A Very Brief History
The history of non-conformity in Needingworth dates back to 1692 when Mr Davis of Rowell, Northamptonshire sent teams of preachers to many villages in the outlying areas. Between April 1692 and January 1693, a huge 67 members were admitted to this small village church. In December 1692, a letter of dismission for the members of Needingworth was signed by the church at Rowell, in order that they may be separated into a distinct body.
The first minister of the church was Thomas Ladson, who joined the church in 1767 and was pastor there for over 50 years! The original chapel is believed to have been south east of the current location in the Chapel Close area of the village, however the new chapel (which stands today) was relocated more central in the village. The current chapel was completed on 24th October 1861 at a cost of £700, of which £100 debt remained. At the time it was described as a "neat, comfortable, and substantial building, capable of holding about 400 persons."
The Puzzle
To calculate the northings, you need to find the answers by visiting the church at the given coordinates. To calculate the westings, you need to do a little research, some answers you will be able to answer using the information above, for some you will need to use the internet.
The cache is at N52 AB.CDE W 000 0F.GHJ
Telephone number on the information board: 01480 XXXX5A
Number of gravestones in churchyard. B
Number of crosses in the churchyard. C
The date the telephone post was last inspected (2 digits) minus 2 = DE
In what year did Thomas Ladson die? 1_19 divide this missing digit by 4 to make F
Number of ministers the church had before Thomas Ladson. G
Between April 1692 and January 1693 how many members were admitted? 6H
On what date in December 1692 was the letter of dismission signed? 1J
The cache location is a bit of a walk away from the church and the path may get muddy so you may want to bring suitable footwear. Many thanks to richt2000 who provided the cache container through his Cache Machine (GC5KPWF)