Good King Wenceslas
As many people who live in East Grinstead will know, the Christmas carol ‘Good King Wenceslas’ was written in Sackville College by John Mason Neale. It tells a story of Good King Wenceslas braving the harsh cold winter weather to give food and wine to a poor peasant on the day after Christmas (the second day of Christmas, December 26, which in the carol is called the Feast of Stephen). During the journey, his young servant is about to give up struggling in the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints which have been left in the freshly fallen snow.
The carol is based on the life of Saint Wenceslaus the first, Duke of Bohemia. However, he was never actually a king and never did anything that is mentioned in the carol.
Click the image below to listen to the carol.
East Grinstead at Christmastime
Over the Christmas period, East Grinstead hosts a wide variety of events. This period of time is often called Wenceslas Week(s). The most popular annual events are the tree lighting in the high street, and carol concerts held in the chapel at Sackville College (sackvillecollege.com).
The largest event is the Christmas Shopping Festival. This is normally held on the first or second Sunday of December. During the festival, the shopping part of London Road is closed to traffic and filled with fairground attractions and stalls.
The historic Bluebell Railway (bluebell-railway.com and geo.co/WMHTB9) also holds their own carol services and events as well as the Weekday Wonders Christmas Meal train which leaves at East Grinstead station and goes to Sheffield Park.
Events can be found on the East Grinstead Council website (eastgrinstead.gov.uk), East Grinstead Living magazine (delivered to local houses, free in selected shops and services, and egliving.co.uk), The Line magazine (delivered to local houses), or the East Grinstead Gazette (available to collect outside many shops on London Road).
Finding the cache
The coordinates take you to the border of the Sackville College grounds. To find this geocache, you will need to find the answers to the question below. You can do this by going to the tourist information centre (geo.co/WMHTA2), the East Grinstead museum (eastgrinsteadmuseum.org.uk and geo.co/WMHTA5), or online.
- ‘Good King Wenceslas’ was written by John Mason Neale in ABCD.
- Sackville College, the place where the carol was written, finished being built in EFGH. (This is not the same year that it was founded)
N 51° 0(A+6). (B-3), (C-1), D
W 000° 0(E-1). (F-4), (G+3), (H-2)
You can check your coordinates either with the checker below, or through Geocheck.
Time for a joke!
How does Good King Wenceslas like his pizzas?
One that's deep pan, crisp and even!