Church Micro 6383...Chelwood Traditional Cache
Chaotica_UK: This one has had its time, many thanks to all that have visited.
Church Micro 6383...Chelwood
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This is a traditional church micro, there is limited parking outside the church so please use the parking coordinates where you can and please be respectful to the village occupants and those buried in the church and its grounds.
Chelwood church is dedicated to St Leonard, who was born in 559. The son of an officer of Prince Clovis, he entered a monastery as a young man near Orleans in France and later founded his own in the forest of Pauvain. For certain miracles performed for the queen he was granted permission by Clovis to release all the prisoners he visited and is therefore regarded as the patron saint of prisoners.
The foundations of the church and certain features are probably Norman but the main structure is 14th Century, the tower being rebuilt in 1722. Although the architecture is chiefly plain there are a number of nice features. The Norman font was made from a block of Dundry limestone around 1125 and the ironwork can still be seen which locked the cover, lest witches stole the holy water. The detailing on the corbels on the ends of the south arcade is 14th Century-vines leaves over a female head to the east, fig leaves to the west. The south windows contain many fragments of 16th Century Flemish glass.
Whilst Bristol traded extensively with the Low Countries it is curious how such glass reached such a remote a spot. It is likely that the former tower was in better style, for there are few villages in Somerset which do not have a superb tower. : It seems there was great rivalry between villages as to the height and decoration of church towers. Spires are rare- but ten in the county.
This geocache is placed in dedication to a dear friend who introduced me to geocaching in late January 2005. Sadly Vicky passed away today 21/10/2014 and will be desperately missed by all.
The cache is accessible either through the church grounds to the footpath or from the end near the telephone box at the other end of the village.
“If anybody would like to expand this series please do, I would just ask that you could let Sadexploration know first at churchmicro@gmail.com so he can keep track of the Church numbers and names to avoid duplication. There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page found via the Bookmark list”
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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