Parking is easiest in the road just as you enter the village from the Penryn direction where it is wider. Though there is a small car park at the church if you just wanted to stop, grab the numbers, then park near the final, though it is quite a tight turn into and out of the car park with poor visibility so take care.
Porkellis Moors below the village were densely-populated during the Bronze Age and grew to prominence again in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a result of the prolific Basset and Grylls mine. Before mining activites ceased towards the end of the nineteenth century, Porkellis was home to a cinema, a shop, a pub, a Men's Institute and a coach builder. At least it still has the pub.
Unfortunately I have not been able to find out much history about this interesting little church though when I visited the local hostelry recently hoping to find someone that might know something I got into a conversation with an old man who was sat alone in the corner and in return for a pint of dark ale told me the following tale.
In the year 1881 two brothers were prospecting for a new mine on their farmland and after digging only a short distance the ground suddenly gave way revealing a perfectly circular shaft some 10 feet across that just disappeared into the earth. Dropping stones down gave no clue to its depth as no sounds were heard of them hitting the bottom. While the brothers pondered the mysterious hole they noticed what appeared to be a fog emerging from the hole that grew steadily thicker and thicker.
Retreating to the safety of their farmhouse they watched as the fog spread and settled over the village. So thick was the fog that no one left their houses that night for fear of what might be lurking within it.
The fog had vanished by dawn the next day though when the brothers left their house to investigate the hole they found their crops had withered and their entire herd of cattle lay lifeless yet unmarked as if just sleeping in the field.
Without delay they set about capping and sealing the hole and the whole village in fear of the strange event that had been visited upon them
started on the construction of the new church which was dedicated on the 14th November 1882.
The fog was never seen again.
Of course this all happened a long time ago and if you are passing through the village on a foggy night you are probably quite safe. Probably.
The co-ordinates bring you to the side of the church and I draw your attention to a nice polite red and white sign fixed to the window,
A = The number of letters in the first word
B= The number of letters in the second word
C= The number of letters in the third word
D= The number of letters in the fourth word
E= The number of letters in the fifth word
The cache can be found at:
N 50 09.A(A-D)(Cx2) W 005 13.D(BxC)E
Check sum of all numbers given and calculated is 56
If you would like to add to the Church Micro series yourself then please look here
http://churchmicro.co.uk/
There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page that can be found at
http://www.15ddv.me.uk/geo/cm/ index.html