GC56G72 BGW #20 - Mulberry (Traditional Cache) in South East England, United Kingdom created by stooby

This cache has been archived.

stooby: Time to go, a new series will appear shortly.

GC56G72 ▼

A cache by stooby Message this owner

Hidden : 6/7/2014

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: other (other)

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Geocache Description:

Please bring tweezers and your own pen for this walk.
The hint was changed on 7th June 2015

This series of caches has been placed with the kind permission of the Forestry Commission.

There are four other caches in these woods that can be collected to create a complete circuit: GC2ZEZZ, GC2ZF1F, GC2ZF29 and GC2ZF4M . We feel it's worth pointing out that these were the first caches we found, so these woods hold a special place in our geocaching memories.

We have tried to mix up the container types for this walk, but have had to pad the series out with 35mm film pots

A brief history of the woods:

In the Battle Abbey Chronicle, the Abbey was said to have been erected by William the Conqueror as a memorial to his victory and to expiate his sins by the bloodshed caused at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The Abbey was endowed with all land within a radius of one and half miles of the Abbey as well as outlying manors. The endowed lands included three woods, Hedgeland, Bathurst and Petley Woods. Bathurst (or Bothurst) was the original name for Battle Great Wood. The three woodlands were in very close proximity to each other with Petley to the north-west and Hedgeland to the south-west. The ‘hurst’ part of Bathurst means a wooded hill but the Bath or Bot is less easy to find a derivation for, but may came from ‘Boda’ as in Boda’s people and could therefore be of Saxon origin.

During the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries the Abbey and all the lands were granted to Sir Anthony Browne in 1538 who later, in 1542, inherited the Cowdray Estates. The Battle Abbey Estates remained within the Cowdray family until 1721 when they were bought by the Webster family.

In 1721, at the time of purchase, the estate was said to be particularly rich in timber and the Webster family had interests in both the iron industry during the 18th century and brick making during the 19th century. It was sold by the sixth baronet in 1859 but repurchased by his son some forty years later. In 1776 there is mention in a property deed of a ‘customary cottage and land late the Lord’s waste’ at Bathurst Wood. It is not known where this dwelling was located within Bathurst Wood.

Battle Great Wood was eventually purchased by the Forestry Commission in 1954. The wood, therefore, has had relatively few owners since the Conquest.

Congratulations to Velosaurus for being first to find.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Nobhg urnq urvtug.

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)