In 1813 a group seceded from the Castle Street Baptist chapel to form a meeting of Particular Baptists. They first met in a converted cottage near Castle Street, but in 1824, they converted a warehouse in the High Street to worship in. In 1836, they built a new Zion chapel in The Pippin, which has been used for worship ever since. Later, a school was added to the rear. Interior details of the chapel include a rear gallery on cast iron posts, stairs with column newels and stick balusters, an octagonal pulpit and two open galleries behind, to the school rooms with turned balusters. The school has now been altered, creating the Christian Bookshop and meeting rooms.
In addition to ongoing renovations to the interior of the chapel, Wiltshire Council undertook a major project to revitalise Calne’s town centre with the chapel as the focal point. Great care has been taken to preserve the chapel’s integral place within the new Town Square – railings neatly distinguish the chapel’s environs and a plaque has been laid in memory of the numerous burials on the property. The churchyard has now been paved over to form the new Town Square. If you look closely at the paved area that you’re standing on, you will see two rows of shiny stainless steel discs which mark the boundary of the burial site. The hope is that the increased pedestrian traffic around the chapel will prompt reflection on the important aspects of life, resulting in the generation of a natural outreach.
Please note:- The church gate is often locked, however, you don't have to enter the church grounds to find the required information. It can all be obtained by standing in front of the gate.
To find the cache, first go to the published co-ordinates and note the following information:-
The year the chapel was built. Let this be ABCD.
The year of Hannah Thrush’s burial. Let this be EFGH.
The number of people buried here. Let this be JK.
The cache can be found at:-
N51 26.(AxC)(A+K)(B+E)
W002 00.(G-K)(C+E)(F/K)
The cache contains only a log-book, so please bring your own pen!
Good Luck and Happy Caching!
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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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