GC42HF0 Bournemouth's Past: Peter's Hill Fire Station (Traditional Cache) in Southern England, United Kingdom created by Lost2011

This cache has been archived.

Lost2011: Sorry Steve for ditching this series before you had a chance to find them all. There were too many going missing too regularly to warrant keeping it going.

The magnetic bolt cache is gone but not forgotten. :)

This series has had a great 18 months but now it is time to archive. Thanks for all the finds. If you haven't already, enjoy the Bournemouth History series, which will also be archived in 2015.

GC42HF0 ▼

A cache by Lost2011 Message this owner

Hidden : 12/21/2012

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

This is my town. I live here. I love it.

This series of 10 stand alone caches, with a bonus at the end, will take you on a journey through Bournemouth, visiting a mix of urban and residential areas, and hopefully learning a little bit of history along the way. For the most part I have tried to make the caches accessible to all.

I have been inspired to set these caches around Bournemouth for some caching friends who are in need of filling their calendar, whilst also finding areas that are sparse of caches. Although the idea of stand alone caches with a bonus is not original, for this area it is very uncommon spread across large distances of the town, and therefore I would like to think this is a little bit different, which is what I'm all about.

Each cache has a number needed to locate the bonus, so you may wish to make notes as you go along.

Due to the urban nature of this series and the high probability of muggles, I have tried to make all the caches easy to find by providing detail in the hints, so please use the spoiler.

The first ever Winton fire station was established in 1903 - it was a lockup shed in Withermoor Road. The firemen were all volunteers and the fire engine was a horse drawn pump - we haven't yet discovered if it was worked by hand or steam.

A few years later the shed was replaced by a more substantial single-bay fire station in the Council Depot at the end of Maxwell Road.

Although it was better than the old lockup shed, the Maxwell Road station had no proper living accommodation to allow it to function effectively any time of day or night.

The council refused to act, although under pressure, officials finally came up with a plan for combined fire station and public convenience at the top of Peter's Hill. This was approved in 1926 and construction work began a short time later.

The Maxwell Road complex also for a time included a police station and continued to operate as a Auxiliary Fire Service base through the second world war - finally closing in December 1944.

At Peter's Hill it was decided that the new fire station would need a new fire engine, so an appliance was ordered from Dennis at a cost of £650.

The new Winton fire station never had an official opening ceremony, but offered living accommodation to two firemen and their families. At the back of the station was a yard and garden which still exists.

The first fireman and his family moved in with the new fire engine in December 1927.

The fire station served Winton and the surrounding area right through the war years and into the 1950's. In 1956 Station Officer Jim Collingbourne died while fighting a blaze on the East Cliff.

After its closure in 1960 the building briefly served as a police station.

The building is now owned by the University and is used as a storage facility, although it is currently up for sale.

Source

Congratulations Panda&Pickles for FTF.

Bournemouth's Past series:
GC42HER: Robert Baden-Powell (A)
GC42HET: Flora Thompson (B)
GC42HEV: Charles Rolls (C)
GC42HEW: Bessie Bicknell (D)
GC42HEX: Jack The Ripper (E)
GC42HEY: Moordown's Oldest House (F)
GC42HEZ: Hancock's Half Hour (G)
GC42HF0: Peter's Hill Fire Station (H)
GC42HF1: William Smith (J)
GC42HF2: Jon Egging (K)
GC42HF3: Bonus - N50 AB.CDE W001. FG.HJK

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gnxr n frng. N zntargvp obyg vf nyy gung guvf heona pnpur pna jvgufgnaq naq vf cynprq ba gur obggbz prager bs gur orapu, ohg cyrnfr erzrzore gb hfr znkvzhz fgrnygu ng nyy gvzrf qhevat svaqvat, ergevrivat, ybttvat naq ergheavat. Gjrrmref erdhverq. Tbbq yhpx.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

This cache has been archived.

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Bournemouth's Past: Peter's Hill Fire Station Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Watch

Geocache Description:

Attributes

Inventory

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