Gillingham is the most northerly town in Dorset set the Blackmore Vale. The borders of Somerset and Wiltshire are within 5 miles. Gillingham would appear to have originated as a Roman settlement in the 2nd and 3rd century. Over the period of time it became an Anglo-Saxon hamlet, its subsequent expansion has seen it engulf the neighbouring hamlets of Wyke, Peacemarsh and Bay.
The towns name appears in the Domesday Book (1086) as Gelingham and evolves slowly to its current spelling. The name Gillingham, is pronounced with a hard initial G as in goat. Unlike the similarly spelt town in Kent pronounced as in Jill.
There is evidence to suggest that Christianity has been present since Anglo-Saxon (9th century) times however the current church dates to more modern times in the 14th- 16th Century, with a main rebuild in the 19th Century. The remains of an Anglo-Saxon stone cross can be found within the church.
Artist John Constables painting of Gillingham’s Old River Bridge hangs in the Tate Gallery
The coordinates given are for the church, the final cache can be found a short distance away.
To obtain the coordinates for the final cache you must discover several relevant dates that commemorate the lives of Gillingham Folk, then substitute the clues
Violet “Bunny” Hiscock 19A3 – 199B
Barbara Leask (Hiscock) 191C – 19DE
Winifred Vera Little 19F2 – 2G11
N 51. G(C-F). (D-C)(B+F)(A+C) W 002. AB.(A+C)G(A+D)
The cache contains a log and a pencil, there is also a small prize for the FTF. The container has
sufficient room for small trackables.
“If anybody would like to expand 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.
There is also a Church Micro Stats & information page found via the Bookmark list”
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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 at churchmicro@gmail.com.
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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