Although the church is medieval, the dedication to St Michael was made in 1964 as the previous dedication had been lost. Its tower was built in 1070. Originally the church had no ground level door, and the entrance was through a door on the roof. Parishioners had to access the room by climbing a ladder. The walls of the church are five feet thick and it was a refuge for residents during attacks by the French who had sailed up Newtown Creek. A "3 pound" parish gun which was inscribed 'Schawflet' was kept in the tower until 1779.
The church had a steeple that was added around 1800, but the it was thought to be unstable and was removed in 1912. The money for the steeple was raised by selling the parish gun and the church bells. This resulted in a local rhyme:
"Shalfleet poor and simple people
Sold their bells to build a steeple."
The church is fortunate to have escaped late additions and thus remaining an excellent example, with the exception of the tower, of late 13th-century work. The entry is by the north door, bearing the date 1754 on its inner face, through the 12th-century opening with its primitive carved tympanum. The north wall was partly rebuilt on the old foundation and of the same thickness in 1812, when wooden mullioned windows with brick reveals took the place of what may have been 15th-century lights. The insertion of the wide arch in the 13th century, practically cutting away the whole eastern face of the tower at this stage, has resulted in a serious subsidence to the North and East, with a corresponding contortion of the arch. It was then blocked as a precautionary measure, but its opening in 1889 and the cutting of a door in the northern face of the tower was an unwise and risky proceeding, probably resulting in the serious crack in the upper part of the north-east angle.
A noticeable feature in the church is that the floor slopes down gradually to the east end without a break at the chancel arch.
Now for the cache:
Question 1: N50 42.096 W001 24.932 - What is the number on the letterbox = PO30 AB
Question 2: N50 42.087 W001 24.959 - These bring you to the headstones of John Adnams and his wife Elizabeth Jane. John Adnams died in CEDF
Question 3: N50 42.081 W001 24.930 - How many animals are above the door inside the porch = G
You are looking for a micro now (Feb 2014) and the cache can be found at:
N50 (B-C)C.D(F+G)A W001 G(A-G).DB(G*2)
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him.
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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