GC1CVMJ Drinking Fountain and Troughs 002 - Wray Common (Traditional Cache) in South East England, United Kingdom created by Merstham Mafia adopted by terrapintim

This cache has been archived.

terrapintim: This location is no longer a safe hiding place for a cache, so I’ve removed the container and archived it! Thanks everyone for taking the time to find the cache and for your lovely logs and FPs. Finally, I will not be using this location again, so I look forward to seeing someone else use it again soon.

GC1CVMJ ▼

A cache by Merstham Mafia adopted by terrapintim Message this owner

Hidden : 6/1/2008

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough - Wray Common

This is the second of a series of caches placed close to or associated with drinking fountains or animal troughs. The cache is located in Wray Common, Reigate close to an example of a Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association granite cattle troughs dated 1884.

The Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association was an association set up in London by Samuel Gurney an MP and philanthropist and Edward Thomas Wakefield, a barrister in 1859 to provide free drinking water. Originally called the Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association it changed its name to include cattle troughs in 1867, to also support animal welfare.

Water provision in the nineteenth century was from nine private water companies each with a geographic monopoly, which provided inadequate quantities of water which was often contaminated, as was famously discovered by John Snow during the 1854 cholera epidemic. Population growth in London had been very rapid (more than doubling between 1800 and 1850) without an increase in infrastructure investment. Legislation in the mid nineteenth century gradually improved the situation; the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers was formed, water filtration was made compulsory, and water intakes on the Thames were forced to be moved above the sewage outlets.

In this environment the public drinking fountain movement began, initially in Liverpool where the local government was granted the ability to buy out the private water companies in 1847. It built the first public baths and then encouraged philanthropic public drinking water fountains. This was taken up by Samuel Gurney.

The surviving cattle troughs are mainly large granite ones, in many cases planted with flowers. Earlier designs were of cast iron or zinc lined timber, but both were too easily damaged.

The cache has a log book and a pencil

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Vafvqr gur zbhfrubyr

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

This cache has been archived.

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Drinking Fountain and Troughs 002 - Wray Common Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

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Geocache Description:

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