Weston TimeWarp MM
This MiniMulti cache, a camo-taped preform tube, is hidden at this tiny hamlet, which however has some impressive and historic nearby buildings within the parish . . .
To Find the Cache:
After parking your car considerately outside the entrance to Weston Manor, cross over the road and find the following information:
a) in the old phone box on the side facing you are embossed the letters LF/ followed by a number - this is A
b) head across to the stocks which have a small plaque on which you will learn that they were restored by Mrs Middleton of Otley in 200B
c) now move a short distance to the bench which has a memorial plaque for a famous person who was born in 192C
d) from here cross over the small slip road to the side of the cottage where there are two locked case notice boards - one for the church and one the other for the Parish Council. The number of locks on the door of the metal one = D
e) move a little left to the old red post box embossed VR (Victoria Regina) indicating that it is one of the oldest types dating from the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Looking carefully at the base of this, you will find embossed the name of the manufacturer in London. The number of letters in his surname = E
f) finally just above and to the left of the post box near the corner of the wall is the name of the cottage. The alphanumeric (A=1 B=2 C=3 etc) value of the 1st letter of this minus the last letter = F
The cache is hidden at:
N 53 55.DC(B-E) W 1 43.(A+E)(B-1-F)(E-A)
Weston is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire with few fundamental changes since the Norman conquest. Its name is Old English and means western enclosure, farmstead or village.
The civil parish stretches some 4km north of the village to the River Washburn. Much of the northern part of the parish is the 2,000 acre Weston Estate which includes commercial premises and farmland. To the south of the village, Weston Hall is part of the Askwith Estate adjoining the north bank of the River Wharfe. The parish was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until 1974.
‘The south-facing side of Lower Wharfedale, an undulating sylvan and pastoral landscape, strongly rural in character’, is a contemporary description of this area 'on the north bank of the River Wharfe between the West Yorkshire towns of Ilkley and Otley, land fundamentally unchanged in centuries and relatively little-traversed'.
Farming has been the main occupation of the inhabitants of Weston for many centuries and the appealing rural nature of the area has been noted as part of the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which was designated in 1994.
Gallows Hill, land at the eastern end of the Weston Hall estate, was used during the WW2 and until 1948 to house German Prisoners of War. Most of the site was destroyed thereafter to make way for the Weston housing estate (see here).
Before the Domesday Book was collated in 1086, the area was originally part of Otley Manor, but was then separated off north of the river. After Domesday, the estate was granted to Berenger de Tosny for his participation in the Norman conquest. According to the national archives, the archived documents for Weston 'relate chiefly to the Yorkshire estates of the Vavasours of Weston from whom they have descended to the present owner. The earliest squires of Weston Hall were the Stophams. At various times the property was passed down the female line and subsequent owners were the Vavasours, the Carters and finally the Dawsons. In 2011, the Weston Estate was inherited by Christopher Dawson who is now the 32nd Squire. See here for details of ownership through history.
The Grade 1 listed Weston Hall has many grand rooms, one of which is called the dragon room after the plaster sculpting in the ceiling. See the photo blog here for fascinating, detailed, and well-illustrated info on this fine building, including its history, architecture and associated anecdotes . . . 'a parson, Mr. Rye, dined at Weston Hall and, after a day’s shooting, got so handsomely drunk that as we were putting him to bed he made his escape out of the door naked and we found him hindmost lifeless in a bed of nettles. The next morning, ashamed, he slipped off before I was up'.
A 2nd similarly listed building - a ‘very lavish and sophisticated’ banqueting hall (aka summerhouse, casino or dining tower) folly - was built around 1600 (see here for more details) and is one of the best preserved late-Tudor Banqueting Halls in Britain.
According to the website, 'such houses were usually built , within a formal garden near the main house, but some on the roof of the main house. ‘Banqueting’ in current understanding may be misleading as the house was a place for small, informal parties, typically where guests (usually the males) would withdraw for the pudding course of a meal, or as here 'to play snooker and swap stories', perhaps after a walk post-prandial relaxed around the garden. This was a more private, intimate space, a delightful contrast to the grandeur of the main house and its dining hall. The architecture tended to reflect the sweet dishes themselves - highly decorated, fanciful, whimsical'.
The Weston Hall Tithe Barn and Ice House (used to store imported ice) are Grade 2 listed.
Weston Church: There is also a small church on the property, recorded in the Domesday Book and built in the 1200s, although there is evidence of Christian worship at this site before then (see GCABW00).
Weston Manor was built in 1899 and is a substantial Victorian country house built of stone with a Westmoreland slate roof. The present property replaced Deanfield House and was built to the design of Kilnwick Hall in the East Riding of Yorkshire with the addition of the Tower on the front elevation, which emulated one of the principal features of Deanfield house.
Dob Park, in the northern part of the parish, was a medieval deer park. The only visible remains of the park are the ruins of Deer Park Lodge, a Scheduled Ancient Monument which is located @ N 53 56.691 W 1 42.497 in an isolated position on private land. It dates from the early C17 century and was commissioned by Sir Mauger Vavasour. It may have fallen into disuse fairly quickly, however, and was close to its current ruinous state when it was painted by J M W Turner ('Washburn under Folly Hall') c.1815. In January 2019 permission was granted for the conversion of the building into a residence for the owner of the Weston Estate (see Gallery photos).
On the River Washburn below the lodge to the north @ N 53 57.207 W 1 42.141 is a Grade II listed packhorse bridge, probably dating from the early C17, which carried an ancient route over the river to Norwood and Fewston.
