This church has a lot of meaning to me. I was christened in the Purbeck 12th century font, many years ago, and my daughter was christened here last weekend (Sorry Rubber Duckies, I didn't manage to get this placed in time for you to find it during the christening!)
Nave and chancel are 13th century, the tower was built in 1787, the South porch in the 15th century and the North in the 19th century. The church was restored in 1864-69.
In the 17th & 18th Centuries, many church roofs were covered with lath and plaster ceilings. By 2002 the ceiling here had begun to fall and collapse and was renewed using traditional riven laths and lime plaster.
The roofs above the ceiling were seen for the first time in about 200 years. They were very plain, made to a standard pattern with collars and soulaces. Some of the timbers were badly damaged by beetle infestation.
The surprise was that they are very old. The timbers are connected with lap joints throughout, suggesting that they date back to the 13th century and are original to the nave and chancel.
All the joints were carefully scribed using an ancient style of carpenters mark with a race knife, so that they would fit when they were put together on site
In the triangle formed by the rafters at the eaves, original daub infill survived in places. This was painted with a leaf scroll pattern in a style which confirms the 13th century date.
The painting formed a border at the top of the wall. Below it there would have been further painting in imitation of stone masonry combined with biblical and legendary scenes.
The cache contains a log book only. You will need to bring your own pen, and tweezers may be useful to remove the log book.
If you would like to add to the Church Micro series yourself then please look here http://churchmicro.co.uk/ There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page that can be found at http://www.15ddv.me.uk/geo/cm/index.html