This is a simple single stage multi-cache.
Before 1869 the parish church of Thixendale was at Wharram Percy. Churchgoers had to walk over three miles across the wolds for their services. In medieval times Thixendale had a chapel of ease dedicated to St. Stephen but in 1541 the Wharram vicar complained that his congregation was being reduced by the use of such chapels, and the archbishop then limited their use to a weekly service for the sick and infirm. Five years later all the township chapels were closed leaving Wharram Percy the only place of worship for Thixendale, Raisthorpe, Burdale and Towthorpe.
The Sykes of Sledmere owned most of Thixendale from 1791 until 1941 when the farms and houses in the village were sold. The 5th Earl, Sir Tatton Sykes, made major improvements to the village in the 1870s. Under his patronage, the church of St. Mary the Virgin and its vicarage were built between 1868 and 1870, under the renowned architect George Edmund Street. The builders were Simpson and Malone of Hull.
The building was designed in the high church gothic style with emphasis on the sacrament. Street set out a strong nave axis with the font in its own sacred space at one end and the altar indicating the ultimate sacrifice at the other, the beginning and end of the Christian cycle. He also designed an interesting asymmetry of archways, pillars and windows so that nothing will detract from the focus towards the chancel and altar.
One of the distinctive features of this beautiful little church is the stained glass. The majority of the windows were supplied by Clayton and Bell of London. Street used this firm for the design and manufacture of windows in most of the churches that he built in East Yorkshire.
The churchyard cross was added in 1874. It has had a plaque added to commemorate the dead of the 1st and 2nd World Wars. The lychgate was completed in 1875 in matching stone and tiled roof.
Close to the stated coordinates you will find the gravestone of Eric Smith who died on AB CD EFGH
The geocacher container can be found at N54 02.(E+G)AE W000 43.A(B+G)H
****************** ********************
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.
****************** *******************