Church Micro 14865 . . . Weston - All Saints
The cache is hidden near this ancient church, adjacent to Weston Hall at the end of a cul-de-sac off the Ilkley-Askwith-Otley road.
All Saints Church, Weston is in the Church of England's Washburn and Mid-Wharfe Benefice, within the Diocese of Leeds. It opens for services every 2nd Sunday in a rota with Denton, Fewston, Blubberhouses, Farnley and Leathley churches.
This is a 2-part (mystery + multi) cache
Part 1: Clicking on the image above will take you to a jigsaw puzzle, completion of which will reveal the northerly coordinates of the cache location.
Part 2: Completion of the 7 multi steps below will enable you to calculate the westerley coordinates of the cache location.
Step 1 (posted coordinates): head for the notice board at the entrance gate. You will note from the inscription that this is in memory of Robin whose surname includes the name of an animal which has A letters.
Step 2: proceed through the gate and on to the main entrance @ N 53 54.923 W 001 43.887 where you will see that the heavily weathered date above the entrance is 16B6
Step 3: continue along the south side of the church to a second door @ N 53 54.925 W 001 43.878 above which is a wall plaque. On this you will note that C churchwardens were involved in the 1819 work on the church.
Step 4: follow the path to the east end of the church and on to the gate in the corner @ N 53 54.935 W 001 43.837. Examining the padlock, you will see that along one side are a row of D small dark circular marks (and 1 bigger one).
Step 5: now walk across the grass to N 53 54.936 W 001 43.879 where you will find a curious collection of boulders marking the graves of the Dawson couple. Looking at the plaque attached to the larger boulder, you will note that he was a military man whose rank has E letters.
See here for an interesting blog on these rocks, one of which bears ancient cup and ring markings . . .
Step 6: retrace your steps and head around the rear (east) of the church to the grave of Stan Marston @ N 53 54.922 W 001 43.867. At the side of the headstone is a small mammal. The alphanumeric value (A=1 B=2 C=3 etc) of the 5th letter of its name = F.
Step 7: finally, make your way to the small corner @ N 53 54.926 W 001 43.886 to the right of the main church door. On the memorial bench there, you will see from the plaque that the HR's wife's name has G 'A's in it.
The westerly coordinates for the cache location are:
W 001 4A.(C+E)(F-D-1)(B-G-5)
The church is a 1966 Grade 1 listed building with comprehensive info on the church features available on the relevant website which starts . . . 'Church. Norman origin, addition dated 1686, with early C19 vestry and repairs to nave and chancel'.
It is protected for its outstanding architectural and historical significance. The church and priest in Weston were referred to in the Domesday Book of 1066, although there is evidence of earlier Christian worship on the site including, in the chancel, the remains of a carved C9 Anglian/Norse cross shaft depicting a Viking warrior with a female at his side.
The present building dates from the C11 century with additions in the late C14 and the porch in 1686. It contains box pews from the C18 century and an unusual 3-decker pulpit. There is also some early C14 century stained glass. It has a 'Squires Parlour' with a separate entrance door on the south side of the church.
Though the date above the porch reads 1686, parts of the church - a small window in the south wall and the chancel arch inside – are Norman. The bell turret probably dates from the early C14. The church was one of the settings used in the filming of ‘Lost in Austen’ in 2008, and the film company left the metal arch over the gate, which has been used at weddings since then.
The interior is mainly C18. One source states 'although the 'church of this diminutive parish is outwardly unrefined, inside all is Georgian decorum, nowhere more so than the private Vavasour family pew ‘which has the appearance of a small drawing room’. A stove would be installed here by William, the last of the Vavasours, for the comfort of his new bride, heiress Sarah Cooke'.
Key features of the interior include: a C14 or C15 font, C14 added north aisle, numerous beautiful stained glass windows, the 'Squire's Parlour' with ridged C14 tomb, an obsolete fireplace, a C15 tomb chest, a late C17 3-decker carved pulpit, and old (~C18) wooden box pews, some of which have their back to the altar, a powerful political statement.
Another feature of particular interest is the Tau cross on a pillar on the north wall. This is in the shape of a letter T and is also known as a Franciscan cross. It was apparently put there to ward off the Black Death. There is also a memorial in the north chapel to one William Vavasour, of the family which owned the Estate, who died in 1587.
The Churchyard also has three Grade 2 listed monuments and other notable historical features . . .
- a sundial probably late C18, 5m south of the church. Gritstone with a square base, the shaft a deeply fluted column, the moulded cap broken.
- a set of 3 table tombs, late C17, 5m east of the church. The left one is dated 1698 for William Crooke of Askwith aged 71.
- a table tomb, C17, 5m south of the church. Dated 1669 and 1671. For William Ward and his daughter.
- three carved stones, built into the exterior chancel north wall - the remains of an Anglo-Saxon cross, probably C9.
- a Cup and Ring Stone - probably Neolithic/Bronze Age - to the north of the church, placed on Susan Mary Dawson’s grave to the north of the church (see here for details of this mysterious stone).
The Weston Bells are some of the oldest in Britain and have an interesting history. The two original bells were stolen from the bell cote in March 1990 and replaced with new ones. They were subsequently retrieved and records on the National Bell Register and Dove's Guide for Bell Ringers show that the slender bell weighs about 1cwt, has no inscription but is dated c.1200 and the other of approx. the same weight is c.1370, and inscribed ‘J de Kirkham, York’.
A national lottery heritage grant was used to hang the ancient bells high on the interior rear wall of the church.
For more well-illustrated information on the church, including numerous interior features of historical and architectural significance, see here. See also here (9.20-10.30) for some video of the church.
Please note that the cache description contains an external link to a jigsaw.
Although it is from a well-known source, it has 'not been checked by Groundspeak nor by the reviewer for possible malicious content and access to the site is therefore at your own risk'.
