The given coordinates take you to a green plaque outside one of the shops on Northallerton High Street which states
“This building stands on the site of the Old Golden Lion Inn and Frank Clarkson’s shop. John Wesley preached at the Inn in 1746.”
According to Michael Riordan’s book “The History of Northallerton” John Wesley actually visited the town three times.
“On April 15th 1745 Wesley paid his first Northallerton visit ‘when I preached at the Inn (Old Golden Lion) where he found the townsfolk to be a ‘noble people.’ He visited again on 12th May 1755 with his wife and for the last time on Saturday June 3rd 1780 when he held a service and delivered a sermon in Jacky Wren’s yard – now the yard of the Buck Inn, Wren being a pious weaver whose house was licensed for services. In his journal Wesley recorded that it was a large congregation but a ‘careless people’, which contrasts hugely with his 1745 opinion!”
John Wesley was born in Epworth in 1703 and was one of 15 children. His brother Charles became a renowned hymn writer composing over 6000 hymns, many of which are still sung today.
On May 24th 1738, Wesley had what is known as the Aldersgate experience, when he “felt his heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ….” He had gone very reluctantly to a meeting in Aldersgate Street London. This experience was a pivotal point in his life and the Methodist Movement. Without it the names of John Wesley and Methodism would likely be nothing more than obscure footnotes in history. Although he was the founder of the Methodist Church, he always regarded himself as an Anglican priest.
He conducted an itinerant ministry covering, it is believed 250,000 miles (a distance that would circle the earth 10 times) mostly on horseback, preaching in the open air to audiences estimated in the tens of thousands. Sometimes he began preaching at daybreak, and regularly preached three times a day. It is also believed that Methodism grew from 4 members to 132000 during his lifetime. He continued travelling until he was well in his eighties and died in 1791 aged 87.
He was of small stature and in Osmotherley Methodist Chapel there is a small stool on which he stood preaching, on the 18 times he visited the village.
It is said that Methodism was born in song and although not a prolific hymn writer, like his brother Charles, John wrote many hymns, adapted hymns by other writers, or translated verses from German. Two such translations are ‘O God, what offering shall I give’ and ‘What shall we offer our good Lord,’
Over the years the Methodist church has brought out various hymn books , including MHB (the Methodist Hymn Book), Hymns and Psalms, and more recently Singing the Faith. It can be noticed that with each new edition Wesley’s hymns have decreased in number as new more modern hymn writers come to the fore.
The cache is not at the given coordinates but can be found a short walk away at
N54 20.xxx W001 25.yyy
The check sum for the last 3 numbers of both the northings and the westings is 27.
Once you have found xxx and yyy it is necessary to subtract 226 from the Northings and add 50 to the Westings.
You will need to bring a pencil. Parking is available at GZ.
Good Luck!