St Piran's Oratory is believed to be built in the 6th century in the sand dunes commonly known as Penhale Sands.
Also known as The Lost Church
A compact building measuring around 9 metres x 5.5 metres with a small nave and chancel .
The Oratory was abandoned in the 10th century because the drifting sand was continually burying it.
Persistent flooding led to the construction of a concrete ‘shell’ encasing the oratory and various consolidation measures such as internal buttresses and a concrete floor.
This did little to alleviate flooding and an alternative solution in 1980 resulted in the partial demolition of the concrete structure and its infilling with sand in order to stabilise the building.
St Piran’s Oratory, has been excavated by a group of almost 100 volunteers who worked to dig the site by hand, revealing it for the first time in more than 100 years. The legend of St Piran arriving in Cornwall believes he landed on the shore at Perran beach having been cast off from Ireland by the then King, with a millstone around his neck.
On arriving in Perran he proceeded to build an Oratory in the Irish Style.
St Piran's Day St Piran's Day is celebrated all over Cornwall on the 5th March ,it is marked by a march across the dunes to St Piran's Oratory for a special service.
The The listed co-ordinates are for St Piran's Church (The Lost Church) the cache is not at this location .
To find the cache you will need to visit the site to collect some information then simply work out the co-ordinates there is a information board near the remains of the church
A= what year was skeletons uncovered xxxA
B = In xBxx the Oratory and a building to the south believed to be the Priests house or baptistery were excavated by William Mitchell.
C = Close by on top of the sand dune. How many crosses do you see = C
D= On the information board at the bottom right hand corner it says Design Services E????? = D = 2nd number
E= Bottom Right - Sept xxxE
F= In xFxx the chapel was covered with a concrete structure.
Final Coordinates N 50 21.(A) (B) (C). W 005 08. (D) (E-1) ( F-5)
Although I have changed the Details the Coordinates are the same.
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See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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