This cache is set to celebrate the old custom of ‘Crying the Neck’.
The ceremony was enacted in fields around the cache site in times
past and the custom has been revived across the county in recent
times by the Old Cornwall Society.
Its origins go back to the days when the reaping of the harvest
was all done by hand, using in most cases the scythe and which took
many weeks to complete.
When the last ears of corn were cut, the farmer would grab a
handful and hold it above his head. He would face the East, the
South and the West (but not the North because the sun doesn’t come
from the North) and shout:
I ‘ave ‘un! I ‘ave ‘un! I ‘ave ‘un!
What ‘ave ‘ee? What ‘ave ‘ee? What ‘ave ‘ee? the assembled crowd
would ask.
A neck! A neck! A neck! the farmer would shout in reply.
All would then shout in praise of the neck and the farmer.
Sometimes the neck would be carried to the church and a short
service would be held or the service may be held in the field.
Everyone would then retire to the farm and enjoy a supper, which
probably consisted of a pasty and ale.
The cache is a small lock and lock box.