The History
There has probably been a place of worship on the site of the Parish Church of St John the Baptist, Wellington since Saxon times but the present building is mostly in the Perpendicular style of the 15th century. A church on the site was previously known as St. Mary the Virgin.
The tower was built around 1510 and the current organ was rebuilt in 1997, replacing one first installed around 1700.
The church was restored several times during the 19th century. The carving of the centre mullion of the east window of the Lady chapel is a Lily crucifix, a rare symbol of Anglican churches in England depicting Christ crucified on a lily, or holding such a plant.
The church includes a monument to John Popham, who died in 1607 having been Speaker of the House of Commons, Attorney General and Lord Chief Justice of England. It also has the first epitaph written in English on the tomb of Richard of Wellington a 14th-century priest. Previously they had always been written in Latin.
The Cache
To find the cache, start at the headline coordinates. You will see a sign that reads:
“Interred here are the remains of those disturbed during the building of the new church hall in 199(A)”
Proceed to stage 2. Find the headstone of Arthur Wellington who was born on 2(B) March 185(C)
After stage 2, have a look at the tomb of Richard of Wellington, enclosed by iron railings. Bit of history for you!
Proceed to stage 3. Have a look at the side of the tomb. Frank was born in 18(D)0 and died in Algiers on February 20th 188(E).
Take a pew on the bench near stage 3, but before you do have a look at the plaque on it. The bench is dedicated to Leslie and Terry Thake, June 200(F).
The cache can be found just outside the church boundaries, on a public footpath, at the following coordinates:
N 50 58.(C+E) (D) (A+B)
W 003 13.(E+F) (C) (D-A-B)
Checksum of ABCDEF=21
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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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