This cache will take you to St. Paul's Church. This place holds precious memories for me.
It is the resting place for my paternal grandparents, my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and now my sister. When I come here I think of all the fun times growing up with these dear people. I miss them terribly.
St. Paul's Church is steeped in history. It was planted in 1623 a short time after the land of Sir George Somers in Bermuda and named after the foremost Christian missionary Paul of Tarsus.
Much reconstruction has been done to the church throughout the years. In 1795 after a storm had severely damaged the Church, the oldest part of the present structure was erected. When standing at the crossing where the four arms of this cruciform meet, one is approximately in the middle of the oldest part of the building. The transepts - north and south, were added in 1825. This made for a cruciform church building reminding those who enter of the symbol of our salvation. The axis - east and west, with the high altar in the east facing the rising sun, which is symbolized by the burst around the Cross. The font is at the west entrance of the Lady Chapel. Early in 1969 some work was done to the western end of this building and a grave marker dated 1859 ws discovered underneath the floor. This suggests that the west end of the building was added to around 1860. The spire was designed by a local resident and amateur architect in 1875. It is a lovely addition to the scene when it is seen rising majestically from the marsh during the day, and at night points a finger towards heaven as it is bathed in soft light. Additional remodeling was made in 1929, 1958, 1973, 1983 and 2009.
The pipe organ has been enlarged to 75 ranks with 81 speaking stops in seven divisions districuted amongst the organ chamber and the north gallery. It presently contains somewhat over 4000 pipes. It is the largest, and reputedly, the finest organ in Bermuda and is recognized by overseas organists as a world-class instrument.
The Rev. Anthonhy Pettit is the Rector of St. Paul's. I typed a lengthy full page letter to him seeking permission to place a cache at the church, explaining everything I ever knew about geocaching. His replay was short and sweet, so to speak. He was very familiar with caching. It just happened that his last curate was a geocacher and he said he had been "dragged" all over the place looking for caches in England. So he was happy to give persmission and encouraged everyone to visit the church which is opened 8:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day. And he would like you to check out their website and/or facebook page.
wwwanglican.bm/stpaulspaget and www.facebook.com/stpaulspaget.
Thank you Rev Pettit. I appreciate you allowing this cache to be placed here.
The #8 Bus from Dockyard stops at the Church.