The original parishes of the town of Newcastle were St Nicholas' (promoted to be the cathedral when the town became a city in 1882), St John's at the bottom of Grainger Street, St Andrew's on Newgate Street and All Hallows' on the site were you'll soon be standing.
In 1786 the old church of All Hallows' was considered too dilapidated to repair and the parishioners agreed to build a new church. However, despite the poor condition, they had to use explosives to bring down the tower.
The new Georgian classical church, this time called All Saints', is the one that you see today. The Grade I listed building is unusual as it elliptical with a spectacular 4 stage tower. Inside there are mahogany pews under an impressive gallery that covers the rear half of the main auditorium. The plaster ceiling is richly decorated. The interior is well worth a visit of you get the opportunity!
The church was deconsecrated in 1961 and converted to offices in the early 1980s.
When the cache was placed the church was used by Old Catholic Church Anglican Diocese (a breakaway from the established church who oppose some of the church's reforms, more recently including the ordination of women). The Old Catholic Church venerate St Willibrord, a Northumbrian missionary in the 7th and 8th centuries, so they renamed it as St Willibrord with All Saints. It's since been taken over by a Presbyterian congregation, repaired and renovated, and reverted to the name All Saints, but Willibrord is an interesting chap, so I'm leaving the puzzle unchanged.
To calculate the latitude of this cache you'll need to do a bit of online research:
A = the number of letters in the name of the town where Willibrord is said to have landed after crossing the Channel on his mission to the Frisians, the church in the old town is dedicated to him.
B = The number of letters in the name of the month when his feast day is celebrated.
C = The number of letters in the name of the town where he is buried.
X = (A+B) x C
To calculate the longitude you'll need to visit the church:
D = Go to the listed coordinates for this cache and find the blue plaque on the wall. D is the first number on the blue plaque. Be sure to look at the view of the Tyne Bridge behind you from here.
E = Go to N54° 58.218 W001° 36.405. The metal plates on the ground and the cut-out section of wall (look closely below the window) are a fire escape that was added when the building was used as offices in the 1980s. The whole wall slides out when a handle is turned inside the building. E is the number of stones on the bottom row of the cut-out section.
F = On the information board at N54° 58.200 W001° 36.432 find the year when the church stopped being used as a place of worship. F is the last digit minus the first digit minus the third digit.
The cache is hidden at N54 58.X W001 36.DEF
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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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