Church of St James East Cowes
A population explosion in the early 19th century due to the increased boat building industry along with establishment of upper class residences such as Norris Castle and East Cowes Castle necessitated the building of a local church to serve the parish.
The building of the Church of St James began in 1831. The future queen, Princess Victoria performed her first public duty at the age of twelve when she laid the foundation stone of the church. The dedication to St James was chosen due to his association with the sea and church. The church was consecrated in 1833 by the Bishop of Winchester; the service being attended by Princess Victoria and her mother, the Duchess of Kent.
Originally designed by John Nash (who is buried along with his wife in the tomb to the right of the tower), the church was enlarged and altered in the 1860s by architect Thomas Hellyer; Nash's tower was left intact as this is where Princess Victoria laid the foundation stone.
All of the original stained glass was destroyed by a land mine in 1944, although the East window has been replaced, the colours are apparently not as vibrant as the original.
The church has been home to the annual Isle of Wight Jigsaw Puzzle Festival since 1995; the festival raises valuable funds for the church.
To find this cache, go to the published coordinates and find the year Mary Ann Nash died (ABCD).
Now make your way down the road to the CASTLE waypoint (N 50° 45.486 W 001° 17.205) where you will find a plaque and find the year demolition began (EFGH).
The cache may be found at
N50 45.(G-A)(H+D+E)(C+A+D) W001 17.(F-B)(A+D+E)(B+E)
The cache is outside of the church grounds. You are looking for a small clip lock box. There is parking space for a few cars near to the published coordinates.
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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