For those not in the know The Church Mirco Series is intended to be as big a cache size as you can muster, Steve (sadexploration) explains.
Click here page 4.
The series is called ‘Church Micro’ I encourage cachers to hide as large a cache as it's possible to. It’s just that Church 2.5 Lt clip box’ didn’t quite roll off the tongue as well.
So onto the church description.
The parish Church of St James is basically a Victorian Gothic building erected between 1876 and 1881 by Browne and Gill of Bath. However, the church tower dates back to 1463. It is a Grade Ilisted building. The earliest record of a church on the site is 1413, when Bishop Bubwith dedicated a churchyard at Ashwick and authorised burials to take place there, but it is not known when the church was first built. The church was originally connected to the vicarage at Kilmersdon, near Radstock. It remained so until the formation of Ashwick parish. The benefice of Oakhill was added in 1923 and Binegar was added in 1969, since when one rector has overseen all three villages.
At the west end of the aisles in the Church of St James two memorial tablets can be seen. These are dedicated to John Billingsley, his wife Mary, and their family. The writer of the 1794 Survey of Somerset, Billingsley was a leading agriculturalist who was one of the founders of the Bath and West Society, known today as the Royal Bath and West of England Society. He lived all his life at Ashwick Grove, which is in the nearby village of Oakhill.
Church of St James Parish church. Perpendicular tower of c1450, remainder 1881 by Browne and Gill in Gothic style, with additions by W D Caroe of 1915. Coursed rubble, slate roofs. Consists of tower, North and South aisles, Southern with small Lady Chapel, nave, chancel, and vestry. Tower of 3-stages has diagonal corner buttresses, continuing as pinnacles above, capped by crocketed finials. Simple 2-light bell opening to centre of each side of the top stage, containing dense quatrefoil interlace, embattled parapet with blind arcading. Aisles of 4-bays, having 2-light windows in the Decorated style, each bay flanked by a buttress; pierced quatrefoil parapet above, gabled porch to South side. Above clerestory stage, small paired cusped lights. Interior dominated by arcaded nave, supported on Draycott marble columns. Wagon roof to nace and chancel. Stained glass all of 1881 rebuild. Memorials dating from C18, particularly under tower to Richard Hardwick of 1770, local clockmaker, and earlier memorial to his children of 1738, in the shape of a clock. C18 English painting of St Hames' Miracle in Lady Chapel.
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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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