This is a multi clue rather than a multi cache which will take you on a tour of Civil War Newark.
The Coordinates are for a long term car park which is ideal to start from.
You will need to pick up clues en route so make sure you have a pen and paper handy.
First a little background on Civil War Newark In the years before the advent of mechanical transport Newark was known as “The Gateway to The North” due to it being one of the few crossing places for the River Trent on the Great North Road. Prior to the 12th Century the river wasn’t actually bridged but was navigable by foot or on horse as it was much wider and shallower than we know it today.
Eventually a bridge was built using oak logs from Sherwood Forest and there has been a bridge on the crossing ever since. The castle has also changed much from the 12th Century when Bishop Alexander, the Bishop of Lincoln requested permission to build a wooden fortified “Fishing Chalet” on the site. It was he who also set the layout of the town centre with its “Market Square” and the streets radiating out like a spider’s web, as it still is today. The Town’s name “Newark” derives from the words “New-Work” meaning “New Defence” and over the next four Centuries Newark expanded along with the castle, until the town’s period of involvement during the “English Civil War”, at which time “Newark” was a “Royalist Garrison" and controlled a large amount of the trade movement between the North and South.
Newark was subjected to 3 sieges by parliamentary forces during which time it improved its fortifications from a crumbling medieval wall to having substantial ditches and ramparts around the whole town. In addition 2 outer fortifications known as “The Queen’s and King’s Sconce” were constructed covering the entrance to Newark from the South West and North East (now the A46). The Queen’s Sconce is still there today known locally as “Sconce Hills Park”, a great testament to the engineering of the time as well as being one of the finest examples of a Civil War defensive earthwork in the country. Unfortunately the “King’s Sconce” disappeared during the building of the main line railway in the 19th Century.
Newark was a key town for the Royalists to control as its position enabled weapons and re enforcements to be shipped up the East coast to Hull and then brought down by road with little trouble. It was this route that Queen Henrietta Maria, the King’s wife, took when she brought relief to the town during the first siege with a supply of troops and arms from the continent. The king also entrusted much of his silver to be stored in Newark castle. Nottinghamshire was instrumental at both the beginning and the end of the Civil War. It was in Nottingham where King Charles arrived in August 1642 to try and secure support from the local gentry and raised his Standard over the city which effectively signified the start of the troubles to come. However, Nottingham actually turned to support Parliament not long after and in four years time it was at Southwell, just a few miles to the West of Newark, where King Charles would sign the surrender.
During the final siege in 1646, Newark had been surrounded since October the previous year and it was now May. The town was still holding out despite being totally encompassed by an excess of 14,000 Parliamentary soldiers including some 6,000 Scots who had travelled down from the North. The river had been diverted away from the town so Newark had become a filthy, rat infested place where “plague” had taken hold. Despite this the fortifications were such that it was still impossible to take the town by force.
Charles knew things were not going his way and needed to do something to try to limit the obvious outcome. He disguised himself as an ordinary traveller and with just one companion headed out from Oxford to Newark where he hoped to gain the sympathy of the Scots due to his family ties with Scotland. After all, he was “Charles Stewart”. So he met with the Scots Army and was held for a time at “The Saracen’s Head” in Southwell (then known as “The King’s Head”) where he was hoping he could enter in some form of negotiation with them but they “Sold” him to Parliament in return for money owed for their support in the conflict.
Parliament instructed The King to order the Governor of Newark to surrender but the Towns Folk at the time felt that despite the state of the town they could still hold out and suggested famously to “Trust in God and Sallie Forth” which to this day is the motto on the Town Crest. But despite the support from the town the Governor knew he had to carry out the orders from his King and surrender the town to Parliament.
The remaining defenders of the town were allowed to march out with full military honour with their Colours flying and carrying their arms, which was a show of great respect by the besiegers to allow this to happen. Parliament ordered Newark’s defences to be completely demolished so the town could never again be used as such a powerfully defended position.
What we see today is the remains of that demolition which has left us with about a third of the castle still intact due mainly to the fact the men doing the demolition didn’t wish to stay for any length of time with the plague being so rife in the area.
The reason for coordinates of the places you will be visiting are for people who do not know the town.
I have also added the What3Words (W3W) coordinates to make it easier.
Each place will add another unit to the coordinates you will need for the Cache.
Stage 1 Newark Castle
N 53 04.642 W 000 48.780 (W3W) butter.rezoning.handbags
Dominating the entrance to the town from the North the castle has one of the best examples of a Norman Gatehouse. There is a Tourist Information Centre accessible from within the grounds and some splendid views.
