Welcome to St Thomas the martyr.
Although the church over the years has had extensive changes, the 14th-century tower still exists .
The tower is built from Dundry stone, an oolite limestone, quarried some 10miles away.
A popular building stone in medieval times ,as it is strong and easy to carve.
The formation of this stone takes millions, even billions of years.
This is an Earthcache, there is no hidden box or container here to sign.
Logging this cache requires the answers to the following questions, to be sent via email or the in-app messenger service.
Sedimentary rock is formed from small particles of rock that have been broken from a much larger rock, through erosion and weathering due to sunlight, wind and rain.
These small particles can get transported by wind, ice(glaciers), gravity and water, such as rivers into lakes and the sea.
Deposition
When the particles reach the sea they get deposited on the sea floor along with other particles, such as dead sea creatures skeletons, shells and plant matter theses are SEDIMENTS.
Over time the layers and layers of sediment are deposited.
Compaction and cementation
The Sediment layers get buried and from the weight of the above layers squeeze, compressing the sediments together, so tight that all the water is forced from between the layers.
Minerals in the sediments act as a glue and stick the rock together.
This type of limestone was formed in warm and shallow waters.
The sediment grains here are rolled around on the seabed by the tide or waves.
Calcium carbonate precipitates from the water and covers the sediment .
The motion of the sea or waves creates ooids, small spherical beads of calcium carbonate.
The precipitation of calcium carbonate is caused by the sea warming causing carbon dioxide dissolved in water to escape into the atmosphere. This causes a chemical imbalance, so water can no longer hold many minerals.
Question one
Looking at the lighter stone on the tower, what does the texture look and feel like?
Question two
After observing the stone and answering question one, what evidence is there to suggest it is a sedimentary rock?
Question Three
Name any two sediments that form sedimentary rock?
Question Four
Using the signage outside the church door, is this church consecrated?
(Optional) Please visit the church and sign the guestbook, you may add you're a geocacher if you like.
Your welcome to look around this church during opening hours.
Photos of you at / or of the church are always a good addition to a log.
Placed by Kind Permission of the churches conservation trust