This is a remote church, down a dead end lane on the Putley Estate. Please therefore respect the neighbours and do not visit after dark. It is possible to park by the pond near the church, but please park sensibly. The co-ordinates listed are for the first three questions. The cache is not in the grounds of the church.
The Church
Putley is a small scattered village, rich in history. The little Putley church was largely rebuilt in 1875 by John Riley, the then squire but still contains important vestiges of the original Norman church built by William De’Evreux, one of William the Conqueror’s knights including the charming Norman piscina at the East end. The 14th century churchyard cross with its magnificent carvings is one of the finest in the county.
The Roman artefacts uncovered during the church hark back to the early importance of agriculture as well as Putley’s strategic position close to the Roman road (now the A1472). The Hereford Domesday Book, a copy of the original Domesday Book, used as late as the reign of Edward 1st, corrects in the margin the spelling of Putley from Poteslepa to an almost modern Putterlee. A “lee” is a wooded glade. A “Putta” who lived in the 7th century is said by Anglo Saxon historian Bede to have re-established Hereford Cathedral.
Unusally the North doorway, now blocked, appears to have been the original entrance to the Church. You can see several Romanesque carved stones, including a carving of a human head and several more pieces with traditional Norman chevrons. A Roman villa stood near this spot, and fragments of Roman brick are also reused in the north doorway blocking material.
Much of the original Holy water stoup is visible to the East of the blocked door but the stoop itself has not survived. This would have been used by the congregation entering the church. The south doorway was probably constructed in either the 13th or 14th century. The Porch was Elizabethan and this survived the reconstruction but, despite having been said to have been in reasonable condition in the 1940's, had finally to be replaced in 1958. The present porch is a modern replica of the original.
The Victorian restoration reused pieces of the medieval Putley Court squire's pew to create the screen and pulpit. The highlight of the Victorian work, however, is the ornate high altar, made of alabaster, and incorporating the earlier wooden altar within it.
There are three bells. the Revd Evans, in his 1942 history of the Church, noted that the smallest was reputed to have been cast in Bristol as early as 1400 and if so it has rung out over the same fields for some 600 years. The largest bell dates from 1636, just before the English Civil War. The third is dated 1722.
The Cache
To locate the cache, find the answers to the following questions:
Q1: Grave - In which year did George Brookes die? = AB
Q2: Grave - How many letters in his wife's name? = C
Q3: Grave - In which month did she die? = D
Q4: Tomb - In which year did Lieut William Stock die? = EF
The cache, a bison, can be found at:
N 52° 2.(E-D)(F-B)(A-D-F) W 2° 31.(A-F)(C-B)(B+E)
Checksum - A+B+C+D+E+F=30
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