It MUST be a forgery! Traditional Cache
Budlaw: Cache stolen. Unsafe location
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The Forge. Kirkstall Forge covered 65 acres. The area was first used for forging by the Cistercian monks of Kirkstall Abbey. It is thought that a furnace was built to smelt iron ore for the production of iron for nails and tools during the construction of the Abbey. Kirkstall Forge finally closed in 2003 after 800 years of engineering here. The whole site was cleared around 2008 except for the historic waterwheel, hammer shop and slitting mill built way back in 1676. Housing, shop, railway station and leisure complex are planned for the site. The waterwheel and slitting mill are to be restored and included in the new development. The obelisk. By what were the gates to the forge is this memorial milestone which stands some 25ft high. Re: ‘B & B’ – The land of the Forge, like much of the rest of Kirkstall was part of the Cardigan estate. In 1720 the works were leased to John Watts of Ecclesfield. When he died in 1751 they were taken over by John Crookes. During this period the Forge was not successful, became run down and dilapidated. And so in 1779 (one of the dates on the iron plate) the lease of the Forge was taken over by George Beecroft and John Butler, both members of important Kirkstall families. They were brothers-in-law, Betty Beecroft being John’s sister. The association of the Butler family with the Forge continued and prospered for 195 years until it was taken over by the British engineering company, GKN. Now we come to our milestone and the meaning of the inscription ‘B & B’ – Beecroft and Butler. Thus the stone erected in 1829 commemorates the 50th anniversary of their acquisition of the Forge. No doubt it was also intended to celebrate the building of the road itself. This road, now Abbey Road, had been completed as the Kirkstall to Ilkley Turnpike Road in 1827. The upper road, what is now Morris Lane, had then become the Old Turnpike Road. Check the spelling of the Scottish City! Personal note I was born in 1943 and lived in Bramley. During the night-time, as a child, I could hear the rhythmic thump of the Forge hammer. My mother explained that during WWII that was a reassuring sound as it was an indication that no German bomber attacks were expected. Congrats to Ashep on FTF although too modest to declare
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
[PARKING: Busy Leeds-Horsforth road. Lay-by outward bound traffic side of road, city side of cache and service road to Forge development......Decrypt text below for hint.]
Uvg ebpx obggbz naq tebiry va gur teniry erne bs gur cyvagu.
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