The Church
The origins of Cliffords Mesne (pronounced ‘mean’) are shrouded in mystery. What is known is that the family of William the Conqueror's uncle, another William, who came over with his nephew in the conquest of 1066, adopted the family name of Clifford in the late 11th/early 12th century from their castle of Clifford in Herefordshire. The village is mentioned in King William's Doomsday book, as ‘Cliffords Meend/Mynde’, as being ‘forest waste belonging to Cliffords’, perhaps meaning that the village was only a tiny settlement at the time of the Norman Conquest.
Following the middle ages, the village is first commented upon in a book by W.S. Symonds from during the English civil war in 1643, where the Parliamentarian general Sir William Waller is described as resting his troops in Gospel Oak in Cliffords Mesne on his way to join the relief of the Roundhead troops in Gloucester.
The small Anglican church was built in 1882 and is dedicated to St Peter. Designed by E. S. Harris, it is built of stone with a central bellcote, nave, chancel, south porch, and south vestry. The church parish is merged with Gorsley. It shares clergy with Newent and lies in the Diocese of Gloucester.
Of most interest to me is the contemporary stained glass dedicated to Phillip Glasier, who was Britain's leading expert on hawking and falconry, and founded the Falconry Centre (now the International Centre for Birds of Prey) just along the road towards Newent. He died in 2000 and his daughter, Jemima, now runs it. I volunteer there one day every week. It is an amazing place, with a wide range of different birds. If you love birds of prey, I highly recommend it.
The Cache
To find the cache, find the answers to the following questions:
Q1: How many arrow heads in total on both gates? = AB
Q2: What is the date etched in the wall of the church? = 18CD
Q3: Bench - What is the roman numeral at the end of the last line of text? = E
Q4: Bench - How many lines of text are there under the line? = F
The cache can be found at:
N 51° 54.(A+F)(B+C)(E-F) W 002° 26.(D-A)(D+E)(C-E)
Checksum - A+B+C+D+E+F=20
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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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