Romanby is, or was, a village adjoining North Yorkshire’s County Town of Northallerton. In effect it is now a suburb of the town but the name is Scandinavian in origin, coming from Romund’s Farm but the name Romanby has been used since the 14th century. Although much developed since it was recorded in the Domesday Book, the village character remains with an attractive village green. The village was bisected by a Roman road linking Thirsk and Catterick and it is thought that mounds and entrenchments beyond the Packhorse Bridge are evidence of a Roman military station.
Romanby Methodist Church is a mile outside Northallerton and was purpose built on a, then, new housing estate following the sale of the former South End Primitive Methodist chapel in the town. (mentioned in the other Church Micro cache at Northallerton Methodist Church)
In 1934 when the Primitive and Wesleyan Methodist Churches united, the South End congregation was about 70 but by the 1960s this had fallen to effectively 4 families and in 1962 the members resolved to sell the property and provide funding for the Romanby site. The building was sold to a local business and was finally closed in November 1964.
In Romanby, before having a building, “Sunshine Corner” was held on the site, and the building was completed in November 1964. The architectural design, with sharply pitched roof, brick faced interior and light cheerful atmosphere met critical acclaim being seen as innovative and ahead of its time. That description is still valid as it remains a visually striking and interesting structure and its interior is as bright and welcoming as ever.
The cache is not at the above co-ordinates as this is a simple multi cache with less than 1/2 a mile between start point and final GZ; you can walk, bike or drive between the points although there is no actual parking near the final.
The above co-ordinates will bring you to the front of the church where you can see the main, painted, notice board. Information from that Board will let you work out co-ordinates for the cache itself which is less than half a mile away. Enjoy!
Cache can be found at N54° 20.ABC W001° 27.DEF where -
A = first digit of the time of Sunday Services
B = last digit of the telephone number
C = penultimate digit of the time of Sunday Services
D = last digit of the time of Sunday Services
E = second plus fifth digits of the telephone number
F = third digit of the telephone number
Checksum = 24
Please be careful when reaching for the cache at the final co-ords as there is some barbed wire close to it.
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