The current church of st Firmin, North Crawley dates from the 12th to 15th Century and is a Grade I listed building. There is documentary evidence to suggest that there was a minster in existence in the 11th century.
The church is dedicated to st Fermin. Fermin was a 3rd Century Spanish Roman noble who converted to Chritianity. He became the first bishop of Pamplona and later preached the Gospel across France. In Amiens he met his end. He was beheaded and martyred in AD 303.
There is also a monastary recorded in domesday. Local tradition supports this, but there is little evidence now that it ever existed. There was a holy well in the churchyard and unofficial pilgrims visited but this was stopped in 1298.
The west tower and nave date from the early 12th century, while the south aisle dates from the early 13th century. The chancel was rebuilt in 1290 and contains two late Early English windows on each side. The church is adorned with some bold mouldings and some finely carved gargoyles.
For those of you who like waymarking this church qualifies... Waymark
The cache is a micro on the ground, so it is wheelchair accessible. Please replace as found. BYOP. This cache is placed with permission.
If anybody would like to expand to this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication
To view the church micro stats page, please click here