The historical information given here has been taken from David Evans' notes on the website for Harwell and Chilton churches.
All Saints' church is situated upon gently rising ground at the north end of the village. Formerly known as "All Hallowes", it was rededicated at the time of the Reformation. The church consists of a nave (built in the 12th century), south aisle (13th century), chancel (14th century), a west tower and a south porch (both 19th century). The walls, which are built of chalk with stone dressings, are plastered internally and rendered externally.
The original Norman church would have consisted of the present nave, the walls of which survive, including the north doorway, and possibly an apsidal chancel. An earlier Saxon church may have stood on this site; however, no evidence of one has been found.
In 1976 Chilton became a united benifice with Harwell under the joint patronage of the Oxford Diocesan Board of Patronage and C.P.A.S.
The churchyard contains several historic gravestones dating back more than 200 years, some of which have unusually poetic inscriptions. On the south side of the chancel, close to the path, is a monument to the Brooker family. The inscription reads: "Here lyeth Mr John Brooker, buried 1551 with his sons of the same name in a direct line unto the fourth generation, the last of which was buried 1671, and since his brother Mr Thomas Brooker". At one time this was the oldest surviving outdoor legible memorial in the diocese, and although it was touched up in 1975 has deteriorated in recent years. Close to the north wall of the chancel is a flat slab inscribed to the memory of George Goddard, who was killed in a riding accident in 1794, aged 18. The Goddards were a long-established Chilton family, and probably lived in the house of that name halfway down Church Hill. The earliest reference to them is an entry in the baptism record for 1616. The slab contains the following epitaph:
In health I went away from home,
but did with life no more return
My horse he stumbled and fell down
And threw me lifeless to the ground
Short was my life, my pain the less
God took me home as He thought best.
Another lavishly carved headstone, now almost illegible, lies at the east end of the chancel. This marks the grave of Mary Holmes, who was buried on 1st March 1767. It includes these words:
Indulgent wife, a friend sincere
She's gone to rest we need not fear,
Her time was short,
God set her free,
Her blest Redeemer call'd for she.
At stage one, you need to look for some information:
The number of clock faces on the tower = A
Eliza Jane Silver was 5B years old when she died.
The number of animals on the weather vane = C
The number of wooden cross beams inside the porch = D
Henry Victor Blissett died on 12/2/E1.
Fanny Eliza Blissett died on 25/12/8F.
The cache is located at N51 34.ABC W001 17.(2 x D)EF.
Congratulations to jenandberry and tazandme for joint FTF honours.
**************************************
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.
*************************************