Moot Madness Traditional Cache
MishkyPete: Archived; once suitable place found, cache will be re-listed.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Cache is located in victorian gardens called the Moot in Downton. Can get wet and muddy under foot. Parking at N50 59.482 W001 44.536.
The Moot, in the beautiful village of Downton, is a Grade 1 listed 18th century ornamental garden. There is a possibility that this may have been a defended site or a meeting place in Saxon times, but there does not seem to be any definite evidence for this. It was probably the earthworks for a Norman motte and bailey castle that Bishop Blois was said to have built in 1138. No Norman masonry has been found on this site and it is believed that the Bishop of Winchester rebuilt and fortified the bishop's palace here instead. The site was landscaped as part of the gardens of Moot House in the mid or late 18th century and the mound was much altered in the creation of an amphitheatre. Between 1898 and 1908 a national company put on Shakespearean plays here and in 1908 a young Sybil Thornedike appeared in The Comedy of Errors. The Moot Garden is now owned by a charity, open to the public, and mostly managed by volunteers. It is possible to walk through the gardens down to the River Avon or visit the lake and amphitheatre, which in the summer is often used for open-air plays and concerts. The cache is a lock lid container in camouflaged bag. Contains log book and pen.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
15 cnprf fbhgu bs evire va vil fghzc.