The parish church of St Michael and All Angels is a Grade II* listed building.
Stanton by Dale isn't recorded as having had a church at the time of the Domesday Book (1086), but that doesn't mean that there wasn't one here. Above the entrance doorway is an incised cross which may be 12th century in origin. The early church at Stanton was under the control of Dale Abbey, and around 1320 the church was either rebuilt or restored; sections of the south and east windows date from this period. The tower was added some time around 1475.
As is the case at so many churches, the Victorians then made major changes in the 1870s.
The position of the church, on the edge of the main street, with open fields behind it and with great views for miles, make this a most attractive site.
The cache
This is a fairly straightforward multi cache.
The published coordinates will take you to a large stone bench at the edge of the churchyard next to the hedge surrounding the Middlemores Almshouses. The bench commemorates a Squadron Leader and his wife.
A = the final digit of the year in which the Sqn. Ldr. died.
B = the number of letters in the couple's surname.
C = the final digit of the year in which his wife died.
D = Look at the year this wife was born - add the third and fourth digits.
E = the number of letters on the second line prior to the first bracket.
F = the third digit of the Sqn. Ldr.'s year of death.
The cache can now be found a couple of minutes' walk away at N52 56.ABC W001 18.DEF.
Enjoy the views.
*****************************************************
If you would like to add to the Church Micro series yourself then please visit
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
*******************************************************