Jump to content

Church Yard Caching


CrazyL200

Recommended Posts

;) I don't think I would place a cache within a grave yard. I feel it's OK to look around various gravestones (e.g. if you have to find the stone of a famous person, or find a date from one) but I think the searching around needed to find a cache and the logging and swapping would be "inappropriate" and better done at a different location. MrsB
Link to comment

I've done a couple in graveyards and can't say I'm a big fan. In both cases I felt it prudent to check the clue straight away. The graveyard cache in Paris is also very close to a basket that looks like a prime location for a cache- actually it is the remains of someone's cat.

Link to comment

I can see why some are sensitive about graveyard caching though personally see no reason why we should not obtain information such as dates from gravestones. After all they are there so that people can remember the departed.

 

But I think I would be unhappy for a cache to be actually in or near a grave though I do have one (with the full approval of the authorities) behind a broken gravestone piece leaning against the church wall.

Obviously there are times when the area should not even be approached such as when there are mourners present, or even when a funeral is taking place. I have found several caches in the general area of graveyards and only once felt it necessary to withdraw.

Link to comment

We are not keen - not being religious, we avoid churches and graveyard caches simply to avoid causing any offence.

 

We're just not comfortable going into places to which others attach such great importance to or have strong feelings about.

 

Don't get me wrong, we are not bothered about the occupants of graveyards, it's just that we would find it very difficult and too embarassing to explain our presence, playing a game, to someone there for more personal reasons, particularly if it occurred at a sensitive time for the inquisitor.

 

We understand that others cachers take special care to ensure that they do not impact on others in such places - we're just too thoughtless and noisy so it's easier for us simply to go after other caches.

 

Once we cycled 15 miles to a puzzle cache and found that we needed to enter a church to obtain answers. We didn't think it an appropriate thing to do so we got back on our bikes and enjoyed the cycle home.

 

Each to their own...

Link to comment

I personally would be uncomfortable trying to locate a cache in a Church Yard, and nor does it feel quite right looking for clues on grave stones or in churches. Having said that I have very recently done some caches where the cache was literally just outside the church boundary. The cachers who placed these did state very clearly that the caches were OUTSIDE the boundaries, so there was absolutely no reason to go rooting around the Church Yard. There is an awful lot to be said for the churches in this country, and getting people to see some of them is a good idea. Such an approach as I have said can offend nobody.

Link to comment

church yard caches are brill. i understand that if someone is in morning then its best to stay out the way but if the coast is clear then i dont see the problem. most people see grave yards as cold places were as they should be happy places as you are there to celabrate someones life.

many stones are not looked after if there is no longer any family left i think its nice that weather you no the person or not for you to read there stone an say there name means that someone still knows of there exsistance.

 

LMN

Link to comment

clues in the graveyard, yes ... cache in the graveyard, no

 

I fully agree with this, I have used a gravestones information to give a clue to the main cache elsewhere! Also many of the caches that we have located in the past have been after having to find dates on gravestones. :D

Link to comment

I came across a cache in a churchyard that was dumped on an actual grave !..ok the grave was victorian,long forgotten and overgrown but that is no excuse to dump a 50 cal ammo can right on someones resting place..I emailed the cache owner and got a snotty reply..The cache in question was this one 'tuff rock 2 northants ' (GCJWDP)..I note its been reactivated...be intresting to see if the final cache location is now more thoughtful.

Link to comment

I must say that having done St Marys, GC4E80, that I did feel very uneasy poking around in a churchyard, even though this church is no longer a place of worship, it is still consecrated ground. Surely physical placement of caches in churchyards should be banned, however, entering a churchyard to get date information, for example, is fine.

Just my tuppence worth.

Link to comment

I've done a few caches in graveyards that have been sensibly placed and have enjoyed them. The more ancient and desolate the graveyard, the better.

 

One of my favourites was Last Delivery (London) by Jessex which turned out to be a fascinating place which I would never have known about otherwise. I've been back twice just to have another look round. The cache currently has 515 logs -so it seems pretty popular.

 

I would argue that having clues in graveyards are more intrusive than a well placed, well co-ordinated(?) and well "hinted" cache. The multi/mystery cache that says "John Smith died in 16AB" and "Mary Brown died aged CD" has you trampling all over the place looking for barely legible headstones, whereas a well placed cache gives you a nice clean find and time to take-in your surroundings.

 

I've placed a cache in a graveyard that has a public footpath through it and this path forms part of a local heritage trail. It is near a church which is very busy every Sunday morning, and I have made this clear on the cache page.

 

It all comes down to common sense, which unfortunately isn't at all common!

Link to comment

I've visited every Church in Cornwall (Stands to be corrected!) as one of my other hobbies, so I'm quite comfortable about graveyards and the such.

 

My inclination is to agree that caches in graveyards should be forbidden. Gravestones for clues sure.. but caches no - theres so many other other places to place a cache - I think Churchs should be given the respect they deserve.

