CHILDREN were captivated by a church’s history ‘treasure hunt’, the first of its kind in Oxfordshire.

Some 28 children from Grove CofE School yesterday explored the new Church Trail at Ss Peter and Paul in Wantage.

The eight to 12-year-olds were handed checklists and sent off to find a secret staircase, the tomb of a local Sir, and to count the stones in the altar.

Loulou Parker-Smith, eight, said: “It’s good because we get to learn new stuff about the church. We learnt it’s the oldest building in Wantage.”

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Church Trails form a national scheme by the National Decorative and Fine Art Society sponsored by local branches, in this case Wantage.

The Wantage tour was run by the branch’s young arts representative Kelvin Rose.

The trail highlights 13 features about Ss Peter and Paul, including a memorial to Sir William Fitzwaryn, who held the Manor of Wantage and whose granddaughter married the legendary Lord Mayor of London Dick Whittington, and after whom Wantage’s special Fitzwaryn School is named.

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