About the Church of St Thomas
Early mentions of Bedhampton stretch back to the ninth century, and the village was mentioned in the Domesday Book. Indeed, there has been a church in Bedhampton since 1086. The present parish church of St Thomas, situated in Old Bedhampton, dates from the 12th century. The oldest parts of St Thomas' Church - the Chancel Arch and the lower parts of the South and West Walls - are dated circa 1140 and although there are no accurate records of the original dedication this is traditionally put at 1132AD. The Church was extended in the 14th Century, and again in the late 19th Century, when the North Aisle and Vestry were added, and the most recent extension came in 1993 when the Vestry was expanded.
St Thomas' Church has a Norman arch and ancient Yew trees in its grounds. The larger of the yew trees has a girth of 6 metres and is said to be between 900 and 1000 years old, pre-dating the church. However, some people think the tree is younger than the church and believe it is a mere 700 years old. Apparently yew trees were revered by the ancient Celts, and areas that had Yew were considered sacred. Early Christians therefore built their churches next to yew trees in an attempt to persuade the 'heathens' to convert to Christianity. It is certainly true that many churchyards have yew trees so maybe The St Thomas Yew really does pre-date the church!
The cache has been moved as of 5th March 2012 to a new location following concerns about damage to a nearby fence from a local resident. The hint has therefore been made explicit enough so that you are able to put your hand straight to the cache. Please take a moment to read it, stand back and look for the clue items and try not to damage the adjacent fence.
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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@gmail.com.
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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