The Cathedral
Welcome to the Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield - usually simply called Sheffield Cathedral. It is the mother church of the diocese of Sheffield and the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Sheffield. It is one of two cathedrals in Sheffield City Centre, the other being St Marie's Roman Catholic Cathedral a short walk away.
The site of the cathedral has a long history of Christian use. The 'Sheffield Cross', an Anglo-Saxon cross dating from the early 9th century, is believed to have been situated here originally. The shaft of this cross was much later discovered hollowed out and in use as a quenching trough in a cutler's workshop in the Park district of Sheffield, and is now in the British Museum.
The first parish church of Sheffield was built here in the 12th century as a satellite of Worksop Priory, but it burnt down in 1266 during the Second Barons' War against King Henry III. Another parish church was completed in 1280, but this church was mostly demolished and rebuilt in about 1430 on a cruciform floor plan. The Shrewsbury Chapel was added in about 1520, and a vestry chapel (now the Chapel of Saint Katherine) was added in 1777. The north and south walls of the nave were rebuilt in 1790–93, while new north and south transepts were completed in 1880.
During the Reformation in the 16th century, the Church of England split from Rome and Catholic worship was outlawed. Interestingly, however, the Shrewsbury Chapel remained Catholic until 1933 because it was owned by the Catholic Dukes of Norfolk, who inherited the estates of the Earls of Shrewsbury for whom the chapel had been originally constructed. The altar still retains its Catholic consecration crosses and relics.
The church was designated as a cathedral in 1914 with the creation of the Diocese of Sheffield. It is one of five Grade I listed buildings in the city - along with the Town Hall, Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet and the parish churches of Ecclesfield and Bradfield.
Finding the geocache
The geocache is hidden a short walk away from the cathedral at the following coordinates:
N53 2A.BCD; W001 2E.FGH
In order to know which numbers the letters stand for, you'll need to spot information in front of the cathedral in Cathedral Square and to both sides of the cathedral building. The writing you're looking for is all quite clear.
So, let's get started!
Make your way to the listed coordinates and find some information on a certain Abel Eyre, who passed away on 5th April 1822. How old was he when he died? The answer is AB.
Now turn towards the main road and make your way to Stage 2, where you will find something that isn’t quite what it seems. It looks like it dates from Victorian times, but is actually a replica as a plaque near the base makes clear. Take the last digit of the year in which it was actually made (which is the same as the third digit) and subtract two. The answer is C.
Now start to head towards Stage 3, but on the way look out for some information somewhere about a visit to Cathedral Square by a former leader of the Labour Party. Once you've found it, add up the first and fourth digits of the year he visited, add a further 2, and the answer is D.
Once you get to Stage 3, find some information about Peter Kay, who passed away aged 50. Add up the first, third and fourth digits of the year in which he died. The answer is E.
Nearby there is a memorial to Eliza Robinson. What is the first digit of the day in May 1853 when she passed away? Add 1 to this and the answer is F.
Walking further round the cathedral to Stage 4, find out how many years a certain “Christian poet, patriot and philanthropist” was resident in Sheffield. Add 20 to this number and the answer is GH.
Once you have numbers for all the letters, A through to H, simply substitute them for the letters in the coordinates above and find the geocache. It's only a short walk away, but please be very careful when retrieving and replacing the container as Sheffield City Centre is teeming with muggles and maximum stealth will be required! The cache is hidden in plain sight. To help you, you can check your coordinates here:
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
Good luck with finding it!
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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.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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