St. Andrew's Church, Tangmere
St. Andrew's Church in Tangmere is a Church of England Church within the Diocese of Chichester.
The earliest mention of a church in Tangmere dates from 680AD. A charter, possibly by the king, states: “I Caedwalla………have granted his brethren serving God at the church of St Andrew, ...the land of 10 hides which is called Tangmere ”.
The first church in the Saxon village of Tangmere was built of timber, but it was replaced around 1100 by a stone and timber building which is the basis of the current building.
The building incorporates scavenged and reused stone, including pre-Christian carved figures, Roman bricks. Close to the south door of the church, a large yew tree stands, which suggests an ancient sacred site.
The church was added to in both the 12th century and by the Victorian's.
In 1341, King Edward II granted the new Archbishop of Canterbury the right to hold a fair at Tangmere on St Andrew's Day. The event is still held by the church every autumn.
Having survived Luftwaffe bombing during World War 2 of the nearby RAF Tangmere, in October 2003 a freak lightning strike ripped the spire, damaged the roof and caused devastation inside the church.
Tangmere War Graves
Within the churchyard of St. Andrew's lies a war graves cemetery.
The church's close proximity to RAF Tangmere meant that service personnel killed on or near the base were regularly buried within the church's cemetery. There are 39 World War II graves. There are 13 German Air Force burials here, 1 of whom is unidentified. The majority of these airmen were killed during the Battle of Britain. Today, all of these graves are tended to by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Clues for the Cache
Clue 1 @ N50.50.878 W000.43.226
C = How many top-ends are there similar to the corners?
Clue 2 @ N50.50.873 W000.43.248
Which year is associated with P.Forden? ##G#
Clue 3 @ N50.50.873 W000.43.247
F = How many German airmen died on 15.08.1940 MINUS 1?
Clue 4 @ N50.50.877 W000.43.261
Turn to face the church. How many windows face west (you)? = E
Clue 5 @ N50.50.883 W000.43.256
On the 15th November 1939, a Kiwi Pilot Officer died. Look for his age. The second digit of his age is D. The average of the digits in his age = H.
Clue 6 @ N50.50.882 W000.43.259
A pilot officer was accidentally killed in which year? ###B
Clue 7 @ N50.50.891 W000.43.266
Here rests a Devoted Husband, Dad and Grandad. His year of birth gives ###A.
The Final Cache
The cache can be found at N50.50.ABC W000.DE.FGH
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.
If anybody would like to expand to 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
To view the church micro stats page, please click here