The church was originally at the centre of a small ancient village, situated at the eastern gate to Windsor Forest, but is now part of the new town of Bracknell.
The present Parish Church was largely rebuilt in 1867, but retains many treasures from across the centuries. Rev. Osborne Gordon, Rector of Easthampstead from 1860, organised the rebuilding of the Church as well as the enlarging of the parish schools. The work was paid for by Caroline, Marchioness of Devonshire, who lived at nearby Easthampstead Park.
There are some beautiful nineteenth century stained glass windows byWilliam Morris and four superb windows by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, including the great east window featuring the building's patron saint at the Last Judgment (from the Book of Daniel). This is probably the artist's best work in glass to be seen anywhere.
There are memorials to the Trumbull and Downshire families, to the poet,Elijah Fenton, and to the polar explorer Frederick George Jackson
The oldest living organism in the churchyard is the veteran yew tree near the south gate. Its girth exceeds 13 feet and in February its male cones release drifts of pollen into the wind.
During the early 2000s, phone companies applied to erect a phone mast in the Easthampstead area. After surveying was carried out, a report concluded that there was no suitable land on which to build a normal mast. Opposition to the visual impact came from local residents, who also cited health concerns over its proximity to a local school. The mast was erected but not in the conventional sense: the antennae have been placed on the four faces of the bell tower and have been disguised to look like architecture.
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
To find the cache, first go to N 51 24.077 W 0 45.594 where you will find eight figures separated by a hyphen. Label these A to H.
Next go to N 51 24.066 W 0 45.595 where you will find four figures, (the UPPER four figures). Label these I to L.
The cache can then be found at:
N 51 24.(A-E)(B-D+I)(F-K) W 0 45.(J-L)(G-H)(C-A-E)
I have a certain affinity with this beautiful old building; about a million years ago I was a choirboy here whilst attending the nearby primary school!
Both my kids were christened here, my sister was married here, and Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve is still a good place for a sing-song!