The story of St Mark’s church is a long and fascinating one, in fact there has been a worshipping congregation in Bilton for at least 900 years. Way back in 1086 the Domesday Book reported that the village known as “Beltone” had “23 Villeins, with a Priest and 9 Borders”.
The current building is believed to have been constructed in the mid 14th century, probably by Sir Nicholas de Charnels, who was Lord of the Manor at the time. The de Charnels’ coat of arms appears twice on the bell tower, one of the oldest parts of the church.
Known originally as St George’s, the church has undergone many changes over its long history, from the erection of a spire on top of the tower to extensive re-ordering and extension in the 1870s. The latest major addition was the south aisle, built in 1962 to create much needed space as the village’s population grew. More recently (2012) a new North Porch was added as well a servery in the North Aisle.
There are six bells with the earliest dated around 1450 and the latest dated 2008. The 1948 treble bell bears the names of parishioners killed in the war.
On weekdays there may be children from the nearby pre-school in the churchyard. If this is the case please enter from the gate in the car park.
At the indicated coordinates you will find the grave of "Little Joe" Bisset who was killed in ABC7 and his mum who was born in 19DE.
The geocache can be found at N 52° 21.C(E-A)(C/D) W 001° 17.(A+D)AB which is a short walk away. There is no need to cross any busy roads but keep an eye on the geokids at the GZ. Stealth may be required.
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