My latest addition to the ever expanding Church Micro series (wow, 9000 already!), this is a multi at the lovely church of St Andrews, Cullompton.
At the headline coordinates - Find a brick/coping stone on the wall with a date on it. The date is ABCD
At Stage 2 - Looking up, you will see some small assorted shaped white framed windows. How many of them are there? Answer = E
At Stage 3 - The church office phone number is 01884 33FGH.
CHECKSUM: A+B+C+D+E+F+G+H = 43
The final cache is at N50o 5A.FCH W003o 2D.(E-G)G(A+B) and it is a walk of about 0.2 miles from the church. It could be a difficult find
CHURCH HISTORY
The present building dates from the 15th century and is built in entirely in the Perpendicular style, the last of the great periods of English Gothic architecture. The tower and Lane's Aisle were later additions, However, a church has stood on the site since Saxon times. Subsequent to the Norman Conquest (1066) it belonged to Battle Abbey in Sussex, then to the Priory of St Nicholas at Exeter who were the Patrons until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536. The church was once dedicated to St Mary as patron saint. The change of name to St Andrew took place in the fifteenth century.
Cullompton Church is unique throughout England, and possibly throughout Christendom, in possessing to the present day the original carved wooden base of the medieval rood. It is sometimes called the "Golgotha" because it is carved with skulls and rocks and crossbones. During the Middle Ages, it was a common practice to erect a carved representation of the crucifixion scene at Golgotha above the stone or wooden screen, which divided the chancel from the nave in most ancient churches. Hence the screen became known as the rood screen, because the carved figures above it were called the 'rood'. It consists of two massive baulks of oak carved in the fashion of rocks with skulls and bones and carrying the socket for the cross. It also has two platforms for the figures of Mary and John, forming the base of the ancient rood. From its size and commanding position this carving would have been regarded as symbolic and full of meaning. All who passed from the nave into the sanctuary for communion would have passed 'under the cross'. How the Golgotha at St Andrew's escaped destruction during the Protestant Reformation is unknown. It is a matchless representation of medieval craftsmanship. The wood is now so hardened and worn by age that it has the appearance of stone. It is 17 feet in length and one foot nine inches in diameter and of enormous weight. It is at least 500 years old and is thought to be the only remaining one in the country and possibly the world. It is a unique survival of the Reformation.
The great west tower was added in 1545-1549. From the ground to the parapet it measures 100 feet, and the pinnacles are nearly 20 feet higher. The tower is built from local stone with enrichments of Beer and Ham stone. The uppermost section is the belfry which is lit by four windows of Beer Stone in each face. There is a ring of ten bells augmented from eight after the 1914-18 war. The clock face is set on the third section and is framed in a stone frame with crocketed pinnacles. The church tower was refurbished in 1999/2000.
NO SPOILERS,OTHERWISE YOUR LOG OR PICTURE WILL BE DELETED, AND YOU WILL BE ASKED TO RE-LOG WITHOUT THE SPOILER
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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.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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