Link to comment

I came across a cache in a churchyard that was dumped on an actual grave !..ok the grave was victorian,long forgotten and overgrown but that is no excuse to dump a 50 cal ammo can right on someones resting place..I emailed the cache owner and got a snotty reply..The cache in question was this one 'tuff rock 2 northants ' (GCJWDP)..I note its been reactivated...be intresting to see if the final cache location is now more thoughtful.

 

Interesting that you still went ahead and searched for the cache, even with reservations.

 

No, I don't necessarily agree with physical boxes in graveyards (it doesn't bother me per se, but may be offensive to others and I respect that) but collecting information from gravestones often gives a unique historical insight into the lives of the inhabitants and the history of the area which is surely a good thing.

Link to comment

You will find (well, now the search button is working again!) that this topic has been discussed at length here and I think Wilburri's post pretty much sums the situation up - especiallywith him being a church warden - his points are very valid

 

Quote:

 

"And there I was about to place a cache in two of our local churchyards!

 

From this you will gather that I have no qualms about mooching about in cemetaries; but then I grew up living next to one (occupational hazard for the son of a clergyman) and am a regular visitor to cemetaries as a regular churchgoer. I am well aware of the problems of misbehaviour in churchyards as I am also a churchwarden (responsible, amongst other things, for stopping the buildings and their environs from falling apart). There have been problems with people doing things with needles in one of the churchyards but we've sorted that and would be happy to have more people enjoying the area. It should be remembered that one of the points of a headstone is to act as an aid to remember the person whom it commemorates, therefore their use as clues is good because it can make us think about the person that was buried there. I stand and look around the cemetary and it's a who's who of the families of the local worthies and it brings to life (as it were) the history of the area.

 

So do I go ahead and place the caches? They'd neither of them be under a headstone. My preferred spot in one place is a bush that covers a very old grave. Technically speaking the bush should not be there (the rules are quite clear about what's allowed in a churchyard), so I could try and chase up the relatives (after some 70 years) and say get it out - or I can make use of it as it is quite a feature and rather more tasteful than some of the other illegal additions. I'd rather see more folk around.

 

It's true that some folk won't behave in the churchyards but my advice is to keep the caching away from the areas that are in current use (churchyards get filled up in areas) and then those folk who might be there for more serious purposes will not have to put up with the others. I was doing an almost local cache in a churchyard and kept it very quiet as there was a lady who was paying her respects to a relative. So my plan was to use those graves where the dates were no less than 60 years old which would keep everything out of the way of anyone paying their respects and to hide the caches in bushes/trees thereby ensuring that there's no tomb-robbing. "

Link to comment

I came across a cache in a churchyard that was dumped on an actual grave !..ok the grave was victorian,long forgotten and overgrown but that is no excuse to dump a 50 cal ammo can right on someones resting place..I emailed the cache owner and got a snotty reply..The cache in question was this one 'tuff rock 2 northants ' (GCJWDP)..I note its been reactivated...be intresting to see if the final cache location is now more thoughtful.

 

Interesting that you still went ahead and searched for the cache, even with reservations.

 

No, I don't necessarily agree with physical boxes in graveyards (it doesn't bother me per se, but may be offensive to others and I respect that) but collecting information from gravestones often gives a unique historical insight into the lives of the inhabitants and the history of the area which is surely a good thing.

 

I wasnt aware that the final cache was in a graveyard...it was a wander around the village gathering numbers blah blah blah..so youre comment as regard me going ahead etc doesnt apply as i had no idea it was on a grave.

Link to comment

I came across a cache in a churchyard that was dumped on an actual grave !..ok the grave was victorian,long forgotten and overgrown but that is no excuse to dump a 50 cal ammo can right on someones resting place..I emailed the cache owner and got a snotty reply..The cache in question was this one 'tuff rock 2 northants ' (GCJWDP)..I note its been reactivated...be intresting to see if the final cache location is now more thoughtful.

 

Did you ask the owner if that was where the cache was originally placed? It was certainly not on a grave when I first found it, nor when I returned more recently (for a coin grab :ph34r:) after reactivation. Perhaps it had been poorly replaced by an interim cacher?

Link to comment

I came across a cache in a churchyard that was dumped on an actual grave !..ok the grave was victorian,long forgotten and overgrown but that is no excuse to dump a 50 cal ammo can right on someones resting place..I emailed the cache owner and got a snotty reply..The cache in question was this one 'tuff rock 2 northants ' (GCJWDP)..I note its been reactivated...be intresting to see if the final cache location is now more thoughtful.

 

Did you ask the owner if that was where the cache was originally placed? It was certainly not on a grave when I first found it, nor when I returned more recently (for a coin grab :ph34r:) after reactivation. Perhaps it had been poorly replaced by an interim cacher?

 

I found it some time ago and voiced my concerns directly to the cache owner at the time.....It was disabled after i recieved a snotty reply..I found the cache hidden on a grave under ivy AFTER following up on all the required number gathering so it follows that the cache was placed there initially otherwise the co-ords wouldnt have led me there would they ?.Also it is the responsibility of the cache owner to maintain / check on their caches and make sure they are ok.the rest of the cache was a pleasant wander,as i told the owner at the time,we were just disapointed that the final cache was hidden not only in a graveyard but on a grave.Even if the cache had been moved over time by finders the initial location of the cache would still have been the graveyard so your observation is rather flawed..i think it was poorly placed by the setter.We are hoping that the cache is now more thoughtfully placed.

