Church Micro #4633 - St Mary the Virgin Willingdon
To find the cache...
At the given cordinates you will find a blue notice board. On the left hand side, there is Sunday Worship listed for St Mary the Virgin
Write down the times as
A.BCam - Holy Communion
D.EFam - The Parish Eucharist and Sunday School
GH.JKam - Sunday Family Worship
L.MNpm - Evensong
The cache can be found at N50 47.(D)(A)(E) E000 15.(G+H)(F+M)(L-F)
You are looking for a magnetised 60ml container a short walk away.
Built of stone and flint, parts of this church date back at least 800 years. It is Eastbourne's oldest church. It was originally dedicated to St Michael, and then superseded by this flint and stone building in the Norman era.
The tower, which contains a ringing peal of six bells, is the oldest part of the building and may possibly be part of an earlier church, as it is offset at an angle to the present building. The churchyard and graveyard are quite picturesque.
The interior features warm brown and beige colours and is quite simple. To the south of the chancel is a Victorian Gothic pulpit. The side chapel at the east end of the north aisle is known as the Ratton Chapel, which belonged to the Parker family of nearby Ratton Manor. On the north side of the chancel are the war memorials in stone tablets. The font is 14th century and is of local green sandstone, but the wooden font cover dates from 1951. Over the font is an organ balcony, on the front of which can be seen the Queen Elizabeth II coat of arms from 1953. The stained glass windows are of some note, variously about the life of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary and some saints.
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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.
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