There has been a Church at Kington for more than 700 years. There were three major periods of development, its origins in the early 13th century, followed by building alterations in the 15th and 16th centuries. Dr. Brighton's notes (Rector 1873-79) refer to a restoration in 1693, and the 19th century restoration included reconstruction but within the existing shape of the building.
The 13th century parts of the church are the north wall of the nave and the corner of the tower on the south side where it joins the nave.
In the 15th century, the nave was extended to form the base of the tower. The south wall of the 13th century nave was moved outwards in the 16th century. In 1881 a major restoration was undertaken under the direction of the Worcester architect, W. J. Hopkins. At this time the chancel was rebuilt using much of the original materials, so that the "early" features contained within it may have been faithfully restored, moved around, or even modified.
Substantial repairs were carried out in 1962, when the roof was completely overhauled, new tiles hung, and a decayed beam over the chancel replaced by a steel girder. The plaster panels of the Tower and other timbers were renewed.
One enters the church through the north doorway, which is old and may well be original. Turning left towards the chancel one sees the `modern' east window installed in the 1881 restoration. In the chancel on the north wall are two windows, both old, retained within the restoration of the walls. Between these windows is a recess with a two centred drop arch.
In an account of 1962, it says that the square window is reputed to have been a leper's window, which allowed lepers and other 'non desirables' to view the service without coming into contact with the parishoners.
This is a multi-cache and you will need to obtain information from the churchyard. You will see a fenced off gravestone in memory of Elizabeth. She died in ABCD. The second piece of information can be found on a plaque dedicated to the memory of G.G. (Bill) Smith who lived from EFGHJKL to MNPQRST.
The cache can be found at: N = (L-E)K AH.TCN and W = RSQ(E-K) (P-G-A).J(B-F)B
**************************************
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@gmail.co.uk.
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
*************************************
******* Congratulations to Will + J on a FTF **********
**** Congratulations to the sundowner on a STF ****