Church History
The first reference to the church of St.Mary the Virgin is in 1251 when John of Dunstable became vicar although, as a well established village dating back to before the Norman Conquest, it is reasonable to assume that a church had existed for some hundreds of years. On 21st June 1273 Nicholas of Wootton was presented as vicar to the Prior and Convent of Newnham and instituted.
This entry of institution is followed by letters of the Bishop of Lincoln, Richard Gravesend, assenting to the gift of half of the Church by John of Houghton, provided a Vicarage was ordained. An enquiry was held by the Archdeacon of Oxford, by which it was found that a suitable portion could be up to a yearly value of £10, and Nicholas of Wootton was admitted and a vicarage ordained as follows: "The vicar to have that plot of land with buildings on it which the prior and convent bought of William Bernard of Wootton, provided they will free it from suit of court, and all rents and temporal services; the vicar to have the gifts to the altar and tithes of the parish, except tithes of sheaves and hay and of the homage and rents, besides the greater tithes of the demesne and of the fee of 40/- which was of John de Trayli, which we assign and ordain to the vicar and his successors in that vicarage.
The vicar to have 12 acres of demesne land, a portion of that which Master John the last Rector held, so that he has four acres in each field and one and a half acres of meadow in Smethemade; the vicar and his successors to pay synodals and procurations to the archdeaconry in the accustomed amount of money, 7 shillings 6d, but if the archdeacon chooses his procurations in kind rather than to have a sum of money, he shall be received and entertained in the religious house, and only 7s 6d recovered from the vicar even though it costs more. The said religious house are to repair and rebuild the Chancel of the Church at their own cost and that this time only, they supply defects in books and ornaments provided that the vicar is bound to do this in future; of extraordinary payments, or charges by whatever name required, the religious shall acknowledge two parts and the vicar a third".
The present church building dates from the 14th century, the top of the tower and the rood screen being a century later. The first record held at Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service detailing church repairs is 1533 when a will mentioned that the arches were decayed, a will of three years later leaving a bequest to mend the roof and the organs, a very early reference to such an instrument in a Bedfordshire church. By 1578 the chancel was in decay and by 1611 a Church Lands Charity had been set up to provide a steady income for repairs.
The church was restored in 1845 and further repaired in 1848 by Wing and Jackson of Bedford, what was done is not clear but may have involved extensive roof repairs; it was proposed that the church have new seating but this was dropped due to local opposition to replacing the old pews.
Rev. Frederick Neale undertook a substantial restoration during his incumbency, probably about 1857 to 1860 and seems to have taken charge of the work which he paid for himself, assisted by the lay Rector, Coventry Payne. Neale added western bays to the aisles, with plaster ceilings and modern, circular windows which attracted adverse comment at the time.
He also removed the west gallery, opened up the tower arch, vaulted the ceiling under the tower and inserted stained glass into the west window. A new font was made and installed in 1857; three year's later the vicar's sister paid for a new organ. Other works undertaken at this time seem to be the addition of a vestry, installation of elaborate candelabra in the nave and aisles, restoration of the north porch and a new pulpit. The floor was re-laid in 1872 and the chancel may have been re-roofed at around this time.
Frederick Neal died in 1872 and his successors continued to carry out improvements. The nave roof was repaired at around the time of his death and the bells restored in 1874; a new clock was installed in 1884, a funeral bier being obtained in the same year. In 1890 the east window was enriched by stained glass, given by Lady Payne in memory of her infant son.
The rood screen was restored in 1894 and the organ in 1897 for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The bells were restored again in 1904 when a sixth was added. Late 20th century improvements include re-leading the spire in 1959, repairing the organ in 1964, improving the chancel in 1970, enlarging the vestry in 1975, adding a new roof over the nave and aisles in 1989 and improving the west end of the building in 1995.
Most of the notes on the structural history of the church can be found in greater detail in Bedfordshire Historical Record Society Volume number 79 of 2000 Bedfordshire Churches in the Nineteenth Century: Part III: parishes S to Y, put together by former County Archivist Chris Pickford from numerous sources some held by Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service and some held elsewhere or published.
(Information courtesy of http://www.stmaryswootton.org.uk)
Cache Location
In order to find the final cache, you will need to locate and answer the following clues:-
1. As you look at the main porch, to the right there are some concrete bicycle parking blocks. How many are there? Answer = A
2. Look for a black metal wrought iron gate. A girl's first name is incorporated into the ironwork. How many letters are in the name? Answer = B
3. Locate a bench dedicated to the memory of Lily Isabel Sugars and Harold Ivor Sugars. In what year was Harold born? Answer = 19CD
4. The Revd Peter Ackroyd is the vicar. What is his telephone number? Answer = 01234 768EF1
5. Go to the cemetery across the road from the church in Cause End Road (see Additional Waypoint "CLUE 5"). Look for a headstone n the style of a Celtic Cross. In what year did Dorothy May Fletcher die? Answer = 19GH
6. Finally, go to the War Memorial on Church Road (see Additional Waypoint "CLUE 6"). How many concrete posts surround the memorial? Answer = I
FINAL CACHE LOCATION:
N052 (D*F) (E+C) . (F-H) (B+C) (E+G-H)
W000 (B-H) (G/E) . (F-I) (G/C) (A+H)
*** CONGRATS TO FTF........ PIXELTASH! ***
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