One of the Oldest Churches in the area.
In 893 AD on the lands around Benfleet creek, Viking warriors from 200 ships made the area their settlement.
An English army led by Edward the son of King Alfred, came to Benfleet to do battle with the invaders, and drove them back into the sea.
During the battle it is believed that the chapel which existed then, was destroyed, and tradition has it that the foundation stones of the existing St Mary’s church were laid in 894 AD.
The cache is in a very public place so STEALTH WILL BE REQUIRED and is definitely best avoided when the commuters are about morning or evening. Please bear this in mind to ensure it's survival.
If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, could you please let sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.
November 7 , 2010
Some time back this one went missing so I replaced it.
Now, thanks to info from Helen & Brian it seems that it wasn't missing at all and in fact both the old and the new are still there! One black and one silver.
How's that for a bonus? I'm not fussy which one you find but you can only log it once 
August 2016
Well it seems that both the silver and the black have now gone so I've replaced it with a white one.
I'm still not fussy which one you find but you can still only log it once