X Marks the Spot - The Bridge Cut Mark Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Professor Xavier: As the owner has not responded to my previous log requesting that they check this cache I am archiving it.

If you wish to email me please send your email via my profile (click on my name) and quote the cache name and number.

Regards

Ed - Professor Xavier

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Hidden : 1/18/2014
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

The cache is close to a cut mark on the Oxford to Bath first primary levelling line. Please be careful of the road is looking for the mark itself.

Carved or screwed into thousands of walls in churches, bridges, houses and on milestones around the country are symbols or devices used for map making before the advent of GPS. Taking the form of a metal plate or a carved stone, these were used to calculate distance and height from each other.

Between 1840 and 1860 the Ordnance Survey carried out its first accurate measuring of the whole of England & Wales. The first primary levelling consisted of 184 “levelling lines” including the Oxford to Bath line that was completed between June and August 1856. A second primary levelling took place in 1912 to 1921 and a third primary levelling in 1951 to 56.

The carved mark is called a Bench Mark or cut mark. They usually takes the form of a horizontal line with an arrow pointing up from below, and were made by the Ordnance Survey. It was policy to maintain about 5 bench marks per 1Km square in rural areas, about 30 to 40 in urban areas. This cut mark is shown below:



There used to be about half a million bench marks in Great Britain but they are not needed any more and about half have disappeared. There are websites that log these points and those who collect them like geocaches. See Bench Marks

The name derives from the angle iron which is fitted into the horizontal cut to give a ‘bench’ or support for a levelling staff.

This bench mark was levelled with a height of 174.6600 feet [53.2364 metres] above mean sea level (Liverpool datum). It was included on the Oxford to Bath levelling line. The surveyor's description was No. 96. Mark on South battlement of bridge over the River Avon ; 1.39 ft. above surface (p246). The current benchmark is however as you will see on the North battlement on the western end.

There were 2,301,208 active Geocachers when this cache was hidden. A big tick for GeoG5 for another FTF.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Xvyy ab svfu, pbbx ab svfu, eha bss jvgu ab svfu

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)


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