Church Micro 7647 ... Petham Traditional Cache
Church Micro 7647 ... Petham
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The village of Petham is approximately 5 miles South of Canterbury. The church was unfortunately gutted by fire on 28th March 1922, and as a result it has completely new nave and south aisle roofs of 1922-3. The south arcade was also completely rebuilt at this time. The earliest visible remains are in the north wall of the nave where herringbone flint work can be seen. This perhaps suggests a date for the eastern two-thirds of the nave of the late 11th or early 12th century. Above the 13th century north door into the nave, a fine mid-12th century round-headed arch has been uncovered. It is decorated with chevron work. The inner jambs to this doorway are made with diagonally-tooled blocks, also suggesting a 12th century date, and this doorway (and no doubt other features) was perhaps put in not long after the church was given to St. Osyth's Priory in Essex. At the very end of the 12th century, or in the early years of the 13th century, the nave was extended westwards (presumably due to population increase in the parish), and a contemporary tower was constructed on the south-west. On the lower east face of the tower, the scar for a low sloping roof can also be seen, suggesting that a smaller south aisle was first built as this time. The tower has simple pointed arches into both this aisle and the west end of the extended nave. It also has simple lancets in its west and south walls. Unfortunately all of the lower external walls of the tower have been rended. There is, however, another early lancet on the north side of the nave, and this has Reigate stone jambs (with some cement repairs). The masonry around this window is contemporary, and contrasts with the herringbone masonry further east. Some of the original Caenstone quoins of the extreme north-east corner of the nave also survive. Two painted roundels were found inside the west doorway, on either side, in 1922. This cache can be taken in as part of the Petham Plod series. There is good parking by the church or in the village. Please note that the cache is not within the grounds of the church but is placed a little walk away where there is a nice view back to the church. If anybody would like to expand this series please do, I would ask that you could let Sadexploration know first at churchmicro@gmail.com so he can keep track of the church numbers and names to avoid duplication. There is also a Church Micro Stats and Information page found via the bookmark list.
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(Decrypt)
Ebpx bs ntrf , pyrsg sbe zr, yrg zr uvqr zlfrys va gurr.