Brookwood Hospital (originally the Brookwood Asylum) was established in Knaphill as the second County Asylum for Surrey in 1867. During the 127 years of its operation, the hospital developed considerably in fabric and infrastructure. It had a dairy farm, a cobbler's workshop, a large ballroom, and its own fire brigade, gasworks and sewage farm. In 1903, with the patient population at nearly 1300, a number of changes were made to the hospital including the addition of the new 800-seat chapel.
The closure of the hospital in 1994, marked the end for the chapel as a place of Anglican worship and saw the demolition of many of the hospital buildings. The Florence House annexe with the beautiful clock tower (built in 1888) was converted into luxury apartments, and the recreation hall was turned into a crèche, but the chapel remained in a state of disuse for 10 years.
In 2004, Thai Bhuddist monks purchased the chapel and the adjoining mortuary, and redeveloped them into a temple and living accommodation for the monks. Their sympathetic conversion has preserved much of the original building and structure, including stone arches and pillars, and the wooden arches of the impressive beamed roof. The chapel was officially reopened as the Wat Phra Dhammakaya Centre for Bhuddist Meditation in October 2007.
Recommended parking is just to the north at N 51 18.970 W 000 37.100. From here, it's a short walk to the published coordinates at the western end of the former chapel. On the pavement you'll see a telecom manhole cover; there are two 3-digit numbers on the bottom line, A and B.
The cache can be found at:
N 51° 18.(A+800)
W 000° 37.(B-12)
The cache location is slightly overlooked, so stealth will be required!
Congratulations on the FTF to micky_baker.
If you would like to expand this series, please do. I would just ask that you let Sadexploration know first, so that he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication.
To view the Church Micro stats page, please click here.