The cache is situated within the grounds of Preston Court, an imposing timber-framed house built on the site of the manor in the late 16th or early 17th century. It is hidden from view and invisible to anyone not specifically looking for it. Please respect the residents of the Court, and do not, under any circumstances, visit after dark. Please however, do not be worried about visiting. It is open to the public and each time I have visited, if I have bumped into anyone, they have been happy for me to wander round.
To get to the church, take the turning signposted Serendipity. It is possible to park at the church, which is waypointed but please be respectful. The co-ordinates listed are for the first two questions. The cache is not in the grounds of the church.
The Church
Preston's medieval church originated as a chapel built by Gloucester abbey. It was a simple rectangular structure of squared rubble until it was elaborated in the mid 19th century. It had its own graveyard in the 1130s and the abbey had established a vicarage to serve it by 1291.
The porch, parts of the chancel and north wall date from the original structure. The square-set Norman doorway has a simple tympanum showing a boldly carved “AGNUS DEI” (Lamb of God) carved in stone. That lamb, with its right forefoot, holds a Maltese cross instead of the usual flag and faces east. There are only two other similar tympana in Gloucestershire - at Upleaden and at St Mary de Crypt, Gloucester. It is said by some to be of Saxon workmanship and it’s possible that it was saved from the old church.
In a window in the south wall are the remains of some fourteenth century glass showing part of a crucifix and the figures of St. John and St. Mary. The stained glass was not painted as was the later method, but colours were melted into the glass as it was being made.
The church was restored in 1859 and a small new aisle added. In 1896, stone was taken from quarries at Hazards Farm (now a ruin) to build the vestry. This stone was the gift of Sir Robert Parry of Highnam Court.
The copper weathercock blew down some years ago and was found to be over a hundred years old and weighed 16.5 lbs (7.5kg).
Although Preston belonged to St. Peter's Abbey of Gloucester from Saxon times, it was in the diocese of Hereford until the abbey was dissolved at the Reformation and St. Peter's became the cathedral church of the new diocese of Gloucester.
The church's dedication to St John the Baptist is not recorded until the mid 19th century.
The Cache
To locate the cache, find the answers to the following questions:
Q1: Rear of the church - How many doors are there? = A
Q2: Rear of the church - How many windows are there? = B
Q3: Grave - How many letters in the surname of Susannah, widow of Francis? = C
Q4: Grave - On which day of November did she die? = DE
The cache, a magnetic nano, can be found at:
N 52° 0.(A+C)(C+D)(B-A) W 2° 28.(A-D)(B-C)(E-C+A)
Checksum - A+B+C+D+E=18
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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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