Holy Trinity, Ashford in the Water probably dates from before the 13th Century, although the oldest part now dates from around 1205. This part is the Norman tower, which is 12.2m high, with walls one metre thick at the base! There are seven bells in the tower, the oldest of which is the Sanctus bell. This was dedicated before The Reformation & is still used each week.
Inside the church can be seen the Tower Arch, which dates from the Decorated Period of Gothic Architecture, c. 1400. Below the arch you can see an old chalice-shaped, octagonal font, which also dates from this period. It was sold by the churchwardens in the 18th century & used as a garden ornament until it was restored! If you look carefully at the shaft, you can see a baby dragon embedded into the stone, with its head emerging from one side; its tail the other. Above the tower arch is the Royal Coat of Arms of George I, with the date 1724.
In the north aisle, there are three arches with octagonal pillars which date from the 16th century. If you look up, you can see four original maidens' garlands hanging from there, which date from the old English custom of carrying a garland before the coffin of a young girl during the funeral procession, which was then displayed in the church. These relics are rare & Ashford is one of the few places where they can still be seen. Each crown or crant consists of a wooden frame onto which paper rosettes are fastened, with a glove or handkerchief hanging from the centre. This will have belonged to the young girl & has on it her name, age & date of death. The oldest of the Ashford crants dates from 1747, when Anne Howard died on April 12th, aged 21. Originally there were seven crants, but by 1900 only five were left. In 1935 another fell & was damaged beyond repair, leaving the four you can see today. These were expertly cleaned & conserved in perspex covers in 1987.
Also of interest in the church is the old altar, which was replaced by one from Heanor Parish Church. It now stands by the church door & includes some Jacobean work. In 1843, some Jacobean oak panels, dating from c.1620, were made into a pulpit by local joiners, with a reading desk below. During the rebuilding of the church in 1869-79, a carved stone showing boars & other wild animals was found in the south wall. This was identified as the original Norman tympanum; a stone slab used to fill the space between the square head of the church door & the top of the arch. So this was restored to its original position then & can be seen on your way into the church.
Outside the church, there are yew trees thought to be between 500 & 600 years old flanking the main pathway. On the right of the path is the remains of an old preaching cross, dating from the 15th century. It consists of three sets of octagonal stone steps, with the base of a shaft into which a wooden cross would have been set. Each year, on Trinity Sunday when the village wells are blessed for the traditional Well Dressing celebrations, the service takes place here. Finally, to the left of the main door, next to the war memorial, is a millennium monument which houses a local time capsule. This has been made from a castellated chimney, which was removed from the vestry roof!
The final cache can be found at;
N53' 13.??? W001' 42.???
You are only looking for three numbers to find the final cache. The reason for this is because the final three digits of the westings & the northings are reversible! e.g. 123 & 321. We couldn't resist making this into a puzzle, so you will need to find three digits & will then have to order them yourselves, knowing that they are reversible. It is not too onerous; there are only six different combinations for the three digits for you to try.
e.g. 123 & 321, 132 & 231, 213 & 312, 231 & 132, 312 & 213 or 321 & 123!
We suggest you look at all the combinations to decide which pair gives you the best location...
To find the missing digits, simply answer the following three questions in any order.
To the left of the main door into the church is the Millennium Memorial. According to this, how many miles is it to Hartington?
Beside the tower is a bench dedicated to a lady with the initials HMJ. How many letters are there in her last name?
On the north side of the church you will find a large rectangular metal inspection cover with the code BSS 497 & then a year. What is the third digit in this year?
Now you just need to decide the order for the digits to find the northings & the westings. Good luck!
Please take care to replace the container exactly where you found it. Thank you.
Congratulations to cats-eyes for FTF!
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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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