A ruin now, but the church on the Duver at St. Helens has a very long history indeed.
The earliest wooden church on the site was built by Hildila, the chaplain of Bishop Wilfred in approximately 705AD and was thought to have been destroyed during Danish occupation of the Island in around 998.
The area didn't remain churchless for long because in around 1100, in the reign of Henry I, a priory was founded and eventually the monks built the stone church to serve as their chapel. The tower you see now was added during the reign of Henry III (1216-1272).
Sadly for the monks, their Order was dissolved in 1414 during the reign of Henry V. The crown took ownership of the church and its lands until 1440 when it was granted to Eton college on its foundation; the college owned the property until 1799. Unfortunately the church was not well maintained by the college and in as early as the 1550s during the reign of Henry VI, the north aisle fell into disrepair and the decision was taken to remove it.
By the reign of Elizabeth I, the church had suffered further decline made worse by the Lord of the Manor removing blocks of stone adjacent to the church weakening its structure. The parishioners were displeased with this, even presenting a petition, however this proved ineffective because Cromwell's commissioners in 1656 reported "Church is washed by the sea to the foundations..." and eventually, with the exception of the tower, was washed away.
It is believed that a major portion of the church collapsed during the great storm of 1703 around the same time that Winstanley's lighthouse was washed away from Eddystone Rock in Cornwall.
Even though no further worship took place at the church, the tower remained important to sailors and was painted white as a seamark in 1719. It is also believed that the term "holy-stoning" originated here with sailors removing church stones to scour the decks of their ships. Holy-stoning was a routine practice on Royal Naval vessels until the early 1800s, however this practice allegedly took place in the Navy until the early 20th century despite ultimately being regarded as merely something to occupy an otherwise idle crew.
To find this cache, go to the published coordinates and first look for 2 plaques.
According to the plaque on the right...
What year does the tower date from? 12AB.
In what year did the church cease to be used? 17CD.
Nearby you will find a stone marker...
How far to the source? EF
The cache may be found at
N50 42.(B+E)(A+D+E)(F-A) W001 06.(A-C)FD
The cache is a few hundred metres away as the crow flies (a little further if you are not a crow). The approach to the cache can be extremely wet and muddy at times. There is plenty of pay-parking at the published coordinates.
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See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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