Placed with the kind permission of The Revd Wyn Beynon, this Church Micro invites you to explore the beautiful church of St John the Baptist, Feckenham.
To complete the cache, you will need to enter the church. You should generally be able to find the church open between 10am and 4pm every day.
There may be occasions that the church is not open, and of course, it may be in use for services, so please bear this in mind, especially if travelling some distance to do this cache.
It is thought that this church has its origins in the 12th Century, but there are suggestions that an older Anglo-Saxon or even Celtic church once stood here; the boundary of the original churchyard formed an almost perfect circle, a common feature in Celtic churches.
The 13th century tower hosts a ring of 8 bells, the oldest of which dates back to 1640.
In the churchyard is a medieval preaching cross and the War Memorial close the main gates is the work of the Bromsgrove Guild.
To find the cache, answer the following questions and substitute the numbers in the formula to find the final cache.
N52 15. ABC W001 59 DEF
On entering the church, you will see, on the left, a large plaque detailing the people who lie in a vault nearby. How many letters are in the very first word on the plaque? This is A.
Find the small dark wood 'altar' in the north aisle, which stands under a stained glass window. It is decorated with a number of shields. To find B subtract the number of crescents on the black shield from the number of lions on the shield which is the second from the left.
You will have noticed the wonderful painted archways which run along the nave of the church. How many are there? This gives you C.
On the left hand wall of the chancel is a large painting. How many creatures support the central shield? This gives you D
Nearby is a wall mounted memorial to a member of the Vernon family. What is the woman holding? If it is some flowers E = 3. If it is a cross E =5. If it is a child E = 7
On the righthand side of the chancel is a stained glass window. How many words in total run across the bottom of the window. This gives you F.
You should now be in a position to calculate the final coords which will lead you to the cache. Before you leave the church though, look at the angels which adorn the painted archways. Can you spot the angel who has found a Church Micro herself?
There is a toilet inside the church and visitors are welcome to make use of these facilities when they visit.
Thanks again to the Revd Wyn Beynon for allowing me to place this cache within the church grounds.
Thanks also to Mike Hill for giving me the go ahead to place this cache, as a replacement for his recently archived Church Micro based upon this Church.