The Church
The 13th century church of St Andrew and St Mary stands in the grounds of How Caple Court, and boasts richly coloured stained glass windows. The church is built upon the foundations of an earlier Norman church but the current building is largely a 17th century rebuilding.
Within the church is a Norman font and an unexpected treasure in the form of a 16th century German diptych, now partially restored.
The House and Gardens
It was Sir William Gregory who first started extending and rebuilding How Caple Court in the mid seventeenth century, and his descendants remained there until the late eighteenth century. He was left with absolutely nothing after the death of his father and entered the employ of the grandfather of Sir John Kyrle before going on to become a barrister, and gradually built himself a comfortable living. After the Restoration, Sir William’s business went from strength to strength and he started buying up land, purchasing How Caple in 1677, whereupon he was elected Country Party candidate for Hereford and earned himself much respect as he went on to take a very active role in politics and parliament. He died in 1696, and was buried at How Caple.
In about 1885 a rock garden with cascades and a fernery was designed by E.W. Meyer, a German designer working for the Veitch nursery of Exeter. In about 1890 the estate was bought by the Lee family, textile manufacturers from Lancashire. In the early 20th century the house was greatly extended in an antique style and an extensive new garden made incorporating compartments such as a Florentine garden, a water garden and a pergola at the foot of the terraces. Large-scale new plantings included tree shelter and herbaceous plantings from Blooms of Bressingham. Most of this work was designed by the owner, Lennox Bertram Lee, who practised as a garden designer.
After L.B.Lee's death the gardens fell into decline, but were restored by his grandson, Peter Lee, who himself sadly died some few years ago. The restoration is only partial so that the gardens (open to the public in summer) retain a poignant air of faded grandeur. The house is not open to the public.
When open, visitors can enjoy a pot of tea, scones and cake in the courtyard tearoom. Ice creams and a selection of confectionery are also available. The river is close by and there is easy access to the Wye Valley Footpath. Walkers, cyclists, and of course Geocachers, are most welcome to stop for refreshments!
When I visited to place the cache, there were lots of peacocks, even up in the trees. Their call is quite spooky as it is such a quiet place. Just fantastic.
The Cache
To find the cache, find the answers to the following questions:
Q1: Tomb with a pot on top - How many letters in Francis and Perin's son's name? = A
Q2: On which day of the month did he die? = B
Q3: In which month did he die? = C
Q4: Porch - How many letters in the first word on the plaque on the wall? = D
Q5: Porch - What is the missing number in the date on the plaque on the wall? = 19E0
Q6: Vault - How many people are buried here? = F
The cache can be found at:
N 51° 58.(B-A)(B-C)(A-D) W 002° 33.(A+E)(C+F)(C+E+F)
Checksum: A+B+C+D+E+F = 30
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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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