Grittleton Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The gorgeous village of Grittleton, near Chippenham, has a long history, dating back to Saxon times.
Most of the buildings present today however are connected with the development of Grittleton House.
This cache leads you towards #1 Grittleton Gambol.
You are looking for a small Clip'n'Lock box which has room for GC's and small trackables.
The village grew up around the founding of the Church in the area, at the time of King Edmund the Magnificent. King of England, he bestowed the land upon his servant Wulfric.
The original house ‘Grittleton Manor’ was a three bay, Jacobean manor dating from 1660.
Major changes took place after Joseph Neeld, aged 38, purchased the estate in 1828. Neeld was a London solicitor who had inherited a fortune of £900,000 from his great-uncle Philip Rundell, the silversmith; Grittleton was to become his country seat. MP for Chippenham (1830-1856), he was an amateur botanist, a philanthropist and had a good library and art collection.
His motto: Nomen extendere factis translates as 'the name matches the deed'
At that time the estate consisted of 1,248 acres within the parish.
The present Grittleton House was built between 1835 and 1856, the architect being James Thomson. Later modifications were overseen by Henry Clutton.
Sadly, Joseph died before the present house was completed. He did not have a son to inherit the estate, so it passed to his brother John.
John Neeld not only completed the house, but also oversaw the completion of the houses in Alderton Road for the estate workers which had been started by Sir Joseph Neeld.
John Neeld died in 1899. As John had six sons, it seemed safe to assume that the family name would endure. All six sons however died without children. Sir Audley Dallas Neeld (last surviving son of John Neeld), died in 1941 at the age of 94 without heir. As the Neeld family had no direct descendents, the estate passed to the illegitimate daughter of Sir Joseph Neeld...Anne Maria.
She married Colonel William Inigo-Jones in 1844. In 1942 Lionel Inigo-Jones succeeded to the property and changed his last name to Neeld. On his death in 1956, the property passed to his brother Ralph Inigo-Jones, known as Ralph Neeld.
In 1967 the Shipp family moved to Grittleton and rented Grittleton House from Ralph Neeld. The Shipp family finally purchased Grittleton House in 1972. Grittleton House is still owned by the Shipp family and is run by the family as an Independent Day School.
(Thanks to Grittleton House website for much of the above info)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Orgjrra gehaxf ba yrsg bs cngu.