The Church
The Borough of Saltash was founded by one of the de Valletorts, lords of Trematon Castle, circa 1175. The founder provided a large chapel for the inhabitants; it was erected beside the central market square of the new town. The chapel was dedicated to St Nicholas, patron saint of travellers, sailors and safe journeys (etc.!) - appropriate for a place where an ancient land highway crossed an important estuary (itself a highway) by means of a ferry.
For more than 700 years St Nicholas's Chapel was a chapel-of-ease, subordinate to the mother church of St Stephen, although baptismal rights were acquired before the end of the medieval period. During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Saltash Corporation increasingly took control, designating the building "the Corporation Chapel" and appointing chaplains.
In 1881, at the request of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and the Bishop of Truro, the Privy Council made an Order by which the chapel became a parish church. The 1881 Order described the building as the "church of Saint Nicholas and Saint Faith". St Faith was included because the Revd Julian Moreton (last chaplain and first vicar) assumed that the chapel of St Faith at Saltash, licensed in 1435 and 1437, was part of St Nicholas's Chapel. In fact, St Faith's Chapel was situated elsewhere in the town.
The building
The 12th century edifice was cruciform in plan and also had two low-roofed chapels, which were placed against the eastern sides of the transepts. Dressed stone for buttresses, quoins, the S transept arch, the S doorway (now blocked) and window-openings was obtained from Tartendown in the parish of Landrake. An unbuttressed tower was sited at the end of the N transept; evidently this was the last part of the Norman structure to be completed, because the tower arch is Transitional in style. The creamy sandstone used for dressings in the tower appears to be Caen stone from Normandy.
In the 14th century a large arch was inserted in the N wall of the chancel when the N chapel was remodelled to form a N chancel. In the 15th century a N aisle and N porch were added, Roborough stone from Devon being used for the arcade, windows and dressings.
Circa 1840 the N aisle doorway was blocked and the N porch was dismantled and re-erected at a new S doorway. A major restoration of the building was carried out in 1869. It included the insertion of four new windows on the southern side, and a pyramidal roof (a feature that was at least 300 years old) was removed from the tower. Works carried out in 1930-31 included the stripping of plaster from the interior faces of the walls, and the conversion of the tower parapet from crenellated to plain.
The tower contains six bells; their dates range from 1760 to 1959. The primitive mechanism of the tower clock dates from the early 18th century, and so is a rare survival.
Some interior features
The Drew memorial, with illustrations in relief, is mounted on the north wall of the N aisle. It commemorates two brothers and their nephew who perished in naval disasters in 1798. Capt. John Drew commanded the frigate HMS Cerberus. Returning from Ireland, he anchored the ship in Cawsand Bay and set off for the Hamoaze in a longboat. He and Lieut. James Drew, together with other crew members, were drowned when the boat capsized. Capt. James Drew commanded the sloop HMS De Braak, which sank off Cape Henlopen, Delaware, USA, after being overturned by a sudden squall. In 1986 her hull was raised: the divers found Capt. James Drew's pocket-watch; they also retrieved his gold ring bearing an inscription in memory of his brother, John, who had drowned just four months earlier.
The Cache
The headline coordinates take you to the Saltash War Memorial which commemorates the fallen of both World Wars.
The War Memorial is adjacent to the church and can be accessed from the pavement through the metal gates.
At the memorial you need to obtain the following information:
1. How many men are commemorated on the 1914 -1918 War Memorial = AB
2. On 1939 - 1945 War Memorial:
- How many men with the surname ALLEN =C
- How many men with the surname ROGERS = D
- How many men with the surname CRABB = E
- How many men with the surname CORNISH = F
3. How many men and women in total are commemorated on the 1939 - 1945 memorial = GG
The cache can be found at N 50 24.ADG W 004 12.C(D+E)B
The cache is a camo'd plastic tube 10 cms long by 3 cms in diameter.
Due to proximity issues, the cache is a short car drive away from the church and ample free roadside parking is available at the GZ.
Great views of the River Tamar from the GZ.
You may require tweezers to extract the log and Please Bring Your Own Pen.
!! Stealth is required at the GZ - please replace the small covering stone. !!
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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.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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