A Grade I listed monument, St Mary’s Church was, from Norman times, a possession of St. Peter’s Abbey in Gloucester. There was a Norman west window in the nave but the tower was built against it in the 14th century. Also 14th century is the font, while the timber framed porch dates from the 15th century and the pulpit is Jacobean. The church was restored by Waller in 1882 when the nave walls were scraped.
An interesting tomb in the churchyard is that of John Hale, Blacksmith, who in 1692 was crushed by a bell of Newent Church. Other monuments of note include (21m N of W end of the Chancel) a Grade II* listed stone chest tomb to Thomas Sloper who died in 1703 and (6m N of the Nave to the W of the E window) a Grade II listed stone headstone, the earliest decipherable in the churchyard, to Henry Eldridge who died in 1661.
The churchyard also houses the restored bee shelter. The bee shelter is a most unusual "building" and dates from the mid 19th century, although originally thought to be much older. It is made of stone and can accommodate 28 boles on two levels. It was originally located at Nailsworth but was moved to the grounds of Hartpury House in 1968.
Go to the first stage and count how many lights/lamps are on the post = A.
The cache is accessable from a private road, only foot traffic is permitted
The cache can be found at:
N51 54. (Ax2) (A+2) (A-3) W002 18. (Ax3) (A+5) (A-1)
Congratulations to glosjools for getting FTF
****************** ********************
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.
****************** *******************