Church Micro #7666 Upper Framilode Multi-Cache
Church Micro #7666 Upper Framilode
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
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The tucked away little church of St Peter's is a Victorian gem.
Consecrated on St Matthew's Day, 21st September 1854 the architect was Francis Niblett of Haresfield who had also designed Fretherne Church, though in a totally different style. St Peter's is built in the Neo Norman style with a rounded apse.
The first stone was laid on 28th July 1853, the walls consisting of marlstone and Early Jurassic mudstone, in this case from the Tintern area, with Bath stone window surrounds.
The roof of the church is tiled with Broseley tiles made by one of the eight manufacturers active in the Shropshire town of that name at the time. The clay used produced a very hard durable purple tile, fitted on this roof in a fish scale pattern.
The two storey Italianate tower containing one bell was not part of the original drawings. The original plan was to have a simple bell turret at the East end of the roof to summon the faithful. The roof also uses Broseley tiles in a fish scale pattern, again reminding us of the importance to the community at the time of fish in general, and the salmon in particular, by being topped with a weather vane bearing the noble game fish.
On entering the church the first feature that greets you is the square Painswick stone font, having been returned to it's original position after restoration in 1920.
The richly decorated oak ceiling is adorned with various ornate patterns similar to those at Fretherne Church and are a good example of how influenced Niblett was by the work of August Pugin, famous for his decorative work in the Houses Of Parliament.
Various stained glass windows can be seen including a small one of St Peter by George Rogers of Worcester, a highly esteemed master of his craft, responsible for all the windows in the nave.
The organ was built in 1860 by Joseph Walker & Sons Ltd, then of Soho, London a company highly regarded for their craftsmanship and the excellent sound quality attained. The organ cost £70.00, was then packed and shipped from Paddington to Stroud by train, then by road to Framilode.
By returning to the centre of the nave, one can begin to appreciate the Sanctuary in all it's glory.
The windows were all made by James Powell & Sons of Whitefriars, London, yet again, a highly respected firm.
The four boards between the windows are each made of tin onto which religious texts have been painted. Using a pointer, these words would have enabled the priest to teach the congregation to learn by rote, a method widespread in schools years ago when books were still int he future, and where regular repetition led not only to the text being learned, but also the words being recognised.
Much updating has taken place over the years, the pews were renewed, the walls painted, the boiler replaced etc...
The graveyard contains one Commonwealth War grave, to Richard Phelps, Aircraftsman 1st Class, the eldest son of Marcus & Elizabeth Phelps who lived with their many offspring where "Severn View" is now. From his rank is is believed he would have been aircrew, though not a pilot. If that is correct then he would have been a member of a squadron within Bomber Command, rather than that of a fighter squadron, as their aircraft would primarily have been single seater.
The date of burial points to the time when both the London Blitz and The Battle Of Britain were being fought in our skies with many airmen, including Richard, being based in the South East of England.
Tragically, Richard died as a consequence of an air raid on the West End of London where, whilst on leave, he had gone to the cinema with his girlfriend. The cinema was hit by a bomb. Richard was injured and subsequently died in St Pancras hospital, London, whilst his girlfriend was luckier and survived.
To find the cache go to
N51º B(A-1).(B+1)(B/2)(B-2)
W002º (B-2)(A-7).AA(B-1)
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Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Srapr cbfg YUF