Whilst limited evidence exists of Church activity round Benton from the 7th and 8th centuries, it is from the mid-12th Century that the existence of the Parish of Long Benton can be assured, as the church can name its rectors from 1150 to the present day. Dr G.W.D. Briggs, in his publication 'St. Bartholomew's Church', states that 'there is a reference to transfer of the advowson by Roger de Merlay dated 1251 and then of the foundation of a chantry in honour of the Virgin Mary by 'Adam of Benton' dated 23 December 1310. This foundation names the church of St Andrew in Benton,' and was established to serve the village of Long Benton.
By 1790, the Church had fallen into great disrepair, and had reached a stage where rebuilding was the only remaining option. The architect employed was William Newton, who designed and built the nave and tower over the foundations of the original church. Dr Besly, vicar of the parish from 1830 writes 'the chancel, which was then the responsibility of Balliol College, was left in its original state in consequence of the disinclination of the lessees of the great tithes to undertake the expense of rebuilding it,' [2] and the church was dedicated in honour of Saint Bartholomew and was consecrated by the Bishop of Peterborough, the Right Reverend Dr John Hinchcliffe on 2 November 1791. The Chancel was rebuilt in 1855, with an Organ Chamber and South Aisle being added in 1874. The Vestry was added in 1888 and the date of the porch is uncertain. More information about the church can be read on the website
This is a multi-cache and can be found a short walk away at N 55 01.ABC W 001 34.DEF by working out the coordinates from the clues below.
You should be standing in front of an information board
A = Second digit of the phone number minus the third digit of the phone number
B = Number of times the number ZERO appears on the sign MINUS 1 (Ignore the paper notice)
C = First digit of the telephone number
D = Number of times Wednesday is shown (Ignore the paper notice)
E = Number of letters in the first word of the second line
F = Number of letters in the word directly above HOLY
Checksum is 20
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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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