St.Helen
Number 81 in the
series is St Helen in Cliffe.
An absolute knockout of a church.
From the first glimpse of the exterior, with its zebra-like stripes
of flint and stone, you know that here is a church of great
interest. In plan it consists of an aisled nave, transepts, chancel
and west tower - all built on a prodigious scale. Although the
church was heavily restored on two occasions in the nineteenth
century there is still a great deal of interest and a visit here
should not be rushed. The pillars of the nave have distinctive 'V'
paintings contemporary with their fourteenth-century construction.
The pulpit is of 1636 and shows some excellent carved arcading.
Attached to it is a contemporary hourglass stand. The north
transept has wall paintings depicting the martyrdom of St Edmund,
but these were over-touched-up by Professor Tristram in 1932.
Further paintings exist in the south transept and probably show the
martyrdom of St Margaret. The base of the rood screen is fifteenth
century while the rather insubstantial traceried top is an early
twentieth-century addition. There is an elaborate tie-beam high in
the roof with little quatrefoil piercings in the spandrels, but
this could not have supported the rood as the remains of the rood
loft staircase may be seen in its usual position. Outside the north
chancel wall can be found a piscina and holy water stoup - all that
remains of a medieval chantry chapel or anchorite's cell which has
been demolished. The blocked-up doorway that originally gave access
to it may be seen both inside and out. On the inside south wall of
the chancel is one of the finest sedilia in Kent which together
with its double piscina dates from the early years of the
fourteenth century.
The cordinates are
not for the cache but for a car park next to the church
.
The final position of
the cache is at N 51° 27.ABC E 000° 29.(D+E+F)(D+E+F)(F-E-D) which
is revealed by solving the following clues.
N 51° 27.706 E 000°
29.842 - King Offa gave the land for this church in ABC? + The
Jacobean pulpit dates from D6EF?
The cache has a log
book but no pen so please bring one with you.
If any body would
like to expand this series please do, I would just ask that you
could let sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the
Church numbers and names to avoid duplication
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