Church Micro 465 - Surbiton, St Marks Traditional Geocache
Professor Xavier: As the owner has not responded to my colleagues log requesting that they check this cache I am archiving it. Please note that as this cache has now been archived by a reviewer or HQ staff it will NOT be unarchived.
Regards
Ed
Professor Xavier - Volunteer UK Reviewer
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Church Micro 465 - Surbiton, St Marks
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Another in the ever expanding series of Church-micro caches. This was the family church that I attended as a young lad and teenager and so I had to make sure I got the cache in place. The building of St Mark's Church was begun in 1844. It was in the Gothic Revival style - much smaller than the present building - and had a nave, side aisles, transept, and central tower, but no spire. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Winchester on 1st May 1845, and its first vicar was the Reverend Edward Phillips. As the population of Surbiton continued to grow, the church became over-crowded, and needed enlargement. The central tower was then removed, the chancel enlarged, the nave lengthened, and the roof raised. St Mark's was re-opened on Palm Sunday 1855, and six years later, the present tower and spire were built at the north-west angle of the church. During the 2nd World War, Surbiton missed the full force of the Blitz but it was damaged by bombs which mostly fell near the railway line, or along the bypass close to the armaments factories. In the early hours of Wednesday 2nd October 1940, a "terrific" explosion was heard as two high-explosive bombs and an oil bomb fell on St Mark's Hill. One bomb struck the middle of St Mark's Church roof, and the vicar, Canon John Halet, hurried out of the vicarage to find his church in ruins and blazing furiously. Unfortunately the water mains had been damaged in the same raid, and despite the use of ten fire pumps and a mile and a half of hosepipe, the fire could not be brought under control. Jets were played on the steeple and from the tower door into the church, and these saved the spire from destruction. The tower clock remained mostly intact, but its hour hand "had been given a twist". Twenty years later, on Friday 30th September 1960, the Bishop of Southwark reconsecrated St Mark's, and on Sunday 2nd October, celebrated Holy Communion in the new church. Now for the cache details – Standard 35mm film canister which can be accessed from outside the grounds of the church. As with most of the Church micro series, stealth will be required. Please make sure cache is covered as found. ___________________________________________________ If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you could let sadexploration know first so that he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication. There is now a Church Micro statistics page which can be viewed via the bookmark list. ___________________________________________________
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vil pbirerq srapvat va sebag bs gerr