St Mary's Church, Longframlington
The cache is not on church grounds. The church is open every day and is worth visiting.
You will need a pen and a pair of twezzers.
Free parking is available at The Tank Turn.
St Mary's Church Longframlington was built about 1190, of local stone quarried either at Onsteads or from a quarry which extended alongside the Rothbury road from the south side of the allotments to Villa Lane – possibly, from the changes of texture and colour, from both. Part of the north wall at the west end, about five feet high and fifteen feet long, is of undressed random rubblestone, whereas the remainder of the stonework is coursed: the change in the masonry suggests that older fabric may be incorporated.
The chancel arch is original, supported on either side of the nave by three detached shafts with carved capitals and a suggestion of foliage. In the nave, the walling is nearly all original, as also are two windows and the south entrance. Like the chancel arch, the south doorway has round arches (the jamb shafts are missing).
Stone flags in the path through the churchyard to the porch originally paved the aisle of the church itself. The porch may be fourteenth century; the probable date of the head of Christ over the inner doorway and also of the two-light window now inserted in the north wall of the vestry.
The chancel was largely rebuilt in 1882 by John Wardle of Newcastle. In 1896 Hicks and Charlewood restored the nave and added the vestry (incorporating the fourteenth century two-light window from the south wall of the chancel).
At the west end are two round-headed windows, which look nineteenth century except for their inner jambs. They are on either side of a central buttress dated 1740 and apparently blocking a west door. The buttress is probably contemporary with the bellcote (restored in 2019) which has twin-pointed openings, corner finials and a central pyramid-capped turretlet. There are two bells, one given by Churchwardens Roger Wardle and W Redhead in 1725.
Inside the church is a panelled Jacobean chest, with ten trees carved in its cornice. The carved wooden altar was given in 1920 in memory of the first vicar, the Rev Charles Blackett Carr, who himself carved the font cover.
The organ was made by Wyvern Organs and installed in 2000. (Source: A Church Near You: St Mary's Church web site)
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