St Martin's Chapel; Chisbury
Standing at the edge of a working farmyard, with views across the Wiltshire countryside to the Hampshire ridgeway, lies the long de-consecrated Chapel of St. Martin's.
The current structure was built in the 13th century by the lord of Chisbury manor within the earthworks of an ancient hill-fort, although it is probable that it replaced (or was the rebuilding of) an earlier Saxon building. Historically the whole area lay within the massive, ancient parish of Bedwyn and to serve the more remote parts several chapels-of-ease were built, including one at Chisbury. This chapel of ease provided a more convenient place of worship than the parish church which, until the 15th century, lay at Great Bedwyn. It usually had a resident priest and remained a place of worship until it was de-consecrated in 1547 as a direct result of the Reformation.
However Wiltshire folk are pragmatic if nothing else and after turfing out the religious nick-knacks used the building as a barn. The sole surviving reminder of it's more illustrious past is the Consecration Cross painted on the wall although experts point out markings which they claim were made for the rood screen.
The building was re-roofed in thatch during the 19th century but gradually became more neglected and fell into a ruinous state. But salvation was at hand and the building's importance was recognised and listed. It was restored in 1942 and today, after considerable additional restoration, the building is in the safe hands of English Heritage.
This is a somewhat remote structure but its atmosphere, history and location ensure it's well worth making the effort to visit. Also note the ramparts of Chisbury Fort - reputedly a main stronghold of King Alfred - as you walk along the path up to the chapel.
For those more interested in the "unexplained", in 2010 a crop circle magically appeared in the nearby field. (The red circle around the chapel was magically created by Ted).
ACCESS
The chapel lies on the edge of a working farm and on the OS maps appears to be without any obvious public access. However there is a signposted permissive FOOTPATH along a track starting at the Parking coordinates below. We have talked to English Heritage who confirmed that the public must NOT drive up the track but must park as indicated and walk (which of course is no hardship to a hardy and lawabiding geocacher!).
As with many similar English Heritage sites, access is free of charge and the site is open at ANY REASONABLE TIME DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS.
THE CACHE
The cache is not hidden at or near the chapel but lies a short distance away. To find the final coordinates you must visit the chapel and while inside answer the following questions:-
- Inside there is an information board. Let ABCD be the year the watercolour was painted
- How many air bricks are in the wall holding up the platform? Let that be E
- How many metal grills in total vent the platform floor? Let that be F
- Look for the graffiti pictured below and "calculate" the date WB declared his love. Let that year be 1GHJ. What you cannot see the photo on your GPSr? Do not worry - look for the heart in a box. The date is expressed in a very strange way and certainly not one we've seen before
The cache can be found at
N51 2(G-E) . (B-A) (D-F) (H+J)
W 001 3J . (E-H) (C+H) B
Checksum; the total of ALL digits is 52
Admire the views as you return to your car then make your way to GZ - happy hunting!
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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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