Gosford Park Series # 1 GNARLED TREE
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Situated at Gosford Forest Park.
Gosford Forest Park is located off the A28 beside the town of Markethill, 7 miles from the city of Armagh and 10 miles from Craigavon. It is the first forest in N Ireland to be designated a conservation forest. The Forest Park, formerly Gosford Demense, was acquired by the forest Service in 1958. It comprises some 240 hectares and is set in gently rolling Drumlin Country. The elevation ranges from 60 to 100 metres and the area is situated on a basalt plug which can be seen to outcrop in places in the small river which flows through the Forest Park.
There are numerous walks some of which are waymarked. A nature trail of approx 1-1/4 miles in length starts at the wheel car park. It has been adapted for use by wheelchairs. For the more energetic there is a nature trek which is 4 miles in length. Booklets are available from the ranger.
This is the first in a series of caches we placed in Gosford Forest Park. We felt it deserving of series of 7 caches as it is a fabulous place to spend the day caching, either alone or with family and friends. There are caravan and camping facilities, and many things to see, so a great park for all. We have tried to place the caches sensitively, causing as little disruption to the wildlife and environment as possible. The park is generally busy so please use common sense and discretion when retrieving and replacing a cache.
The Forest Park is open all year round from 10am - sunset.
There is a fee to enter the carpark and a fee marked for pedestrians. The warden isn't always there at quieter times - so you may get in free of charge. Either way you have the opportunity to find up to 7 caches.
Construction of Gosford castle began in 1819 and finished in the 1850s. It was commissioned by Archibald Acheson, second Earl of Gosford, when his previous dwelling had burned down. Funding for the construction is said to have been provided by his wife, the daughter and heiress of Robert Sparrow of Worlingham Hall, Suffolk. She may have influenced the choice of style (Norman Revival), having been a friend of Lady Byron and therefore exposed to Byron's "exotic and somewhat sinister brand of romanticism".
The architect was Thomas Hopper, one of the leading London architects of the first half of the 19th century. Hopper is often quoted as believing that "it is an architect's business to understand all styles, and to be prejudiced in favour of none". Apart from Gosford, he was also responsible for Penrhyn Castle near Caernarvon, in a similar style.
The following description appeared in 1837:
"Gosford Castle, the seat of the Earl of Gosford, is a sumptuous and stately structure in the Norman style, built of granite from the Mullaglass quarries; the castle has been 17 years in progress of erection and is not yet completed; it is situated in an ample and highly improved demesne, about a quarter-mile to the east of the former mansion, which was built on the site of the castle originally erected by Sir A. Acheson in 1617."
In around 1952, Robin Fredden, Historic Buildings Secretary of the National Trust, described Gosford thus:
"It must be regarded as one of the most original buildings of the first half of the nineteenth century for it has no immediate antecedents. The immense granite castle, reputed to be the largest pile in Ireland, with over 150 rooms, sprang fully fledged in its elaborate neo-Norman detail from Hopper's imagination. A three-storey keep, such as Hopper was to repeat at Penrhyn, and a massive round tower containing a circular drawing-room, are the salient features of the main elevation. Both are ponderously machicolated and achieve those effects of weight and gravity which are the hallmarks of Hopper's Norman style."
The interior he thought to be "cramped and oppressive ... only the dining room, with engaged pilasters of pink Armagh marble and white plaster decoration, is effective and pleasing."
According to Paul Larmour, writing in the "Ulster Architect" in March 1985, Hopper "was not responsible for the block containing the present main entrance at the north-east corner of the building. This new entrance was designed around 1859 by G. A. Burn who had been Hopper's principal assistant. Here a pair of big battered drums flank a porch that leads through a hall and another arcaded stairway to a billiard room above with a curved bay window overlooking the garden."
Having been handed down from father to son over the generations, the fourth Earl of Gosford was first of all forced to sell off the library to pay racing debts, and eventually, in 1921, the remaining contents had to go.
During the Second World War, the castle was commandeered. It was used first by the British Army, then by the Americans, and a prisoner-of-war camp was set up in the grounds.
The estate remained in the Gosford family until after the Second World War. At various times the castle was used as winter quarters for a travelling circus and as a store for the Public Record Office. Eventually, in 1958, it was acquired by the Northern Ireland Forestry Commission. The Army was once again stationed in the Castle in the 1970s during the recent Troubles.
Happily the castle is now undergoing maintenance work and will hopefully be restored to its former glory.
This is a small/medium sized tablock box camouflaged with black tape and with a geocaching sticker on front. When placed it contained log book, pencil, sharpener, stash note and small swap items. The cache is located in The Arboretum area of the park where there is a variety of individual, conifer and broadleaf tree species from around the world, many having reached over 150 years old.
This cache is also located near the famous area "Dean Swift's Chair". Dean Swift visted here between 1728 and 1730, as he was a friend of the Acheson family. He was one of the deans of St. Patrick's in Dublin but is probably more widely known as the author of Gulliver's Travels and other literary articles.
We used the co-ordinates of a series of averages and understand that obtaining satellites when there is more tree coverage may be difficult. The clue should make finding the cache easy.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
onfr bs gerr