a bit odd and this is due to the fact that it was damaged during nearby fighting in the English Civil War and the repairs resulted in its present truncated form.
Services are still held at the church in the summer months and the church is open to visitors during the daytime all year round - well worth the time to take a look inside.
The Cache
The headline coordinates will take you to the gate to the chapel where there is room to park 2/3 cars.
Enter the churchyard and walk up to the entrance porch. On your left you should see the tombstone to the family of William Haley.
Obtain the following information from this memorial stone:
Day in December that William Died = AB
Year of William's Death = ACCD
Day in May that his wife Harriett died = EA
Year that Harriett died = ACFA
Day in April that their son Martin Haley died = GH
Checksum - A+B+C+D+E+F+G+H = 40
The cache can be found at N 50 GD.(E+G)DC W 004 E(A+B).(H-G)(F-B-G)A
There is a footpath to the cache although not clearly marked and the field usually contains livestock.
An alternative is a short drive to the GZ where there is room to park and grab the cache.
The cache is a 10 cm by 3 cm plastic tube inside a camo bag.
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See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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