Link to comment

I and lots of other cachers in the North west have all done parts of the saint? or sinner? series,

All these caches are set in church yards and take in peaceful locations in churchs in warburton, daresbury, worsley and on the edge of the lakes, preston patrickas well as others

I when finding the caches found these churchyards to be very peaceful and well worth the visit.

the views from some are superb and the architecture of the churches stunning.

The pleasure of stepping off a busy road into the yard and enjoying the peace away from the hustle and bustle was what i enjoy caching for.

Churchyards are there for us to remember our dead and they should not be no go areas, place your caches sensibly and definetly get permission and then no trouble should come from them.

Link to comment

I've done some of the Saints and Sinners series and thought how peacful each spot was. The caches are placed thoughfully and carefully, away from the graves.

I've also cached a bit in Ireland, where graveyards / churchyards are a popular location, again away from the graves, but in fairly obvious situations so that a quick find is more than likely.

 

Just thought I'd ask the question to see what the reaction was - mixed, I think, is the answer at the moment - I'll watch the replys with interest.

Link to comment

I was against hiding caches in graveyards at first, having heard about one or two incidents in the US with graveyard cachers getting carried away with the "supernatural" aspects traditionally associated with such places. But if the cache is set up sensibly (and, obviously, with the cooperation of the churchyard custodian) then I think that it can work. But it does require more thought than the average cache.

 

Picking up clues from headstones is to be encouraged IMO, as it takes people to interesting, historic places that are meant to be visited by both relatives of the deceased and those interested in local history. It's no worse than visitors researching family history, or tourists looking at the grave of a famous person. I don't think that many churchwardens would discourage the casual visitor, rather the opposite: when I set a cache recently which encourages a churchyard visit, many of the graves were labelled so that you could easily spot the historic ones using a guide leaflet.

 

HH

Link to comment

I found this topic thread very interesting since yesterday I did a cemetery cache. It was a very interesting find since the grave yard had long been forgotten and over grown. I enjoy the history and writings on gravestones and always look for an old cemetery when I travel…unfortunately my wife doesn’t share my same curiosity and usually waits in the car.

 

This topic thread got me thinking about my grandfather’s gravesite. He was joker and loved to play practical jokes.

 

 

http://www.kelcosupply.com/cem/page2.html

Link to comment

I don't think I'd be comfortable searching for a regular cache around graves, but I've done a few which required getting dates off gravestones and have no probs with that. I did do this virtual:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...df-374111043afc

 

which was quite nice as the cacher requests that you take some flowers when you visit, for someone who's been dead for 150 years her grave is well tended and has a regular supply of flowers.

 

M:

Link to comment

It may sound like a strange thing to suggest, but churchyards and gravestones can have a suprising degree of levity. You can come across some quite humorous epitaphs and suchlike (I picked up a book a while ago which was a great compilation of light-hearted epitaphs which had been collected from churchyards around the country).

 

Also, for me one of the main things about caching is that it gets me out to interesting locations that I might not otherwise have visited. Churchyards can be fascinating and, like I said, have their moments of humour. I guess the important thing is to treat them with due respect - especially if there are families/friends of the dear departed in the vicinity.

Link to comment

I did two church yard caches on Saturday over in North Wales and had no problem with them, in fact there was nobody in sight at either. Both caches were right on the out skirts of the grave yard and did not interfere with the graves at all, so like all caches if they are well thought out I don't have a problem with them. I have also done a few of the saints or sinner series and enjoyed those as well. :mad:

Link to comment

If you visit Highly Holy Hidey Hole you will find the cache just outside the churchyard,but if you visit the village pub afterwards(highly recomended) you will find a grave in the bar!!

Now thats how I'd like to go! :(

 

I have always been a bit "tip-toed" when walking in grave yards... That is until one Sunday I had tea and sandwiches at the church in Kew Green (near Kew Gardens, london) and you sat outside watching cricket ontop of the gravestones (tombs).

 

Im not sure you should use a grave as your hidey spot but for clues etc I think its fine :P

Link to comment

I'm not religious, but I have feelings, and one of them is to respect our fellow man.

 

Now the dead can't feel or hurt anymore, but their loved ones can, and a Graveyard is a place they often visit to remember and help forget about the passing of a loved one.

 

So do we have the right to enter there in the sake of this game? I think not, we need to leave these places to the people who are grieving; after all it is a personal process, and the last thing that they want is to have people foraging about for the sake of it, it does appear impersonal in this kind of situation.

Link to comment

I assume this is a new resolution Moote, as I can think of two caches you've found in close proximity to graves. :(

I know the 2 you make reference about, one done on Christmas day (was not happy with its location) the other on New Years day, (Had no issue with this as the graveyard was long since deserted)

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...