The town of Melbourne in South Derbyshire has many churches of historical interest, and these Church Micros will introduce you to a few of them. Melbourne itself has some interesting historical links; Thomas Cook who is considered the founder of modern tourism was born in the town in 1808 (see the Baptist Church Micro) and in case you're wondering where the major city of Melbourne, VIC, Australia got its name from, it was so named in 1837 for Lord Melbourne, Prime Minister of Queen Victoria.
The Roman Catholic church in Melbourne is part of the Diocese of Nottingham. It was established in 1906 in anticipation of the arrival at Melbourne Hall of Admiral Sir Walter Kerr and his wife Lady Amabel Kerr; who had recently converted to Roman Catholicism. Originally the Kerrs provided part of a disused laundry as a chapel, this is now the Tea Rooms. The construction of the new church building started in 1907 and it was opened on 10 May 1908. The church and presbytery, together with the land on which they are built, remained in the ownership of the Kerr family until 1982 when they were handed over to the diocese.
The cache is not located at the church itself but is a short distance away. There is a telephone number on the noticeboard, call the subscriber number (last six digits) ABCDEF.
The cache can be found at N 52 49.C(B+F)(E+F) W 001 25.BEA. Co-ords were quite jumpy when I took them due to tree cover but I've matched these final co-ords to the map and the hint is generous.
Bonus information what is the first digit of the time of Sunday Mass in Castle Donington? Call this bonus digit E.
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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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