The Church
The current church building is predominantly 12th century with subsequent additions. Most notable of these are the tower, built in 1440 and containing eight bells, and a large stone lych gate that was added in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Jubilee. The graveyard is famously home to the remains of local pirate and smuggler John 'Eyebrows' Thomas of Marazion, as well as to William Wingfield, MP. One of the vicars of Gulval, the Rev. William W. Wingfield, was vicar for a remarkable 72 years, from 1839 until his death in 1912.
The church and the graveyard are full of outstanding monuments to past worthies and both are well worth spending time to look around.
Inside the church are a number of brass plaques commemorating the Bolitho family who lived in the area.
Within the bounds of the parish lies the disused Ding Dong mine, reputedly one of the oldest in Cornwall. Popular local legend claims that Joseph of Arimathea, a tin trader, visited the mine and brought a young Jesus to address the miners, although there is no evidence to support this.
The Ding Dong mines have, according to tradition, been worked since Roman times but by the end of the 18th century it was disused. In 1814 it was reopened and worked until 1878. Attempts were made in 1912 and 1928 to reopen it but these failed.
The Cache
The headline coordinates will take you to the church tower to the left of the church entrance where there is mounted a large bronze plague.
This plaque commemorates the longevity of the incumbent vicar William Wriothesley Wingfield.
From the plaque, obtain the following information:
1. The date on the top of the plaque is Anno Domini (AD) = ABAC
2. Date of dedication of the bells was December D th AEEB
3. How many years of Incumbency are commemorated? = FG
The cache can be found only a very short walk away at N 50 G(A+D).BEE W 005 CA.CAF
PLEASE BE VERY STEALTHY at the GZ - it is on a popular footpath - you may need tweezers to extract the log and Please Bring Your Own Pen (BYOP).
The cache is a camo'd plastic tube 10 cms long by 3 cms in diameter.
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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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