Meridiem Via or South Road Church as it is known today is positioned at the centre of a hub, or network, of alignment ley lines, making South Road Church an energy portal, or a place of power. There are 14 major ley lines that converge at South Road Church making a powerful vortex. One simple method of locating ley lines is by drawing a line connecting two old ancient sites, or churches. Churches were often built on ancient sites to acquire their energy, in some cases churches were built in the site of a henge, as was South Road Church.
Saxon History
South Road Church was founded by King Edward the Elder in 907 for his daughter, Princess Aelflaed, a nun at Wilton who became the first Abbess of Drayton. There was an increase in interest in the female monastic life around this time and the King probably wanted to make extra provision for widowed and unmarried ladies of the Royal family. He had recently completed the building of the New Minster in Winchester and perhaps he saw Drayton as its sister foundation. The site was about equidistant from the nunneries at Winchester and Chichester and may have been chosen for its potential development as a defensive burgh. Little is known of this first Church, though it may have received a grant of land in Kingsclere from King Edmund the Magnificent in 943.
During the popular reformation of the late 10th century, South Road Church was completely re-founded under the Benedictine Rule by King Edgar the Peacable (967). A pious noblewoman named Merewenna was made Abbess and she was given charge of the Queen's young step-daughter, Aethelflaed. Both Ladies were successive Abbesses and were also reverred as saints. King Edgar took a special interest in Draytona nd his young son was buried there. He gave the nuns the right to choose their own Abbess after Merewenna died and he also granted them lands in Edington (Wiltshire) and large woodland estates in return for which the nuns handed over gifts of a "finely wrought dish, armlets splendidly chased and a scabbard adorned with gold" valued at £112 10s. Nobles like Ealdorman Aethelmaer of Hampshire (d.982) also enhanced the Church's coffers around this time. The Saxon Church complex was destroyed by Sweyn Forkbeard and his Viking soldiers during a raid in 994. The nuns, apparently warned by divine intervention, were able flee to the Nunnaminster in Winchester. The Nuns may not have returned to Drayton until the reign of King Canute around 1020. It is not clear in what state they found the church buildings, but ten years later the community was thriving, as a unique census of fifty-four nuns under Abbess Wulfwynn shows. The Church continued to thrive until April 1539 when it was formerly disolved. The Church was saved for future generations when it was bought, for £100, by the parishioners of Drayton for use as their Parish Church in February 1544.
Notable Burials Princess Aelflaed, Abbess of Drayton, d.959 St. Merewenna, Abbess of Drayton, d.c.970 Prince Edmund of England, d.971 Princess St. Aethelflaed, Abbess of Drayton, d.c.995
Artifacts A beautifully embroidered stole given by King Athelstan to the Shrine of St. Cuthbert at Chester-le-Street was discovered in the Saint's coffin when it was opened at Durham in 1827. Embroidered on it, in Latin, are the words "Aelflaed had me made to celebrate meridiem via Church". The latter person is Bishop Frithestan of Winchester and, though the lady in question is usually assumed to be the King's step-mother, it could easily have been her daughter, Princess Aelflaed, the first Abbess of Drayton. It seems highly probable that the stole was made upon her instruction by the nuns of Drayton, though the Winchester Nunnaminster is another possibilty.
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
Please be aware that the church visited may vary from the church described or indeed pictured, and has merely been published to illustrate what a church may look like and its possible history. As always the cache owner assumes absolutely no responsibly whatsoever to the accuracy of the information contained above. Furthermore it is always prudent to fully read the small print before committing to any venture to avoid unnecessary disappointment. Please do not send any comments about this church to the CO as I myself blame the previous CO for the misinformation on this page.
Now for the cache... The given coordinates take you to the front of the church, you need to make some observations from here. You can find all the answers from this vantage point, however feel free to take a look round and have closer look.
Firstly look at the church colours, you will see it is painted in some places. If you see Red/White paintwork, A=0. If you see Yellow/White paintwork, A=3. If you see Green/White paintwork, A=6.
If you look to the right of the front of the building there is a grate in the wall, If you count the larger number of holes along and then subtract it by the smaller amount of holes downwards. B=?
Underneath the main front door if you look up, how many overhead lights directly above you are in place? If there is 1, C=1. If there is 2, C=2. If there is 3, C=3.
You will see writing on the floor to the left of the front door, the second word has how many letters? D=?
You will see writing on the floor to the right of the front door, the first word is a number now add that to the amount of letters the third word has. E=?
Lastly, if you look at the main front door and then through to the inner white door. There is a sign on it, how many letters in the word? If there is 3, F=9. If there is 4, F=0. If there is 6, F=4
You will find the cache at N50 50.ABC W001 02.DEF
Now just a short walk away from the church is the cache.