In olden times, if you lived in the countryside your outdoor ‘loo’ or privy drained into a stream or a cesspit. Not so easy in crowded towns, where sanitation was minimal and disease was rife – excrement drained into cellars or was tipped onto the street in a midden.
In the 1870s, many local Town Corporations adopted the ‘Rochdale system’: privies were supplied with 10 gallon tubs which fitted under the wooden seat(s) of the little sheds in the backyards. These tubs were emptied regularly by the nightsoil men (or ‘muckmen’). Some Councils added disinfectant to the tubs hence the horse-drawn collection vehicle was known as ‘The Lavender Wagon’. The stuff was spread in sewage beds to dry, mixed with ash (another household waste product) and sold to farmers for fertiliser, making some income for the Council. As flushing toilets with mains drainage became common in the 1900s, this beneficial re-cycling ended.
Since 2014,Kirklees Council has transformed the site into Dewsbury Country Park and thousands of trees have been planted. There’s also a stone circle with a lone hawthorn tree, said to be an entrance to the fairy kingdom! – near this cache.
This is a small click box with room for trackables : please make sure you replace the cover carefully to keep the contents dry.
Once you have logged your visit, walk round the outside of the stone circle in a clockwise direction, making a wish - maybe the fairies will hear you and grant it !!