The church
The parish church is dedicated to St Bartholomew. It dates from 1850, apart from the tower which was only built in 1915 although the Haldon grit font currently in use is thought to be saxon which suggests there has been a church on this spot for well in excess of 1000 years. Outside the west door, close to the tower stands a memorial stone inscribed with the word Toreus or Goreus. This is known as the Goreus stone, made of cornish granite it is thought to be a memorial to a british chieftain who embraced christianity some 1500 years ago. An engraving from 1808 shows the stone lying horizontally to the north of the church but it has been in it's current position since 1851. There are 4 similar stones in Devon, they can be found in Tavistock, Buckland Monachorum, Stowford and Lustleigh. There are some very interesting brasses within the church so please have a look if the church is open during your visit. There is much more to learn about this historic church which can be found on the church's own website.
The Cache
BEFORE WE GET STARTED, THERE IS NO NEED TO WALK ON GRAVES YOU CAN EASILY WALK AROUND!
The headline coordinates will take you to the first necessary piece of information, however the rest is up to you. I suggest continuing in a clockwise direction up and around the church, you will need to go into the top section of the graveyard for a couple of pieces of information
At the headline coordinates you will find the headstone of James Tucker and his wife Elizabeth, both have a touching poem to their memorial. The number of words in the third line of James' will give you A and a number is mentioned in Elizabeth's, this number serves as B.
Close by you will find a memorial to Mary Stephens which features a bible verse, the number of letters in the last word of the second line gives you C.
Next you are looking for a stone in loving memory of William Heydon and his wife, the number of letters in his wife's name will give you D.
Next you are searching for Sarah Mary, beloved wife of John White who dies aged 7E years this one is a tricksy one, follow the clear pathway behind the church
Next head into the top section, you will find a cross in memory of Howard James, the number of winged angels featured will give you F
Alfred Gosling has a large headstone featuring his initial and above this a number of ivy leaves, count these leaves and that will give you G
Now on to the Shillabeers, in this case you want John and Elizabeth though you will find other Shillabeers nearby which will show you the way... a gentle reminder no need to cross any grave plots. Their memorial features a touching verse, the number of lines will give you H
Lastly... phew! You will find Elizabeth and Henry Staines, a pretty carving of snowdrops tops their headstone, the number of snowdrops gives you J
Now on to the formula! You will find the cache at:-
N50 (G+E).(E-B)(D-F)(H+F+C)
W004 (J-D-C).B(A-F)(J-A)
The cache is a short walk away from the church grounds.
If you would like to add to the Church Micro series yourself then please look here http://churchmicro.co.uk/
There is also a Church Micro Stats & Information page that can be found at http://www.15ddv.me.uk/geo/cm/index.html