Flying Colours of The Cruel Night Traditional Cache

A true roadside cache on the old road from Disley to Whaley Bridge - this is an easy cache. But take time, dear cacher, to pay your respects and read the inscription on the Murder Stone some 20m south along the road. That's why I brought you here.

Best visited, alone, at night, with a torch for maximum chills! Look over your shoulder...

Part of the new Flying Colours series, "...of the Cruel Night" consists of a slim but sizeable container. The spot marks a chilling tale.

On July 19th. 1823, William Wood a weaver from Eyam in Derbyshire was on his way home from Manchester where he had been selling his cloth. He stopped off at an inn in Disley where he was observed by three men who followed him into the darkness and cruelly murdered him on the moorland road from Disley to Whaley Bridge. The attackers split his skull in two with a large stone. Those who found William's body noted a large hole in the ground under the skull. Had the assailants hit him savagely as he lay on the ground I wonder? As the years rolled by the hole remained - no grass or flower would grow there. Even today, it is said that the depression reappears every time it is filled in.

The murderers did not enjoy the spoils of this vicious attack. One, Charles Taylor, was arrested in Macclesfield a couple of days later when he tried to pass one of the stolen notes. He confessed to the crime and named the other two men as Dale and Platt. Dale was arrested on August 8th,and was executed on 21 April 1824 at Chester City Gaol. Taylor tried to commit suicide and so badly injured himself that he died later. Platt was never caught.

Flying Colours Series Puzzler