Parish church. Largely C14 reconstruction of small church of a hilltop, shrunken, medieval village, a little W of Hadham Hall. Flint rubble with stone dressings for nave, chancel and W tower: red brick for late C16 N transept and C19 vestry. Old red roof tiles to N transept and timber S porch, slates to nave and chancel. Walls of unaisled nave possibly dateable to C12 by semicircular inner arch of altered N door. Imposing late C14 W tower of 3 stages with diagonal buttresses, embattled parapet, short leaded spire with wind vane, and W door with 2-centred arch within a square surround under a dripmould with carved heads as terminals. Similar dripmould terminals to 3-light W window with marginal inscription in glazing 'Restituta AD 1845 Rectore T R'. C14 square ended chancel of same width as nave with timber screen and change of roof height as only divisions. Diagonal buttresses at E end and added at W end of nave. Chancel extensively restored 1883 by Sir Arthur Blomfield (1829-99) for Mr Bury, first rector of newly separated parish. He refaced the E and S walls in flintwork and provided a new 3-light E window, pine hammer-beam roof, seating, encaustic tile floor and steps, altar, carved stone reredos, iron altar rail, and small vestry on N (Marshall (nd) 6-7). Late C14, wide 2-bay, open timberframed, gabled porch with trefoil heads to sidelights and heavy cusped bargeboard with central ogee. Heavy doorframe with (? renewed) 4-centred head. Large late C16 N transept in narrow red brick with tiled roof, diagonal buttresses, gable parapet, 3-light arched windows in E and W walls, arched doorway with square surround on E wall and 4-light N window with intersecting tracery. A wide 4-centred moulded arch on semioctagonal piers and moulded caps opens from the nave into the transept which appears to have provided a gallery and private entrance in its E wall for the Capell family of Hadham Hall. This converted the linear medieval church plan to a classic T-plan, Protestant auditory focused on the pulpit in the middle of the S wall. A tall octagonal pulpit with tester, dated 1633, now stands there, converted to a 3 decker. A layout plan of 1692 (HRO) shows much the present arrangement of pews except that the SE block now faces the altar. Fragmentary painted inscriptions on E and W walls of gallery with strapwork surround on W. Moulded cornice/wall-plate on E and W. Carved arabesques in top row of wall panelling in transept and on S wall of nave. Low pitched C15 queen post roof to nave in 4 bays with moulded, cambered tie beams supported on long curved braces, with cusped, pierced spandrels, from wall posts, rising from sculptured stone corbels. Royal Arms with 'GR 1825'in centre of truss against W wall. Moulded oak C15 chancel screen with 5 narrow traceried lights each side of entrance, mullions carved as stepped buttresses, pomegranate scroll carved on rail of 2 panels each side of entrance, the rest left plain and mullions recessed for former altars on each side. 8 medieval tiles used as threshold in entrance (4 more hung in vestry doorway). Late C14 piscina on S of altar. On W wall of nave 2 large C18 benefaction boards to Mr John Hammon and Mr Thomas Chapman, each with eared architrave, rounded head and broken pediment over. Octagonal stone font said to be C16 (VCH (1914) 56). Brasses on boards on S wall, a knight and lady c.1485: a priest C15. Fine inscribed floor slabs N and S of altar raised from Capel vault in 1883 restoration. Late C16 and C17 pews in nave. Of outstanding interest for its C16 N transept and its conversion to a Protestant T-plan church, with its nave layout and fittings complete. A hilltop landmark and part of a picturesque hamlet group (RCHM (1911) 144-5: VCH (1914) 55-8: Pevsner (1977) 240: John Marshall Little Hadham Church (nd privately printed): for porch Smith T P in Vernacular Architecture 7 (1976) 30-33) 30-3).
To find the cache take a wander along the path and keep your eyes peeled for the following info...
Reverend Douglas Hurst Born 3 July B93A, and Died E March 199F
and
Joan Margaret Clark Born D9 Sept 1947, and Died 2G Sept 19C6
The cache can be found at N51 5A.BCD E000 05.EFG
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