Standing high on the hill overlooking the River Crouch and the River Blackwater the church is adjacent to the Bell public House. It has a fine, tall, embattled 14th century tower of flint and stone.
The church is notable as having had Lawrence Washington as rector from 1632 to 1643. He was the great-great-grandfather of George Washington and is said to have been ejected from Purleigh rectory on the grounds that he was “a common frequenter of ale houses, not only himself sitting daily tippling there, but also encouraging others in the beastly vice.”
Take a look inside the church to view a key pedigree showing that George Washington, US President, and Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister, were descended from a common ancestor.
To find this cache you need to locate the gravestone of Sergeant Adam John Eves. This is located in the original church graveyard.
Sergeant Eves was on his way home from his round in Hazeleigh when he encountered a gang of men stealing grain in Purleigh. Without warning they attacked him mercilessly, clubbing him to death, slitting his throat and leaving him dead in the ditch at the roadside. The body was not discovered till the following day when a huge murder enquiry was immediately launched. Clues from the case soon led to a number of local men and six arrests being made. Richard and John Davis were found guilty of murder and sentenced to be hanged.
163 police officers and 10 ex-members of the force attended the funeral of Sergeant Eves.
Sergeant Eves Died ZY April XWVT
Aged SR
The cache is located at:
N. 51.4X.(Z+X)YT
E. 000.SV.(Z+R)TY
If anybody would like to expand on this series please do so. Could you please let sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.