It is assumed that there has been a church in Totternhoe since at least the late Anglo-Saxon period but it is only known for certain that there has been a church here since the 13th century as the list of incumbents only goes back to 1220.
Saint Giles' church is, as one might expect, largely built of Totternhoe clunch, which, though easy to work, weathers badly. The east end of the chancel has squares of clunch and flints arranged in a chequerboard fashion, (as can be seen above), which is quite common in the area. The chancel of the current church dates from the 14th century, about a century after the earliest known vicar, and this is the earliest surviving part of the building. The rest of the church is Perpendicular* and dates from the late 15th or early 16th century. The building comprises a chancel, nave with north and south aisles, west tower and north vestry. The roofs of the nave and aisles are original with carved beams and bosses. The Ashwell family ensured that the church was restored in the late 15th century. This is confirmed by the capital on the east respond of the north arcade which bears the symbol of an angel with a shield depicting an ash tree rising from a well. The will of William Ashwell of 1545 leaves money (£3/6/8) to build the west tower. Interestingly, despite being made at the reign of Henry VIII when the Protestant party at court was in the ascendancy Ashwell asked "to be buried in the church of Toternehoo before the image of Our Blessed Lady". The rood screen dates from the 15th century. There are some old benches which may be late 15th or early 16th century and the font is thought to date to some time between about 1335 and 1530.
*Perpendicular: a period of late Mediaeval architecture dating from about 1350 to about 1530; so called because of the long, vertical, parallel divisions in windows
Now to the Cache:
The posted Coordinates should bring you to the gates of the Churchyard, where you will need to find 4 locations to gather some information -
On the Sign beside the gate -
The Telephone Number is 01525 211A64A =
In a Chestnut tree beside the grave of Lizzie Lamb -
B is the number of Owls that are in the treeB =
At the War Memorial -
C is the number of letters in the first name of the SapperC =
There are 5 letters in Gunner Fred's Surname, turning these into numbers -
D is the value of the FIRST letterD =
E is the value of the SECOND letterE =
F is the value of the FOURTH letterF =
On one of the benches -
Is a memorial to A.M CARTER who was Born 14-10-42 Died 5-G-1991G =
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The cache can be found at -
N51 52.CF(E+B) W000 33.(A+E)(D-G)(D-C-E)
Don't forget to bring a pen - but hey, you are a well equipped geocacher and have several in your bag/pocket - Right?
Please note - to get to the cache, the direct route crosses a field, which when I placed the cache showed signs of having had cattle in it recently.
There is an alternative route to the cache that avoids the field. The Trailhead for this path can be found at - N 51 52.CB(D-C-E) W000 33.D(F-E)(G-B)
As a matter of respect, Please do not attempt this cache after dark.
I hope you enjoy this cache
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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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Congratulations to Grumpynsnoozynchatty for their FTF