St James Church Footscray
The Church.
1. THE CHURCH St James Church, which is in a Conservation area, is situated at the end of a short but wide approach road on the East side of the North Cray Road. North Cray Road was a tree-lined country lane leading from Ruxley Corner to Bexley but was converted into a dual carriageway in the 1960’s. The church, set in a churchyard ringed by ancient trees, is situated in the meadows beside the River Cray. The church was once a private chapel for the owners of North Cray Place. Lord Vansittart lived here, and several members of his family are buried in the churchyard. He was the British Ambassador in Berlin and his funeral service at St James was one of the best attended on record. The present simple but beautifully proportioned building dates from 1852 when the then existing church was enlarged and rebuilt. The chancel was enlarged in 1870 in memory of the Western Wood family and damage by enemy action in world war two was repaired in 1953. The building is stone faced with pitched wooden roof and tiled. The steeple is of wood, shingled.
2. INTERIOR The origin of the church is unknown but a reference to it appears in 1120. The list of Rectors goes back to 1538. In 1557 Cardinal Pole closed the parish church of Rokesley (or Ruxley) and united the parish with that of North Cray. From 1575 the Rectors were referred to as being of the parish of North Cray-cum-Ruxley. Although the building is Victorian, many ancient features have been transferred or built into the fabric. With the dark ‘horsebox’ pews it gives the impression of being a much older building.
3. ALTARS There are three altars in the church; the main altar is in the Sanctuary in the east, the two others are in the Nave - Lady Chapel in the North East, and the Ruxley Chapel in the South East." The Church Website
The Cache.
This is a mini-multi cache. The coordinates are for the information gathering point.
You will need to calculate the coordinates for the cache from the following.
N51 a(b-c).def
E0 g(d+e).gh(h-a).
At the coordinates you will see.
John Dann died 13 Apr 1bca.
Mary Dann died 23 Aug 1841 aged 6f.
John (Eldest son) died 28 Dec 1838 aged 3g
Thomas died 1d Aug 18he.
You will need a pencil to log your find.
Check sum for all digits in coordinates = 41
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