St. Mary the Virgin is an ancient and beautiful church set at the heart of the unspoilt Dartmoor village of Holne, County Devon. The church is part of the Anglican Communion and services are held every week. It is kept open during the day throughout the year and is a place of peace, tranquillity, beauty and prayer.
The church dates from the thirteenth century with the records showing an incumbent priest in Holne in 1240. Its dedication to St Mary the Virgin may indicate earlier links to the abbey at Buckfast, whose sheep were grazed in the district of Holne.
The ancient Yew Tree in the church yard is thought to have been planted as early as the 13th century, predating the church. Its trunk is now divided into five sections and is hollow in the centre. The sections were bolted together in the 1980s to strengthen it.
Two additional Yews were planted in 19th century.
In order to locate the Geocache you will need to visit the Headstones at the following Waypoints to gather information.
Waypoint 1
Charlie Mayne December 1A 19B2 Aged 66
Also his beloved wife
Ellen October 27 1947 Aged C7
Waypoint 2
How many times does the letter N appear = D. Moira Hands 1928 - 20E5
Waypoint 3
John Rowland January 16 18F1 Aged 50
Also his Wife Grace May 7 18G4 Aged H7
Now you need to do some simple sums to find the Coordinates
N 50° 30.(C+A)(G-C)(B+D) W 003° 49.(H-E)(H-B)(F-D)
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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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