All Saints, Birling
The Church of All Saints, Birling, much of which is 14th century, is a grade I listed building. The church was central to the struggles of both King Henry VI and VIII and dates from the time of the Norman invasion. It stands on a little rise, that is reached from street level by a flight of stone steps and from where its later Perpendicular Style tower dominates the village centre and much of the surrounding countryside. For nearly 600 years the Nevill family has owned land at Birling. Not altogether surprisingly, the names of various members of the Nevill family feature prominently on the memorials inside the church.
The church is famed for two features, both connected with the Nevill family. The first is the cast-iron trapdoor of their burial vault in the chancel, resplendent with highly coloured bulls (the family emblem) and the family motto. The second is the font cover, carved by daughters of the family in the nineteenth century. Each section is initialled on the inside so that you can see who carved it.
Among the many stories of former villagers, there is one about the Hon Rev E. V. Bligh, vicar of Birling in the mid-19th century, who tried to commercialise the Birling Cure for rabies. The recipe was a close-kept secret, but it apparently included herbs and drugs infused in milk and it was sold in large wine bottles costing a guinea each. This proved to be too expensive for most of the potential customers, so the enterprising cleric re-bottled some of it and sold it for 3s 6d a small bottle. According to Mrs Collins' researches, business was good for a while, but then Louis Pasteur developed his anti-rabies vaccine in 1864 and the Birling Cure went the way of many another patent medicine into oblivion.
The published co-ordinates will bring you to a bench where you will need to answer the following question.
In memory of REG MAY ABCD - EFGH from his family & friends.
You are looking for a film pot inside a 60ml container at the following co-ordinates:
N51 19. (B-D) (G+C) (G-A-E) E000 24. (G-E) (G-A) (H-G)
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