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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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PLEASE NOTE: Above co-ordiantes are for the car park, you need to find the answers to the clues listed to below to find the cache itself.
Prittlewell Priory was founded by Robert fitzSuen in the early 12th century. The accepted date is 1110 AD. It was common practice for noblemen in the early Middle Ages to found monasteries and Priories, the aim being to secure salvation. It was believed that by paying monks to say prayers for their souls the time spent in ‘purgatory,’ on the way to heaven, would be minimized. FitzSuen owned vast estates in south east Essex. His grandfather had been one of several French families given lands by Edward the Confessor.
The Priory was endowed with the income from lands, property and churches in many surrounding parishes. This included some properties in the town of Prittlewell itself, together with properties stretching down to the shore of the Thames, adjacent to the manor of Southchurch (an area which was known by the 15th century as South End – the south end of the lands of the Priory).
Prittlewell Priory, as most monasteries, was largely self-sufficient. The Priory would have comprised the conventual buildings (those serving a religious function) including the church, the refectory, Priory storerooms or cellars and Prior’s chamber, and the Chapter House with dormitory above. All of these were arranged around the roughly square Cloister Garth, or Cloisters. Access to these buildings, all within the inner precinct of the Priory, would have been via a Gatehouse, which was probably situated to the west of the Priory church, possibly underneath the present tennis courts.
In the outer precinct would have been the monastic barns, the stables, cow sheds, smithy and other workshops. There would also probably have been guesthouses and an infirmary. There would have been fields for the growing of crops beyond these buildings, and almost certainly a Priory garden and probably an orchard. All of these would have been within the boundaries of the current park. Prittlewell Priory had a maximum of 18 monks, but usually no more than 12. The Priory continued to function as a religious house until 1536 when, as a result of the Act of Suppression, the Priory was closed. The Priory was the richest of all the Essex monasteries. The last Prior, Thomas Norwich was given a pension.
The lands and possessions of the Priory were taken into the King’s hands, and then sold off. The first private owner was Thomas Audley, brother of the Lord Chancellor. He purchased the Priory from the King for £400. In 1548 Lord Richard Rich, at one time chancellor of the Court of Augmentations, purchased the Priory, and all of its estates, for the sum of £800. It was probably during these years, in the second half of the 16th century, that many of the Priory buildings that were not required for conversion into a country house were demolished.
Pritlewell Priory remained in the family of Rich, the Earls of Warwick until 1678 when the last heir died. The Priory was then purchased by Daniel Scratton. The Scratton family owned the Priory (and members of the family lived there) until the late 19th century, and then again in the early years of the 20th century. The Scrattons also owned the manor and manor house of Milton Hall, now in the centre of Southend.
Extensive changes were made to the Priory in the 17th century (possibly by the first of the Scratton owners). A two storey porch entrance was built to make it more fashionable. In the 18th century floors were inserted into the vast Refectory and Prior’s Chamber to create more bedroom space. In the early-mid 19th century the two storey brick wing was added to the south west corner. On the ground floor of this wing were the dining room and sitting room, with bedrooms above.
We know that by the mid 19th century, the grounds had been laid out as pleasure gardens for the family. To the north of the Priory buildings a brick walled kitchen garden had been laid out. In 1917 the Priory came up for sale, and was purchased by Robert Arthur Jones (a local business man), and presented to the town for use as a museum. After extensive restoration and refurbishment the Priory opened as the town’s first museum in 1922.
You're looking for a round food container in a camouflage bag and it can be found at the following location:
51 Deg 33.ABC N
000 Deg 42.DEF E
To find the missing co-ordinates, answer the following questions.
A. Walk to the front of the priory to co-ordinates 51 Deg 33.225 N 000 Deg 42.308 E and count the number of chimney pots on the stack above the doorway, answer = A.
B. Follow the footpath down the north side of the priory through the gate and find the grave of Robert Arthur Jones who was born on 2(B) November 1849.
C. Walk into the walled garden at 51 Deg 33.272 N 000 Deg 42.361 E and find the bench in memory of David Charles Jarvis 1946-200(C).
D. Continue through the gateway in the wall at the far end of the garden and find the date the time capsule was laid in the garden (Y)99(Z). Y+Z=D.
E. Retrace your steps back to the walled garden and find the plaque placed in the memory of Evelyn Lewis 29-7-(E)9
F. Find the information board near the conservation stream at 51 Deg 33.262 N 000 Deg 42.440 E and complete the following sentence. "...Water course which used to exist in the priory park until the early 19(F)0's".
Once you've found the cache, why not take a look around the museum and then have some light refreshments at the cafe near the bandstand before making your way home.
Hope you enjoy finding this cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx va na vil pbirerq gerr.