This cache replaces The Quarry URC Church Micro which was destroyed.
The cache is a 35mm film canister placed in the hedgerow opposite The Quarry United Reformed Church, Cam.
This is one of three caches by the Plumtree Custards and is a quick cache and dash. If you would like to visit a number of caches, including two more placed by us, then park in Tyndale Road/The Crapen at N51.41.841:W002.22.707. From there, Berkeley View GC1T1WB, N 51° 42.024:W 002° 22.956 and Scenic Both Ways GC4ZV0H N51° 41.998 W002° 22.581 are nearby, as are SVDB # 99 - 101
Although one of the smaller mainstream denominations, the United Reformed Church plays an important part in the British Christian community. It brought together English Presbyterians, English, Welsh and Scottish Congregationalists, and members of the Churches of Christ, through unions in 1972, 1981 and 2000. Sixty-eight thousand people make up 1500 congregations, with nearly 700 ministers, paid and unpaid. The Cam United Reformed Church was founded in 1852 and is part of a group of churches affiliated to the Dursley Tabernacle URC.
Cam is one of a group of settlements built on the Cotswold Escarpment including Wotton-under-Edge and Stroud. Although Cam is a village, its population is larger than the nearby town of Dursley. Up until the 1960s, the woolen cloth industry was central to Cam's fortunes, indeed it was the main reason for the region's population growth during the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries. By the 16th century the wool trade was established in the Ewelme (or Cam) valley and the area became famous for its fine "broadcloths". Only one of these mills remains open today, manufacturing cloth for tennis balls and snooker tables. Much earlier housing was demolished to make way for large housing estates during the 60s, 70s and 80s. You will pass one of these estates, built between 1963 and 1967 on the site of a former marlstone quarry.
If you are new to the area, there are a number of very beautiful walks nearby, including Cam Peak, Cam Long Down and Downham Hill, all of which have geocaches to find. Dursley is an interesting historical market town with a number of attractive public buildings, especially a beautiful elevated market house from 1738.