All Saints at Breadsall is a rather splendid church. There was a church mentioned here in the Domesday Book of 1087. Parts of the current building date from the 12th century, and much is from the 14th and 15th centuries, though like so many other churches is was subject to major “improvements” in the Victorian era.
Breadsall church’s greatest claim to fame is probably the fire which took place here in June 1914, causing significant damage (see photo). This was a case of arson, and it was generally accepted to have been the work of a group of suffragettes in their campaign for the vote, though this was never proved.
The physician Erasmus Darwin is buried here. He was one of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, and grandfather of Charles Darwin. Erasmus Darwin died in 1802, shortly after taking residence at Breadsall Priory.
For the purposes of this cache, you should go to the eastern end of the church. You need to find some numbers on the gravestones and commemorative plaques placed for former vicars of the church, all of which are against the east wall (so no need to wander around the entire graveyard, unless you want to of course). You will also need to find a plaque on one of the benches in the churchyard, to the east of the church itself.
- William & Gladys ministered here from 1970 until 19AB
- John Whitaker died on CD February 19EF
- John Clayton died on 15 July 17GH
- Walter Fletcher was JK years old when he died
- Derek and Kathie’s ruby wedding was on LM March 1992
The cache can be found, a couple of minutes walk away, at:
N 52 5(G).(L)(D-J)(H/C), W001 2(B).(E+K)(M-E)(F-A)
The checksum for all the digits in the coordinates is 43
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