Cummersdale Cachers are an after school club from Cummersdale School. In the summer months, we venture out in the local area in a minibus finding caches and exploring the countryside. We pulled over here on the way back from Watchtree and felt Great Orton needed a cache. After a quick explore, we hid the cache. We were going to call it 'The Old Post' (other suggestions were the rotten post, or that thingy over there!) but we decided to create our first Church Micro instead.
There's handy parking close to the cache and St Giles Church is worth an explore. It's apparently open most days...
St Giles’ Church Great Orton, founded 1098, is a Grade II Listed Building is reputed to have been the first church built in Cumberland following the Norman Conquest and is the only church in the Carlisle Diocese dedicated to St Giles. Built of sandstone blocks from Hadrian’s Wall, the church is of simple design with chancel and nave. Two beams above the chancel and two Norman windows in the sanctuary may be original. Externally, marks made by the original masons can be found. Internally, the three feet thick walls are of ‘navis’ design representing a ship or ‘The Ark’. The single bell is dated 1752. Due to the close proximity of the English/Scottish border, there were frequent raids and destruction (including fire) during which, the original dedication was lost and for a while the dedication was to St. Kentigern. In the late 19th century, the original was restored. The church was extended at the west end during the 19th century when an adjoining school room was demolished. Internal renovation also took place, including installation of the stained glass windows. A more recent window depicting St. Giles was added in the mid 20th century. Other features were added during the 61 years of the longest serving Rector, Rev. Canon W. F. Gilbanks. Visitors of all faiths, or none, are welcome for prayer or to discover more about the local history and heritage.
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