The Old Tower Multi-Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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The cache is not at the published co-ordinates but can be combined with the nearby Shedfield Church micro cache for a short walk alternatively as a cache and dash by car.
The old tower which stands in the churchyard at St John the Baptist Church is all that remains of the first ‘Chapel of Ease’ built on this site in 1828. The chapel seated 272 parishioners but after 40 years the roof of the chapel began to leak and it was proposed that a new church (St John the Baptist) should be built in its place.
By the late 1980s the Old Tower was in a state of serious disrepair, and posed a danger from falling masonry. An imaginative project was launched to renovate the tower, with wildlife in mind. This restoration project was entirely independent from the church and financial support was given by many local organisations. Following a major fundraising effort, the breakthrough for the completion of the project was a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Restoration of The Old Tower was completed at a cost of approximately £35,000, and it was officially ‘opened’ in 1999.
It is a Grade II Listed building, incorporates a ground floor exhibition, and includes a hibernaculum for bats on the top floor. The Old Tower is open to the public several times a year, and by special arrangement.
The cache
From the information board on the approach to the tower, find the following dates
The tower was restored between ABCD and EFGH
From the plaque on the wall of the tower
The first date = JKLM
The cache can be found at N50 54. (B+G) (C-J) (A+H) W001 12. (K-H) (D+E+L) (M+F)
The cache can be combined with a walk to GC6C221 Church micro Shedfield by following the footpath arrow displayed on the tower fence pointing to the rear of the church grounds, over the gate using a lump of wood rather than a traditional stile and past the machinery/boat graveyard which partially obstructs the path (the path continues behind the boat). However the end section of this path can get very muddy.
Alternatively it can be found as a cache and dash a short drive away.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Purfg urvtug
Ernq qrfpevcgvba sbe qrgnvyf nobhg ebhgr gb TM