Church - Shelswell Loop Extension Traditional Geocache
gingko: time for this one to be put to bed
Church - Shelswell Loop Extension
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(small)
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I decided my Shelswell Loop series of caches needed an extension loop, Starting and ending in the pretty village of Fringford going via the Shelswell Estate.
BRIEF HISTORY OF FRINGFORD
Fringford is an ancient site and seems to have been inhabited for most of the past 2000 years. The name is thought to mean "ford of the people of Fera", a Saxon tribe or family group, who were here well before the Norman Conquest. In 1993 traces of an earlier Romano-British settlement, from the late 2nd century to the 4th century, were found in Crosslands in the centre of the village. More recent evacuations in Farriers Close revealed a series of Iron Age Romano-British boundary ditches overlain by Saxon and medieval settlements.
The church at Newton Purcell, dedicated to St. Michael & All Angels, was originally a wooden building which had been the church of the English settlers in the 12th century, however the church that you see today was built in the 19th century.
There are two objects of interest, one being the fine Norman doorway which is the only remains of the original 12th century church.
The other is an incised stone to the memory of a heart, which you will find in the north wall of the chancel. This dates from the middle of the 13th century.
The clock was made in the nearby village of Tingewick by a man named Packer, and is believed to date from the early part of the 19th century. The bells, again of local manufacture, are thought to be 14th century.
PLEASE ENSURE YOU USE STEALTH IN THIS AREA AS STRANGERS WILL BE CHALLENGED BY THE LOCALS
Congratulations to Tinyizback for being the FTF
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
gbc bs jnyy