Q. How many times to cover 1 mile? (Plaque on King John Tower)Answer minus 4 = A
Stage 2 Queen Henrietta's House
N 53 04.640 W 000 48.555 (W3W) finalists.purifier.scope.
It’s a short walk to view the building opposite The Old Post Office (now a pub) where the views of the Church as you walk up Kirk Gate are quite breathtaking. Queen Henrietta Maria was thought to have stayed here during the relief of the town’s first Siege.
Q. Minus 12 from the first numbers on the plaque = B
Stage 3 Cavalier’s Grave
N 53 04.626 W 000 48.468 (W3W) provide.servers.spindles
Just another short walk will bring you to The Church of Mary Magdalene and into the old churchyard. The grave stones have been removed to the sides to create a very peaceful park where the grave can be found that contains the remains of Royalist Officers killed during the Sieges and Defence of Newark. When the Roundheads finally had control of the town they completely trashed the Church smashing the 11th Century font (which was replaced in the 1660’s after the restoration) and stabled their horses in the quire stalls
Q. The bodies were moved to this spot in 188? The missing number plus 3 = C
Stage 4 Cannon Ball hole in the Church Spire
N 53 04.624 W 000 48.418 (W3W) crowds.driveways.enter
Close to where you have just been, from this vantage point you are able to see a hole in the Church Spire supposedly caused by a cannon ball fired into the town from Beacon Hill. They used the church spire to help sight on to The Governor’s House.
Q. What year was the plaque placed 199? The missing number multiplied by 2 = D
Stage 5 The Governor’s House
N 53 04.566 W 000 48.602 (W3W) warms.stuff.awaiting
You will have just walked across the Market Square which is probably one of the finest examples of an actual square where markets are held.
The Governor’s House (currently closed) is well worth a visit, especially if you go upstairs as all the beams are on show as well as some original plaster decorations from the C15, plus the floor is at quite a slope! Prince Rupert, the King’s Nephew and a very accomplished cavalry officer who commanded the royalist army, stayed here after he had a heated argument with his Uncle who accused him of allowing Bristol to fall to Parliament. It was said that the Prince filled the Market Square with his Regiment of 1000 Horse.
Q. When did Prince Rupert stay there 164? The missing number plus 2 = E
Stage 6 The site of Alderman Hercules Clay’s House
N 53 04.568 W 000 48.588 (W3W) salsa.tolerates.stealthier
Opposite The Governor’s House (and now a Bank), is the site of Alderman Clay’s house. The story goes that he had a dream that his house was burnt down so he moved his family out and on the very next night a “Bomb” dropped on his house and it was totally destroyed. Clay bequeathed an amount of money to the Church in thanks and today we still have a service held on the 11th March each year to celebrate that event.
Q. How many times did he have his dream? Answer multiplied by 2 = F
Stage 7 The Island
N 53 04.466 W 000 49.122 (W3W) retailing.hogs.noted
(Make sure you use coordinate to take you to the correct bridge) Head for the Town Locks where you can cross the river which will put you on a small island now used by Severn Trent authority for their Dry Dock and main workshops. It was here in the Civil War where the powder mills used to be situated. That is “Powder” as in “Black Powder” or as you might know it better, “Gun Powder” which was a most hazardous occupation, hence its proximity to the town.
Q. How many arches to the foot bridge? Write the number as a WORD. Convert each letter to a number using A=1, B=2 etc.
The answers will fill in the blanks below which are the coordinates for the "FINAL CLUE "
N53 04.6?? = The first letter above multiplied by 4 + 1
W000 48.7?? =The last letter above multiplied by 7 + 1
Stage 8 The Final Clue The answer to this will give you GH, the last coordinates for the Cache
Q. Using A=1, B=2 etc. The total of the month in which the plaque was placed + 5 = GH
The Cache can be found at N 53 04.ABC W000 GH.DEF
OPTIONAL EXTENSION TO THE TOUR
If you have the time and to make the tour complete it would be good to visit The Queen’s Sconce which is just on the outskirts of town where there is ample free parking, very good toilet facilities and a cafe. This massive fortified earthwork was built by a Dutch Engineer and guarded the main route into Newark from the South West. Take time out to clamber down the ditch and up on to the top where you can’t fail to see it is built in a star shape. There would have been a cannon emplacement on each corner with plenty of musket positions all around which made it extremely difficult to approach without coming under intense fire. The height of the Earth Works made it difficult for attackers to get any accurate fire on to it.
The Queen’s Sconce N 53 04.137 W 000 49.283 (W3W) radically.palms.piston
FREE Car Parking at N 53 04.259 W000 49.201 (W3W) zos.slimmer.premises