Church Micro 10415...Bath - St John the Baptist Multi-cache
TheOldfields: Time to say goodbye.
Church Micro 10415...Bath - St John the Baptist
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Size: 
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A multi cache around the graveyard of St John's church. The correct name is actually St Mary's cemetery as that was the name of the church originally here. That was knocked down when Bathwick Street was built and then St John's was put in it's place. The name St Mary's ended up moving to the bottom of Bathwick Hill. (....and quite where the name St Mark's comes from on the cache map page is anyone's guess...)
Taken from the council's website:
This is the older of two closed churchyards relating to St Mary's, Bathwick. (The newer closed churchyard is located off of Horseshoe Lane in the Smallcombe Valley.)
It was opened when the original 12th century St Mary's church was demolished to widen Bathwick Road. Stone from the original church was used in the building of the mortuary chapel which was designed by Thomas Pinch. The mortuary chapel was needed to enable funerals to take place during the time between the removal of the old church and completion of the new church. Thomas Pinch was as famous an architect as John Wood in his time, although his name is less well-known today. He is buried beside the ruins of his mortuary chapel which is a grade II listed building.
The churchyard was opened in 1808 and closed around 1825, although burials continued to take place there until the 1860s.
In the years following it fell into disuse and gradually the chapel became more and more dilapidated until the gates to the churchyard were locked and closed to public access. Gradually it became so overgrown that it was unrecognisable as a churchyard and council staff visited only to maintain a small grassed area in one corner.
A group of volunteers then got involved and worked with the council to tidy and reopen the graveyard. They have turned it into what we think is a fabulous space well deserving of a cache.
Note that cache was moved and the puzzle leading to the final co-ordinates was updated 9/3/19.
To start, head to the posted co-ordinates. There – at the North end of a substantial 'chest tomb' (about six feet long, 3 feet high and 3 feet wide) you can find a message that shows that space is obviously limited here. The associated date is May 18AA.
Next head to N51 23.254 W2 21.261.
To find the cache you will need to have a wander around the graveyard. Five of the numbers can be found by examining the small signs dotted around the graveyard - each one has a number.
The actual cache can be found at:
N51 23.
A - 4
John Pinch – 10
Roman Sarcophagus – 5
W2 21.
Dame Eleanora Brisbane – 19
A mystery – 5
Mary Lawrence – 16
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)